Cyberconnecting
  • Cyberpower Resources
  • Cyberpower Webinars
  • Blog

Cyberconnecting Webinar - Q&A - Part 2

3/19/2017

 
By Priya E. Abraham and Natalie Aris Jones
The psychological aspects of identity management
Picture
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.
Picture

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.
Picture

​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:
  • born between 1944 and 1964
  • often characterised as workaholics with a number of career paths pursued mostly in one company
  • their socialisation happens in face-to-face space and their presence on social media platforms is minor; the preferred digital communication is still email

Some key insights Gen X:
  • 74% of Gen Xers agree with “hard work is the key to getting ahead”
  • Gen X respondents ranked workplace flexibility as the most important perk
  • 74% use the internet banking, 72% use the internet to research products or companies, and 81% have made purchases online
  • Gen X has highest % of multi-platform users (82%), so optimisation is key
  • some of the most influential products of Gen X - YouTube, Amazon, Google, MySpace

Some key insights Gen Y:
  • also known as the ‘millennials’, who wish to work for organisations that foster innovative thinking, develop their skills and make a positive contribution to society
  • tech-savvy, greatly ambitious, in love with change; armed with smartphones, laptops, and other gadgets; many are globally connected 24/7
  • much more racially and ethnically diverse due to their online approach to life

Some key insights Gen Z:
  • Also known as the digital  natives’. Born after 1990, they are just about to attend university or enter the world of work; by 2020, they’ll make up a staggering 40% of all consumers
  • ready to transform the ways we socialise, shop, work and bring out their inner selves
  • Gen Z is all about collaboration and loves digital video on platforms like YouTube and Facebook more than TV and cinema

In response to your question, we see two big challenges:
  1. The diversity in preferred digital interaction requires a multi-channel approach to reach the different target audiences, which in turn, needs a carefully planned digital and social media strategy.
  2. In the workplace, we recommend to address potential stereotypes, and as a result, self-fulfilling prophecies that one generation holds about the other. This is essential to establish a sense of belonging to ensure true collaboration across generations.
Picture

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)
Picture

Cyberconnecting Webinar - Q&A - Part 1

3/2/2017

 
By Priya E. Abraham

Practical tips on how to build a culture of excellence and innovation​

Picture
This 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:
  1. Use of a collaboration survey, cyberIDT™, a science-backed tool for behaviour-centric identity management, designed to help people collaborate across boundaries for business excellence. Each team member completed the survey online and received their individual strength-based identity report.
  2. 1:1 (virtual) coaching sessions with each team member to identify strengths, but also development areas
  3. aggregation of individual identity profiles to team profile
  4. Series of team coaching sessions based on team profile for the benefit of change in team behaviour and subsequent performance improvement
​
Performance improvement

  • Raised understanding of client needs including user groups beyond personal issues and team profile
  • Better coordination of scope and development of “builds” (software packets) among team members - reducing overlaps caused by unnecessary competition
  • Timely delivery of “builds” and successful uploads to shared services
  • Greater customer satisfaction with MVPs, Betas, and final product
  • Increased investor satisfaction

​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:

  • Personal development
  • Cross-boundary collaboration
  • Increased cyber awareness
Picture
In larger organisations we typically start with a pilot project consisting of a:
  • decision-maker package - which includes an in-depth introduction of approach: experiencing and familiarisation with the strength-based identity management tool; and coaching on the potential use of the process for team and organisation development purpose
  • team development for small pilot team including 1:1 and team coaching

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?
  • Cyberconnecting has a science-backed tool for behaviour-centric identity management - the cyberIDT™ designed to help people collaborate across boundaries for business excellence
  • Cyberconnecting has a pool of licenced coaches to work with individuals in 1:1 (virtual) coachings and with teams in team coaching sessions for the benefit of performance improvement
  • We typically start with a pilot project for decision-makers to become familiar with the approach and to further customise the process to the specific needs of the people and the business.

​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:
  • it affects many organisations in becoming truly innovative
  • I have registered two patents myself
There are a couple of cues how to turn the potential IP theft inherent in teamwork into innovation potential, provided the right team and organisation culture and connected processes are in place. Let me have some more information on your experience with this matter, your ways of current working (e.g. waterfall vs. agile), your workplace culture and its potential to change towards an innovation culture.
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.

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    August 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    August 2016
    April 2016
    November 2015
    August 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015

    P.E. Abraham

    Digital transformation strategist | Privacy advisor | Cyber anthropologist | Author

    Categories

    All
    Change Enablement
    Change Management
    Cloud Migration
    Cloud Strategy
    Cyberconnecting
    Digital Anthropology
    Digital Strategy
    Digital Transformation
    Entrepreneurship
    Human-centric
    Innovation
    IoT
    Mobile Learning
    Organisation Development
    Value Creation

    RSS Feed

Privacy Notice
Terms of Services 
© Cyberconnecting 2021
  • Cyberpower Resources
  • Cyberpower Webinars
  • Blog