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Digital Career

The digitally talented can change our working world – if we help them

By Amanda Davie, founder

August 28, 2015 | 5 min read

If you’ve ever received a work email from me you may have read one of my favourite mantras on my signature: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one that is the most adaptable to change” – which were, of course, the wise words of the father of evolution theory himself, Charles Darwin. I often wonder what Darwin would make of the crazy world today, in 2015? How we are adapting our behaviours, our habits, our minds – our species – to digital technology.

The business world, and how it is adapting to digital change, is widely talked about. We talk about the technology, we talk about the connected customer. 'Digital transformation' seems to be the ‘catch-all’ label that has ‘landed’ and embedded this concept of change among business leaders. Everyone is talking about it. Even the Big Four (and some more) management consultancies [Ed, please don’t get me started on my rant about management consultancies – where were they for the first 20 years of the digital economy?!].

Talk is good, right? To a point.

And yet…and yet... I can’t help but wonder; and worry (I am an Olympic Gold medallist in the field of worrying). For all of the talk there is just one truth: for every machine there is a driver. Digital talent. The change makers, the super heroes, the legacy creators. Those who have the power to change the world of work – and beyond.

So why aren’t we talking more about the talent then? I’m not talking about recruitment. Or indeed resourcing or skills shortage. I’m talking about the droves of digitally talented professionals out there who want to be listened to. To be understood. What is our duty of care to them?

For me, digital talent has become a blind spot in digital transformation. But we have missed hearing the true authentic voice of digital leaders and digital talent themselves. This goes beyond HR, beyond culture. How do we create an environment that is conducive to digital talent feeling empowered to lead and change our businesses for the better?

It is sometimes said that digital is a mindset. Not a set of skills. That’s because change is a mindset. Change is a complex and arduous process that arouses feelings and emotions: angry colleagues, frustrated senior execs; there are conflicting priorities and unforeseen problems and resistance. Our digitally talented change agents cannot succeed without determination, persistence and stamina. How do we prepare them for this? How do we support them along the way?

When I am with coaching clients I am often reminded of this quote by Henri Frederic Amiel: “The man who has no inner-life is a slave to his surroundings." To achieve happiness and success in life we have to be free of any inner shackles, our inner critics, the rule makers who tell us we ‘can’t’ or we ‘shouldn’t’, that we’ll fail if we try. As human beings we must find the inner strength to change; to help ourselves, and to be the ruler of our surroundings.

Forgive me for bringing this up, but it’s weighing heavily on my mind: news came my way this week that one of my ex-colleagues, one of my ‘work babies’ from my i-level days, left this world prematurely. He was one of the most digitally talented people with whom I had the privilege to work. Now I will always wonder: did we (and I include myself in this collective responsibility) hear his voice? Did we listen? Really listen. Did we do enough as his professional brethren?

I digress in my attempt to make sense of the madness that is life. And far from being a matter of life or death, digital transformation is just a phase that we will undoubtedly soon file under “pointless business jargon”. Change, however, is the one constant in our crazy world. So, I ask the question: are we investing in our organisational pillars of change? And by investment I don’t mean ‘Are we paying them enough?’ Only a mad man believes that money can buy happiness. I mean ‘Are we supporting them enough?’ Are we listening to their voices and developing blueprints for how they succeed in business?

My personal belief is that I can change the world by helping one digital professional at a time. That might sound lofty or naive to you, but to me it feels true to who I am. What do you believe in? How can you change the world? What – or who – is your duty of care? And what will your legacy be, both inside work and beyond?

Amanda Davie is a digital talent champion and executive coach, and co-architect of Digital Talent @Work

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