The psychological aspects of identity management Many thanks for participating in the Cyberconnecting webinar on The Role of Identity in Excellence and Innovation in Digital Transformation. We specifically appreciate your considered comments and engagement. We had too many questions to cover them all during the session hosted by Rob Llewellyn of CXO Transform, so are now sharing the answers to all of the questions. We organised the Q&A in two parts: Part 1 covers the application of behaviour-centric identity management for the benefit of successful digital transformation. See recent blog post: Practical tips on how to build a culture of excellence and innovation. Part 2 covers the psychological aspects of behaviour-centric identity management. Question: Is there a significant difference between "disengaged" and "demotivated"? Disengaged and demotivated have become interdependent concepts. Employees become disengaged in relation to specific circumstances such as incompetent leaders, the lack of opportunities, not being listened to, too much work, not having the tools or training to do their job well. Hence the growth in staff surveys to seek out areas that lead to disengaged employees and a preponderance to address these specific areas. Demotivation is a state that results when no change happens. The good news is that both are reversible. If unaddressed both disengagement and demotivation have a negative effect on organisational culture. Without a focus on organisational culture it is difficult to address individual areas of disengagement. That is why the cyberIDT™ offers such an advantage in defining the identities of individuals, teams and even the organisation so that the particular strengths can be brought into the consciousness and appreciated. Question: What is the impact of individual or organisational fear on identity management? An initial fear is introducing such a new concept into the organisation by the decision-makers. We have found that if new concepts are not known well enough, digital leaders, innovation strategists or L&D folk feel unable to support its use internally. For this purpose we have created the Decision-Maker Pack which takes the person selling into the organisation through the process and also offers an implementation strategy through coaching. From a user point of view, the use of identity management as a practice gives the user a deep understanding of their own identity and what they activate in particular contexts. This awareness raising helps individuals to consider whether they should activate alternative elements to build collaboration. Facilitating whole-person growth and helping build effective work-based relationships are key to high engagement and positive outcomes. In that respect, behaviour-centric identity management is a game changer from a culture of fear to a culture of trust, wellbeing, and prosperity. Question: According to you, what is the biggest challenge in building community/collaboration teams when having to deal with multigenerational groups, ie. millenials and baby boomers? There is a plethora of research into the challenges of managing an intergenerational workforce. Professor Lynda Gratton from LBS provides a comprehensive view in her book The Shift, The Future of Work is Already Here, (Gratton, 2011). Generation is one of the elements covered in the cyberIDT™. What we consider is the generational stereotypes and how they show up whether that be in a visible element of appearance through to an intangible adaptability to digital literacy. For further information see Cyberconnecting. The Three Lenses of Diversity (Abraham 2015:124-126). Some key insights Gen Baby boomers:
Some key insights Gen X:
Some key insights Gen Y:
Some key insights Gen Z:
In response to your question, we see two big challenges:
Question: We make assumptions about colleagues need for inclusion maybe? What can we do to find our colleagues need for inclusion ... is it as simple as extraversion vs introversion but both types may have a need to be included? Inclusion is a multidimensional concept. As a psychological concept we understand introversion and extraversion as a preference of where an individual gains energy to carry out a particular task. For an introvert this may be more often seeking quiet thinking time and for extroverts this is likely to be seeking an audience to brainstorm. It is important to highlight that this is a preference. Individuals approach tasks using a range of introvert/extrovert thinking. On the other hand, inclusion and exclusion are concepts that concern well-being.
To address inclusion in the workplace we need to consider the purpose, the method as well as the psychological impact. A good reference on all types of inclusion in the workplace, including digital inclusion and flow of information can be found in Cyberconnecting. The Three Lenses of Diversity (Abraham 2015:14-155) Practical tips on how to build a culture of excellence and innovationThis blog covers some practical tips on how to build a culture of excellence and innovation. Specifically, it covers the questions on the application of behaviour-centric identity management you asked during the Cyberconnecting webinar hosted by Rob Llewellyn of CXO Transform. In addition, we respond to the questions that remained unanswered in the live session. Please feel free to use the Comment section below for further questions and comments. Question: Do you have any examples where identity management was used to improve project work team performance? How was it set up? Yes, this example takes the concept of behaviour-centric identity from initial enquiry through to improved business outcome. Inquiry The inquiry came from a tech startup (post venture capital investment stage). At the time of the inquiry team members already used agile methodologies. However, a conversation with one of the investors showed a high level of dissatisfaction with the team performance. The initial needs analysis with the team members was conducted through virtual semi-structured interviews. A ‘before – after’ evaluation illustrated the changes to all stakeholders. Setup We used a staged approach:
Performance improvement
Overall, there was an improvement of transferable skills such as the introduction of coaching methodologies, use of feedback loops, the adoption of active listening skills, all necessary for improved future project performance. Question: These are brilliant concepts for large companies and projects. Is there a lower limit on how small a company or project can be and still benefit from them? There is no lower limit - sole entrepreneurs and small teams can immediately benefit from behaviour-centric identity management. Specifically, for the benefit of:
In larger organisations we typically start with a pilot project consisting of a:
Introducing new concepts can be challenging. Whilst the need for behaviour-centric management is clearly understood for successful digital transformation, its implementation is often delayed for reasons of lack of experience, fear of failure, and siloed setups, hence our introductory decision-maker package. With individuals and teams as ambassadors and with a clear action plan in place, it is feasible to successfully embed these practices as part of your digital transformation programme. Question: How to persuade senior managers to adopt agile across the organisation? Scaling agile across the organisation is an iterative process well beyond the IT function. In more traditional organisational settings, the buy-in of senior management happens by the display of excellence and innovation at team level. This in turn, is shown by observable behaviours, delivered through behaviour-centric identity management. The understanding of personal identity provided through feedback, scaled to team level helps teams develop a strong team identity necessary in a network of culture. The sum of the team cultures results in an agile company culture. The measurement of the ROI for pilot projects help deliver the message needed for senior management: reduced delivery time, and the measurable increase of customer satisfaction. Question: Should a business hire a psychologist for identity management?
Question: How to avoid stealing your idea which has Patent Potential during teamwork? Your question on 'How to avoid stealing your idea which has Patent Potential during teamwork' is of particular interest:
If you have any specific questions, please contact us or use comment box. The next blog will cover the psychological aspects from the list of questions.
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February 2019
P.E. AbrahamDigital transformation advisor | Privacy expert | Cyber anthropologist | Author Categories
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