Is Technology Undermining Your Ability to Be a Great Leader?

Technology brings us so many great things. It brings us the ability to access information quicker than we have ever done in the past. My daughter is studying the presidents in school so I asked her who the 13th president was. I fully expected her to recite the answer right then and there, but I was quickly taught that there’s no need to waste the space on the mind’s hard drive when you can access that information online in less than 3 seconds

Even my 92-year-old father, who emails and is on Facebook, said last Thanksgiving as he blessed the family meal, “Dear Lord, I am so thankful I lived long enough to experience the Internet.”

Technology allows us to respond to people in a way that we would never respond if we were meeting with people in person. For example, not responding at all is much more difficult face-to-face than it is over email or text. Also, people are willing to say things in a written email–emphasized with all caps, highlighted in red–that they would never say in person.

When used effectively, technology can enhance your success as a leader, and, when used ineffectively, technology can undermine your success as a leader. When should you come out from behind the veil of technology?

1. When dealing with difficult topics or conflict. When conflict is involved, the best thing you can do is meet face-to-face. If that’s not possible, schedule a conference call and talk to the person over the phone. As consultants, we make a good portion of our living by people who refuse to deal with the conflict head on and instead, send an email and copy numerous people so they can also be involved and enjoy the turmoil.
2. When it’s a leadership issue. Any time you need to talk with one of your direct reports about topics such as:
   • Professional growth and development
   • Performance reviews
   • Coaching and counseling
   • Significant changes in the job or reporting structure
   • When your direct report is not aware of a concern you might have
3. In meetings. Whether they’re one-on-one or team meetings, do your best to keep your devices out of your view and only answer crucial calls, texts, or emails. Sitting there with your face in your phone doesn’t portray a professional or respectful image.
4. When you need to focus. Many smart phone apps come with settings to automatically alert you when you have a new notification: a Facebook tag, a retweet, or maybe even a Candy Crush update. These notifications are great for the app makers, but bad for you. Constantly being notified and distracted during work and even during your spare time could hamper your success. Consider this: Einstein came up with the theory of relativity while daydreaming. What if he had used up every spare minute to check his email or phone? Free up some time away from your cell phone and turn off unnecessary automatic notifications on your phone and computer so that you can have time for uninterrupted strategic thinking.
5. When others have a strong preference for face-to-face. Consider the preferences of others when communicating. Instead of using the golden rule, use Tony Alessandra’s Platinum Rule: do unto others as they would like done unto them. Basically, communicate with them, the way they seem to prefer. You can usually tell what this is by the way they communicate with you. Do they email you, walk into your office, or text you? When you’re not discussing a difficult topic or a leadership issue and can freely choose your method of communication, use the platinum rule.

To be effective as a leader, and earn followership from direct reports, you need to decide what the right way to most effectively use technology is. There is one question that’ll help you in determining the right method to communicate: If my goal is to build a relationship with a direct report who I truly care, the best way to communicate this information is ________.

In most instances, the answer is going to be face-to-face. When that’s not possible, pick up the phone and talk to them personally. If that is not possible, then get a time scheduled in the immediate future to talk.

If you don’t do this, then you’re making a decision to use technology as a leadership tool to either avoid the conflict or do the easy thing, but not the right thing. Being a leader is difficult. If it was easy, every manager would be a leader and, as a consultant, I would be unemployed. Being a leader means that you are choosing the right way to use technology, and sometimes, the right way is not easy and is definitely not convenient.