These are the days of immense technological change. Technology is no longer “just another investment” for organisations - it’s an entirely new way of doing business and an organisation's best chance to stay competitive in any industry. The leaders today need to consider how to incorporate advances in technology into their ongoing strategies.

FYI, there is nothing new about people making attempts to face the technology maelstrom. Technologies have always had a profound impact on the world around us. Take the music industry, in which technology enabled people to enjoy a personalised collection of tunes in their mobile phones, eliminating the need to access conventional equipment like old stereo systems, cassette tapes, and CD players.

Successful leadership is about anticipating such trends and taking corrective measures in time. It calls for leadership competencies such as innovative thinking, courage, analytical mind, experimentation, and persistence. Before you start investing in trending technologies such as social, mobile, big data and cloud computing, it’s quite important that you know how technology affects the leadership role and why leaders today should turn their attention to tech for good.

1. The need for flexibility

Technology has created levels of disruption across every industry, forcing those in leadership and management role to develop the key competencies of agile leadership. What makes an agile leader? There are basically three principle capabilities that set agile leadership apart: first, they know how to inspire, influence, and encourage collaboration. Second, they recognise change and make proper adjustments to create a balance between efficiency and innovation. And lastly, they understand how to prioritise effectively and generate reliable results.

In today's era of technology-driven disruption, agile leaders will be most successful because they will be the ones who successfully navigate shifts in the marketplace or customer needs and invest in the right technology.

2. Leading from a distance

I think we all will agree to the fact that technology is the reason why organizations can now leverage global resources. They can bring together the most talented people regardless of geographical limitations. Remote or virtual teams are in trend.

Sure, there are challenges to leaders who usually deal with face-to-face teams. But that's not a huge problem, especially with technology offering so many potential ways to overcome each challenge.

In fact, ProofHub is an all-in-one software solution for organisations and leaders who work with remote employees (and clients). It assists them to create a culture that emphasises effective collaboration and shared accountability, no matter the distance, time and language between the team(s).

Looking for the best piece of leadership advice? Here, Switch to ProofHub!

3. Influencing without authority

And here's my favourite one ... leaders who are leveraging technology today are not clung to soiled mentalities and leadership myths. They know how to influence people without authority. They take time and use technology to find a common goal, know the team, build trust between team members, and establish credibility. They appeal to emotions and influence others in such a way that people follow and act willingly instead of complying due to the authority factor.

In today’s world where volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity are continuously challenging the paradigms of leadership, leaders must align the internal rate of change with external change. They must understand that the future of leadership is all about embracing the advances in technology and using them to drive advance changes in a leadership role.

What do you think? Do you think technology is the next BIG thing every leader should be focusing on? Share your views and suggestions in the comments!

Also Read:

Author Bio:

Sandeep Kashyap is the Founder and CEO of ProofHub — a leading project management and collaboration software. He’s one person always on a lookout for innovative ideas about filling the communication gap between groups, teams, and organisations. You’ll find him saying, “Let’s go!” instead of “Go!” many times a day. That’s what makes him write about leadership in a way people are inspired to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more. For more inspirational articles follow him on Linkedin.