Technology enhances leadership
Sherwood. Park, Alberta
Relationships are both richer and poorer because of today’s use of technology. Real life experiences can be accelerated through effective use of the digital space. There is not a single relationship in my life that is not impacted by the affect of technology. These are some of the ways your learning is impacted.
Share your experiences
We have the ability to communicate quickly with powerful visuals, enabling us to share our experiences with one another. I can share an experience with people from anywhere in the world by sending videos and pictures to people in real time. We have an ability to have a quick response from someone whom it could take weeks to connect with.
Receive information how you like it
The ability to broadcast in multiple mediums to a select and vast number of people is something that has had a most profound impact on our culture and how we learn. Communication is delivered in a multi-media format. Communication takes place in the form of long and short articles, varying lengths and style of video, single images for social media and platforms where one can commentate. The initial news bulletin typically comes out through social media and then is refined and polished by news organizations after many have already received the news.
In personal and corporate communication, we can have immediate access to perspectives that previously could never have been received.
Learn like never before
The information that is available makes it easier to learn more in a faster way than ever before. In everything we experience, we can learn more by doing immediate research on our smart phones. We have access to books and media as never before. We are richer than ever in having the best visuals, the best information and the most intelligent people to discuss these matters with.
The lost art of focus
Such a vast amount of information and media fills us to capacity and more. The issues our culture are now dealing with is how to process and focus when there is so much information. In my daughter’s school, it is required for every student to have a laptop during class. All the textbooks are online and all assignments are online. This is of great advantage to the learning experience. The downside is that there are endless apps and communication methods that completely distract the students and are entirely unmanageable by the teachers. No amount of blockers in the system can shut down the many ways of communication and the teachers have a difficult time patrolling the environment. Students go home to do their homework with multiple windows open to communicate with their friends; a movie in a small screen in the corner and focus is nearly a lost art.
Guard your relationships
Relationships are often robbed of the focus and depth that is often needed and craved. People are communicating with each other, while communicating with often many others at the same time. It’s difficult for people to feel like they matter most. Smart phones leverage and influence everything that we do. Take time to show the people you work with and in your life that they matter to you. Give them your focus. Your focus may involve sharing technology with them as you learn and experience life together.
Make it work for you
As a leader, you have possibilities that were unheard of even a decade ago. You can market, broadcast, engage and have an impact on niche markets. You can quickly discover where you are able to make a difference and in a timely manner touch the people’s lives you are called to. Harness the way you receive information and the way you communicate. As a leader of a creative media company, I can use compelling visuals and communicate through niche networks in a powerful way. I can be closer networked to the people in my life. All of this is powerful if I remember to make the people I’m communicating with, the most important person in my life at that moment.
Technology will enhance leadership, learning and your relationships when you embrace the power of focus.