White, the colour of a new beginning. Everyone has to begin somewhere. Whether it’s with a new sport, a new job, or both. It’s easy to admit I once started out as a white belt, trying to figure out what my arms and legs were supposed to do as the things that seemed so easy to perform, got confusing once I had to combine the exercises. But in average, one can state about human beings that we tend to throw up our arms or at least hands when something goes for your face, so I did just that before learning any of the more efficient techniques. And right here, already lies the first comparison with the profession of IT-adoption.
Cause most people do move at least something when their precious brain is under attack, as it is basic instinct. Most… Though it has been some years ago, I still clearly remember a guy I was sparring with. Not karate this time, it was kobuju
tsu which meant I wasn’t throwing a simple punch towards his head, I was swinging a weapon towards his face. Not a full force of course, we’re practising, we’re learning. But still…one expects a reaction, right?
WRONG! Just like I realised this guy had no internal defence reaction and didn’t move unless he was told to do this exact thing, we all have to realise there are people who don’t have any sense of exploration when it regards “something computery”.
We all have to realise there are people who don’t have any sense of exploration when it regards “something computery”.
“But everyone has a computer or laptop nowadays right?” is what I often hear. But that’s such a wrong assumption and unfortunately one I often come across in my job. And to take another prejudice down in advance, no, it’s not always the “older people” who have troubles adjusting to new technology either. Unfortunately, people don’t walk around with coloured belts to indicate their computer competence. So in order to accomplice anything with your adoption, you’d better start talking to people. And I mean talk…a lot.
Stakeholders, the IT-team that’s involved, the project team, your adoption team, ambassadors and team leads should all be involved. There are many proved strategies out there to help you guide yourself and others through these processes. And with these theories come a bunch of fancy terms like “Prosci” and “ADKAR”, “Persona” and “Risk assessment” and other pretty words. And if you’ve been in this type of job for a while, you’ll probably get the gist of these.
But what if you’re not? What if you’re looking around for a new job, wondering is this “IT-adoption” thing is meant for you? How does one start? Do you need to have graduated from some mysterious tech university of be in the possession of a hoard of fancy certifications?
What does one need to start out in this field?
In my experience, that depends on the company you’re applying to. But two things are key: a drive to help others grow, along with your own affinity for “computery things”. I I was looking for something new, something that not only complimented my skills but could drive them to another level. A work-field where I could keep growing but also fulfil my drive to teach others. It was during this search for a new path that a friend asked, “have you ever heard of IT-adoption?” Well…no. But a quick search on the internet was enough for me to feel like I had found what I was looking for. Still…
I had no “real” skills as in: I had quite some “computery” things running like a red line throughout my career, but no IT-certifications, not a single diploma or graduation from some fancy tech school. Then again, I always live by the idea I rather regret what I did do than what I didn’t even try. So I simply added the word “vacancy” after my search term and hit Enter and picked the top three companies to send my application letter to. And yes, I’ll admit, I was kinda dumbfounded when all three replied with an invitation, even more so when those first cup-of-tea-meetups turned into a second and even third job interview.
During these interviews, it became clear to me that just some companies could look beyond the papers that were or weren’t present on my resume and valued drive and eagerness more than some diploma. Of course I didn’t come completely empty-handed, but this view stuck to me. Cause at that time, I started out as the second colleague in team adoption. By now, I have over more than ten colleagues in that same team. And the funny thing? It has meant more than ten different backgrounds, more than ten different diploma’s, more than ten different skill sets. But there is one thing they all have in common.
The drive to help and guide people through this winding and seemingly endlessly climbing path of technology.
Cause that’s what the job is about: Guidance.
Adoption isn’t about PowerPoints for rows of grown-ups, neatly lined up like kids in school. Not about flashy demos or hands-on practice sessions, nor just about nicely worded messages on a fancy portal. These could be tools to use, yes. But karate isn’t about punching pads either, is it?
And each of these tools would completely miss their point and purpose if they aren’t tuned to guiding the people according to their needs. As a white-belt I quickly learned that throwing a punch on a pad was harder than just blasting away at the empty air. Feeling the impact, my fist made, made me realise why it was so important to keep my wrist straight. I finally understood the why of what I was made to do.
So let’s run with the idea that we have a company with employees, experiencing a digital transformation. We can tell them to do this or that, show them a nicely made presentation but does that stick? Does that help these people realise why it is important to do these things that are outlined in that PowerPoint? No. Cause just like with practising martial arts, one has to repeat things over and over to get used to do something new in a right way. I always tell people I don’t expect them to remember everything I tell them, it’s impossible to most to do so as it is a lot of information. But
all these people attending a training have been informed thought-out this digital transformation project. They have been made aware of why their company is implementing this change, of the benefits it will bring in the day-to-day work. They’ve taken a taste of what to come during an inspiration session, been asked questions and have been engaged with the project through surveys and persona interviews. The message has to be repeated at least five to seven times to get stuck good and it will stick even better if different channels have been used to do so. And still, even then it is important to provide back-ups for information. Because as mentioned earlier, no one can remember everything in one go. Just like in a good dojo, these trainees need to have other people to rely on. Floorwalkers, digi coaches, digi buddies, give them a name, they all do the same. Extend the guidance beyond the brief moment of training. Same goes for a good, central point of information. And always, always look back to look forward. Ask for and truly listen to feedback, takes those advises and actually use them to improve the project. Cause adoption is never complete. Especially in the fast-paced world of IT is it important to keep both yourself and the people you guide on the path, but always while looking for the next tech-change to tackle.
There is so much more I could tell, want to tell, but I’ll end it here at the white belt for today. So let met look back in order to look forward. Drive can be better than a flat piece of paper, experience in another field can work really well in the field of IT-adoption, so don’t let that stop you. But leave your assumptions about age and digital affinities at home or at least verify them each and every time. Do you need tools to help drive adoption? Yet, but it shouldn’t be about the tools. Use them to guide change and always remember that with change comes emotion.
And emotion, that will be a fun part for the second path this blog will take us along: the yellow belt.
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