Do you have to be a tech person to lead today?
No.
But you do have to be a student.
This is the second in a series about how leaders need to be students. You don’t have to master every tool and every technology. But you do need to keep learning about them, because technology keeps changing.
And technology shapes how your team communicates, how the work gets done, and even what’s possible for us to accomplish. Leaders who stay curious and keep learning make better decisions about all of it.
So here’s how you can go to school, even if you’re not a tech person.
Get Hands On
Try the new tools yourself. You might approve one, ban one or delegate one, but either way, try it first. Spend 15 minutes a week. Spend 30 minutes a week. It adds up, and you’ll have real knowledge and some wisdom to work from, not just an intellectual decision.
Learn With Your Team
Somebody on your team is definitely ahead of you on something. Ask them to show you. Depending on the tool, rolling up your sleeves and learning something together might be exactly the way to do it.
Consider the Broad Implications
We aren’t just talking about a new piece of software or a new tool. We’re talking about how tools interact with our team: the time we spend, our relationships, trust between team members, the skills we need to build, our workload. There’s more to technology than the tool itself.
And don’t think about these applications by yourself in a vacuum. Do it with your team.
Be Honest About What You Don’t Know Yet
This isn’t a performance. There are certainly things you don’t know. When you’re willing to say, “I don’t know this yet, and I’m trying to figure it out myself,” you’re modeling learning. That’s such an important thing.
There’s so much I don’t know about some of the tools our team uses, and about what we could do with AI. I’m readily willing to tell the team I don’t have all the answers. What can you help me understand? What can we understand better together?
What This Means for Organizations
Leaders who don’t understand tools can’t make good decisions about them. So as organizations, we need to create safe, low-pressure ways for leaders to learn and experiment. Then they can show that they’re learners and help everyone else in the organization do the same.
You don’t have to master every new tool. You do have to stay curious enough to keep learning.
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