I still remember the first time my mom asked “Diana, what do you think?” as they were discussing something important at the big family “grownups table”.

I paused for what seemed like a lifetime of a second, not deciding if I was feeling surprised or confused or scared of what they’d do with my childish thoughts, and said my opinion. They weighed both sides of it and involved me for the rest of the debate, and yes, some of my suggestions were taken seriously. I felt like an adult, and I tried to think up to it, imperfectly logically. I felt like I could make mature decisions if I put my mind to use. But how is this related to the subject?

Transformation potential, both in Digital and Talent.

When I see now companies talking about employees and the way they should be treated and involved to make Digital Transformation (DX) a success, I always go back to that moment. We’re successfully democratising technology, but we’re overlooking the power of democratising being people with rights and choices. That was the very origin of democracy itself anyways.

At the age of 4IR, Agenda 2030 and net-zero economy, we needed to shift our economic system to provide the right framework of making business, and rightfully we came up with the Stakeholder Capitalism. While there are many great articles and executive reports published on how to include people at all levels of an organisation for an efficient DX execution, I have trouble with something more fundamental. How are we discussing Stakeholder Capitalism when we still see our people a certain way and don’t trust their judgement completely?

We talk about upskilling and reskilling, but we forget the present, what we have now and how to get to that point with the people we have. We are making that strategy on an amazing belief: that skills are fluid and what matters is the attitude and drive, still we operate by skills.

1) There’s a reason why people are part of your team, and it says more about your decision-making than theirs.

We all have our hiring criteria, and they are holy. We revise and measure their efficiency, but we do have a process and standards we set. There are of course reasons and cases when a perfect candidate doesn’t fit the company after some time, but continuing to have them be part of our team is a choice too, our choice.

DX is not a nice-to-have set of latest tools and tech; it’s a whole transformation to keep us relevant or reinvent us as a business to be able to offer all the other Xs to our clients. If we can’t trust our people enough to make them part of such an important endeavour that needs our best effort to go towards a common purpose, then we are holding ourselves back.

That should be our DNA as a business, and it’s a DNA of choice.

2) Giving people a microphone makes them mind their voice.

We are wired to matter, to speak words of change and be heard. Yet, most times we behave as big as we are expected and believed to be. We fill a mould that is perceived to be us in every environment we are in. That’s where we default to, unfortunately or not.

If we amplify our voices and tell them that they matter, we are more likely to rise to that and not let down, be it ourselves or others that believed in us. What we say becomes a medium that represents all we are and what we have been preparing to be. And we are wired to matter.

3) It makes people be part of the bigger vision and understand why individual decisions are made or not.

No one likes to work for something they don’t understand or see how great it will be. We want to belong to success, to something bigger than us. Sometimes that might mean choices that are not the best for now but will be fruitful in the long run; still, you want to understand. You want to be part of that decision-making, even if it is just giving your opinion.

One of my physics professors once said: The learning process doesn’t stop at the exam day. He’d grade our exams in our presence and ask us during that. He’d see how we came to that solution and we’d see how he evaluated our solutions. It was lengthy and tiring, but so efficient. He didn’t have to do it, but the vision and passion for physics and knowledge became contagious. We didn’t learn just physics in that class. And we became greater each time.

4) When you start driving, you gain so much respect for drivers.

Take that literally, too. Driving manual on a tricky, uncertain territory, endlessly, and with not so much good rest or sleep. Try taking the wheel, and you’ll see the road more clearly and understand better. Being an active part and working closely with people that are leading DX, certainly makes you feel some of their challenges too.

Last week I asked two of my team members what they’d do with the company if they had my position and authority for two days. Deep thoughts came out, and of course, we all learnt a thing or two.

No matter the position of a person in any organisation, we rely on them being accountable and responsible for giving their best contribution to the whole team, aka their job. Yet, people in some roles feel the impact of their work not being as significant as a leader’s. So give them that taste and importance.

5) Stakeholder Capitalism and employees.

The new economic system intends to move the attention from shareholders to all the involved stakeholders. DX puts a good share of focus on customers, and often only sees employees related to the effects it will have on their jobs. If we want to consider them an agent when making decisions, the easiest way to do it efficiently is by making them part of the decision-making process.

We can’t know what we don’t know, and our efforts put on figuring it out ourselves, can be better used if we just ask.

As a result, this often will give us a fresher perspective on the challenges we are facing. Moreover, the simplicity of the more junior mind that isn’t introduced with inevitable failures yet adds a sophisticated level of creativity that just is a breeze of fresh air for the overtrained mind that knows better.

Don’t get me wrong; this is not a recipe for perfection. People make mistakes, things don’t go their best way, and of course, there’s a high risk coming with it, especially when the stakes are high. You’ll wonder if you’ve got the right people or if they are ready. But at times, we even doubt ourselves if we are prepared to or doing our best for the next challenge.

That’s because of the new opportunities and uncharted waters, and mostly it means growth.

Sometimes we forget that we are people too and use that term like referring to another species.

Our people are our biggest asset and one of the few capitals in shortage, so the only way to make it more valuable is by raising them. And sometimes the quickest way to do that is changing their mindset by making them feel like grownups first. One day they will so let’s start exercising that sooner.

I’m sure my family didn’t choose me from an endless pile of applications, and I’m sure they didn’t interview me against many more qualified others or had the option to stop working with me for that matter. But hey, it turned out pretty good.