State Officials Speak on Leading Teams in the Era of Emerging Technologies

IT leaders from the private sector and state government discussed leadership in the era of emerging technologies at the recent Florida IT Leadership Forum* in Tallahassee earlier this week. Key points included the importance of communication, understanding user problems and leveraging technology such as AI to enhance user experiences.

The panel, moderated by Bryan Langley, senior executive adviser of Cyber Florida, included Will Armstrong, information security manager at the Agency for Health Care Administration, and Sean Maxwell, customer engineer at Google.

Both speakers stressed the vital role of trust and vulnerability in leadership and communication. Maxwell began the conversation by saying that leaders must be willing to be “vulnerable and admit when they are wrong.” He went on to explain that by fostering such a trusting environment, projects become more efficient and transparent.

Team members should feel comfortable asking questions, he said, as if “no question is inappropriate. Let that symbolize — if it is business related, you can ask a new question, because it's how we get to truth in an organization; and there are no repercussions.”

Armstrong talked about the importance of cultivating strong relationships with both end users and leadership when implementing new technology in the process.

“Making good relationships with my end users, making good relationships with my leadership and keeping their relationships is key,“ he said. “This way, I know where the solutions are that I'm going to need to leverage.”

When addressing emerging technology and the future of AI, Maxwell outlined three outcomes of effective AI implementation.

“First, it enhances the experience for constituents — the citizens,“ he said. “Second, can we empower you with the same ‘superpowers’ we possess? AI can provide valuable insights that integrate your capabilities with data. Lastly, we face a significant loss of institutional knowledge as experienced employees retire each year, and we need to address that.”

Armstrong highlighted the need of balancing technology such as AI with human needs.

“My point of view with emerging technologies is — do you understand the people that you're helping enough to help them with the technologies that are coming? That should be the question that's underlining everything; are we doing new things in a the way that helps the right people,” he said.

Both speakers agreed that effective communication and collaboration are essential for successful project planning.

Maxwell explained that understanding what technology can do for the user and meeting with them to discuss what users need technology to do for an upcoming project is key. That way, if the current technology does not allow its users to obtain what they need as a team, “maybe we can redefine the problem [we] can solve, or maybe we find the bigger problem.”

That means truly engaging with stakeholders, Armstrong said.

“You need to involve and help the people. I can’t say enough about being in touch ahead of time,” he said. “Don’t think you’re going to get to project planning, assembly, market, business unit. It’s not real. They’re too complex. They’re too good at what they do. We need to get our teams in there and involve the people at every layer.”

Overall, the discussion emphasized the importance of trust and vulnerability in leadership within the context of emerging technologies focusing on effective communication and user understanding, particularly regarding AI’s potential as well as the necessity of involving end users in project planning.

*Note: The Florida IT Leadership Forum is hosted by Government Technology, a sister publication of Industry Insider — Florida. Both are part of e.Republic.