Speaker 1: Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of
Speaker 1: performance through strong human relations, team building, and GOLA giving.
Speaker 1: This is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host
Speaker 1: Paul Fellovaledo.
Speaker 2: Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast.
Speaker 2: It's episode six point fifty six. Today we're talking about
Speaker 2: something every leader is dealing with right now. New technology,
Speaker 2: AI tools, automation, new software platforms, digital dashboards, communication tools,
Speaker 2: project management systems, data analytics, and about one thousand other
Speaker 2: shiny things that promise to make your organization faster, smarter,
Speaker 2: and more efficient. Technology is moving at a speed that
Speaker 2: makes most of us feel like we're drinking from a
Speaker 2: fire hose. But here's the problem nobody talks about. Technology
Speaker 2: does not slow down your work. It slows down your people,
Speaker 2: and if you're not careful, it can destroy your momentum.
Speaker 2: So let me explain this. Leaders often fall into a
Speaker 2: trap when new technology arrives. They assume the technology itself
Speaker 2: creates progress. They assume installing the system means the work
Speaker 2: is done. But technology adoption is not a software project.
Speaker 2: It is a leadership project, and that distinction matters. I
Speaker 2: have seen organizations install five new systems in a single year.
Speaker 2: HR software scheduling, software, communication platforms, CRM systems, data dashboards,
Speaker 2: all of it. Every single one of them promised efficiency.
Speaker 2: Every single one of them slowed the organization down. Why
Speaker 2: because momentum was lost. Your team one already has a rhythm,
Speaker 2: a pace away. Work moves through the system, Calls get answered,
Speaker 2: orders get filled, customers get helped, projects move forward. And
Speaker 2: then a leader walks in and says, good news, everyone,
Speaker 2: We're implementing a new platform. And now people stop, They
Speaker 2: ask questions, they hesitate, they click the wrong buttons, they
Speaker 2: wonder if they're doing it correctly, and the speed of
Speaker 2: the organization drops, and sometimes it drops dramatically. And this
Speaker 2: is where leadership matters, because integrating technology is not about
Speaker 2: installing tools. It's about protecting momentum while the tools come online.
Speaker 2: The best leaders approach new technology with three simple principles. First,
Speaker 2: protect the mission. Your organization exists to do something, serve customers,
Speaker 2: save lives, deliver a product, or solve a problem. That
Speaker 2: mission cannot pause while everyone learns a new app. The
Speaker 2: mission stays in motion. Technology must fit into the mission,
Speaker 2: not interrupt it. If your technology rollout slows down the
Speaker 2: work that matters most. You did not implement technology, you
Speaker 2: introduced friction. Second, leaders control the pace. One of the
Speaker 2: fastest ways to destroy momentum is by introducing too much
Speaker 2: technology at the same time. New scheduling system, new reporting platform,
Speaker 2: new communication tool, new AI assistant, new inventory system. Your
Speaker 2: team doesn't need five new systems at once. They need clarity.
Speaker 2: Smart leaders stagger adoption one tool, learn it, stabilize it,
Speaker 2: and then move to the next. Momentum stays intact because
Speaker 2: the learning curve is controlled. Third, leaders remove the fear.
Speaker 2: When new technology appears, employees immediately start asking silent questions.
Speaker 2: Am I going to look stupid using this? What if
Speaker 2: I break something? Is this replacing my job? Will leadership
Speaker 2: judge me if I struggle with it? Fear kills momentum
Speaker 2: faster than complexity. Great leaders normalize the learning curve. They
Speaker 2: say things like this, we are learning this together. Mistakes
Speaker 2: are part of the process. Ask questions early. No one
Speaker 2: is expected to master this overnight, and that message alone
Speaker 2: can restore half the momentum that fear steals. There is
Speaker 2: another mistake leaders make when introducing technology. They sell the features.
Speaker 2: Features don't motivate people. Impact does Nobody cares about advanced
Speaker 2: data integration. Nobody wakes up excited about improved workflow architecture.
Speaker 2: People care about what the tool app actually improves. Does
Speaker 2: it save time, does it remove frustration? Does it help
Speaker 2: them do their job better. Leaders who explain the benefit
Speaker 2: create buy in. Leaders who explain the features create confusion.
Speaker 2: There's a deep leadership lesson here. Technology does not build
Speaker 2: momentum people do. Your organization runs on human confidence. When
Speaker 2: people feel capable, they move faster. When people feel uncertain,
Speaker 2: they slow down. When leaders protect confidence, momentum survives. That
Speaker 2: is why the most effective leaders introduce technology in the field,
Speaker 2: not from the conference room. They sit next to employees,
Speaker 2: They test the system in real work. They ask what
Speaker 2: is confusing, They identify where the tool slows people down,
Speaker 2: and then they adjust. Technology should bend to reality. Reality
Speaker 2: should not bend to technology. And here's another truth. Leaders
Speaker 2: must understand some technology will fail, not every system will
Speaker 2: be worth the hype, not every platform will survive. And
Speaker 2: when something doesn't work, leaders must act quickly kill it.
Speaker 2: Do not drag your organization through six months of frustration
Speaker 2: trying to force a bad system to succeed. Momentum matters
Speaker 2: more than pride. The best leaders I know treat technology
Speaker 2: like equipment, not a religion. If the tool works, keep it.
Speaker 2: If the tool slows the mission, replace it. It's just
Speaker 2: that simple, because at the end of the day, the
Speaker 2: goal of leadership is not to have the newest technology.
Speaker 2: The goal is to move the organization forward. That forward
Speaker 2: motion is your momentum, and momentum is fragile. It's built
Speaker 2: through confidence, clarity, trust, and repetition. Technology should strengthen those things,
Speaker 2: never weaken them. So the next time a new platform
Speaker 2: lands on your desk, do not ask one question. Do
Speaker 2: not ask what can this tool? Do ask the leadership question,
Speaker 2: will this help my people move faster? If the answer
Speaker 2: is yes, introduce it carefully and lead the learning. If
Speaker 2: the answer is no, protect your momentum because progress does
Speaker 2: not come from installing tools. It comes from leading people.
Speaker 2: And when leaders get that right, technology becomes an accelerator
Speaker 2: instead of an anchor. So as leaders, our job is
Speaker 2: not to chase every new system that shows up on
Speaker 2: the marketplace. Our job is to guide our teams forward
Speaker 2: without losing the rhythm of the work that matters the most.
Speaker 2: Introduce technology wisely, protect your team's confidence and always guard
Speaker 2: the most momentum that keeps your organization moving forward, because
Speaker 2: that is leadership in the modern era. This has been
Speaker 2: the seven minute Leadership podcast and I thank you for listening.
Speaker 1: For more Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot com.