William Auvinen-Bray wrote:
> . My problem comes, when having to write a ten page paper on
> technology enhancing leadership, in thinking that technology has anything
> to do with what a leader is, or is not. They seem to be two completely
> separate thoughts
Au contraire. I would suggest starting at www.brint.com and do a lot of
reading about knowledge management techniques. Although heavily dependent
on information technologies (e.g.: Lotus Notes), this strategic direction
-- if taken by a company for the benefit of all -- is an extremely
powerful leadership direction.
In a nutshell: first there was data...not much, but enough that we piled
it into something we could retrieve and use. Then we had
information...highly organized retrival mechanisms for the data. We are
now looking at such an overwhelming volume of information that only a new
approach will help us make sense (or practical use) of this information.
Behind the apparent techno-geekiness (I say this with affection since I am
one) of knowledge management are multiple leadership and organizational
objectives, including fostering crossdivisional sharing of critical
business knowledge, increasing systems thinking and holistic understanding
of organizations by employees lower down in the organizational "food
chain," increasing innovative thinking and synergy, reducing
organizational errors that repeat themselves because employees do not
learn from each other, teamwork,...well, the list is long.
The point is that we cannot make good decisions without information. We
cannot use information if it is not relevant and easy to use. Altering
the way that an organization collects, stores, retrieves, and uses
strategic business information is a critical leadership skill for the
future (IMHO) and is inextricably tied to information technologies.
kind regards,
Vana Prewitt
Praxis Learning Systems
Chapel Hill, NC
www.PraxisLearning.org
--Vana Prewitt <vana@PraxisLearning.org>
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