Collaboration & NetZero can drive our careers forward in the New Normal.

#Melbournelockdown just keeps on biting us in the organisation's rear end, and while businesses continue to pivot, some are sadly shutting down. I can't help but ponder that if we transformed to digital (work from home) overnight, why can't we do this across all facets of business?

This HBR article on Getting A.I to SCALE has a compelling framework that I think all businesses should be applying. Whether it is the "digital transformation", "innovation", "people, culture & change", "sustainability", "PMO" or "CTO office", this 4-stage model of scaling change is a great way to start smarter!

The advice from the authors, Tim Fountaine, Brian McCarthy and Tanim Saleh is, "Don’t try to change everything at once, but do begin with something important". 

These 4 stages of SCALE will hold you in good stead for any change:

1. Step 1: Set the Strategy (At IdeaScale, this is the problem statement for an open innovation challenge)
2. Step 2: Structure the Team (IdeaScale's Build Team stage gate can set interdepartmental team members i.e. 1 - idea submitter, 2 - tech leader, 3 - sustainability leader, 4 - Project Manager)
3. Step 3: Reimagine Business as Usual (ideate on the problem or apply a lean canvas / CO-STAR (check out Silicon Valley's innovation prodigy Laszlo Gyorffy's proven innovation model) in a refine stage gate)
4. Step 4: Adapt for Organisational and Technological Change (Build the Proof of Concept, POC, in an 'experiment canvas', then execute the plan)

As a leader in tech nowadays having been an entrepreneur for one decade across multiple businesses, all involving sustainability, carbon markets, innovation and renewables, I know that if we get more sustainability leaders and technology leaders working together in Step 2: structure the team, we will get compounding results. The power of exponential impact; emerging technologies can scale impact. And step 1 - set the strategy is ultimately the ESG and sustainability leaders that have their finger on the pulse closest when it comes to the problem statements, so it's time that technology, innovation and sustainability teams become more interconnected.

Operating in silos has always been a challenge, we often stick to our swim lanes or the same tram lines, yet we hope we will get better results. It can be a slog doing things in straight lines, so it's time to move laterally. If you want to accelerate your career to become a great leader, you must ask yourself,

How might I take my career to operate vertically to go horizontally upwards?

What I mean by this, is that to build a social and trusted network across the organisation and/or your industry is how that social capital becomes your weapon to action. All organisations reward the employees who Get Sh!t Done.

Being adaptive during this reboot into the New Normal, I have found that connecting the technology and innovation leaders, with the sustainability and impact leaders, we can reconnect the dots on the vision. We can better realise how we can best compete and to keep our finger on the pulse of the disruptive threats of some of the technology fast paced players emerging. If we embrace the disruption by engaging with technology, then we can also collaborate with the emerging startups.

Why don't you connect with your CTO office to identify if the organisation has conducted Proof of Concepts (POCs) with startups, and if not, ask why not? They are more agile and can solve your organisational big challenges faster.

Why not reach out to your sustainability leaders and ask if the organisation has a defined commitment to NetZero? When 84% of Australians are seeking action on climate change, this could be the single most compelling focus towards talent acquisition and employee engagement! Why not ask about your organisation's commitment to the SDGs (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals), and how might we build a more bullet-proof values based culture that is proud of our purpose?

My advice is to lean in to technology and lean in to sustainability. Often not in the same room, why don't you instigate a meeting to connect the dots? Think SCALE, think IMPACT. If you do this, I think your horizontal upwards career progress is just a matter of time!

What is your company doing in regards to sustainability and technology teams collaboration on projects and initiatives?