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How to educate your tech staff to look beyond tech

Writer's picture: Carsten LeyCarsten Ley

Educating your tech staff to look beyond tech is crucial for fostering innovation, improving problem-solving skills, and creating a more well-rounded and effective team. As a keynote speaker on the Vietnam Mobile Summit, I highlighted which areas make your tech staff future proof.


Content

  • Learning Approach for Tech Staff

  • Focus on the big picture

  • Focus on human skills to distinguish yourself

  • Look at exiting new roles in and beyond Tech


Learning Approach for Tech Staff


1. Encourage a Growth Mindset:

  • Emphasize the value of continuous learning: Encourage staff to explore areas outside their technical expertise, such as business, design, or social sciences.

  • Offer opportunities for skill development: Provide access to workshops, online courses, or conferences on non-technical topics.

  • Create a culture of curiosity: Reward experimentation and the exploration of new ideas.


2. Foster Collaboration and Communication:

  • Build cross-functional teams: Encourage collaboration between tech staff and colleagues from other departments like marketing, sales, or customer service.

  • Organize knowledge-sharing sessions: Create platforms for staff to share insights and learnings from their diverse experiences.

  • Promote active listening and empathy: Encourage staff to understand the needs and perspectives of users and stakeholders outside the tech bubble.


3. Connect Technology to Real-World Impact:

  • Highlight the purpose behind projects: Explain how the technology being developed solves real problems or improves lives.

  • Share customer stories: Share feedback and testimonials from users who have benefited from the technology.

  • Encourage community involvement: Support staff in volunteering their technical skills for social causes or non-profit organizations.


4. Develop Business Acumen:

  • Offer training on business fundamentals: Provide workshops or courses on topics like marketing, finance, or project management.

  • Involve tech staff in strategic discussions: Invite them to participate in meetings where business decisions are made.

  • Encourage them to think like entrepreneurs: Challenge them to consider the business implications of their technical choices.


5. Promote a Holistic Perspective:

  • Discuss ethical considerations: Explore the potential societal impacts of technology and encourage responsible innovation.

  • Foster cultural awareness: Help staff understand how technology affects different communities and cultures around the world.

  • Encourage creativity and critical thinking: Provide opportunities for staff to explore the intersection of technology, art, and design.


Focus on the big picture

As described in the previous chapter it is important for tech staff to get out of their comfort zone and start to see the big picture regarding the company strategy, goals and results.

Seeing the big picture
Asia PMO - Big Picture

Encourage your tech staff to develop skills and opinions about the business and get them more connected to the overall product / services or customer. This will also help to decrease the turnover rate on the tech side of your business. Furthermore it will bring more IT people into project management, product management or coordination positions in the future.


Focus on Human skills


AI informed us about the skills in which humans currently excel and will continue to do so in the future:


  • Creativity & Originality

  • Emotional Intelligence & Empathy

  • Critical Thinking

  • Complex Problem-Solving 

  • Adaptability & Flexibility

  • Moral & Ethical Reasoning

  • Consciousness & Self-Awareness


Acquiring and honing these skills ensures that our roles remain relevant in the future and are less susceptible to being automated compared to solely possessing programming abilities. Additionally, these skills are essential for assuming leadership and coordination positions within the organization.


Look at exiting new roles in and beyond Tech


The abilities listed above can open up exciting new opportunities for tech staff in positions such as:


  • Agile Lead

  • Chief of Staff

  • Product Owner

  • Product Designer

  • Scrum Master

  • Agile Coach

  • OKR Champion


For more information on this job roles please visit our homepage Asia PMO  or our Chief of Staff and OKR Champion training pages:



For more information how to educate your tech staff or to inspire your teams on a keynote speeches or workshops, please contact me directly on carsten@asiapmo.com or on our contact form.


This blog was written by Carsten Ley, Keynote Speaker, Trainer, Entrepreneur & Enabler in Customer Experience, Project & Business Transformation leading large scale project implementations in Retail, E-commerce, Banking, Consulting & Experience Management for companies like Deloitte Germany, VW Mexico, Rolls-Royce UK, Lazada Vietnam and H&M South East Asia. He founded 2018 Asia PMO, a consulting firm focussing on getting clients fast and efficient into implementation of company objectives, customer & employee experience improvements to foster a result- and team-oriented environment.

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@ 2020 by Carsten Ley

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