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Management Tip: The (Surprising) Trouble With Technology

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While it's of course a foregone conclusion that technology has been a boon to management, the somewhat surprising reality is that it can cause management problems too.

These were the findings of a new management survey from Randstad US, which examines the impact of technology in the workplace.

From a management perspective, there are three main issues I felt the study raised. When you think about these issues, they're actually not too surprising; they're natural unintended consequences of using tools that have tremendous benefits but actually dull some of our managerial instincts. If we're not careful.

Let's consider three key findings.

The use of digital communications to handle conflict. Instead of managing the conflict in person, or at least by phone. This is a substantive issue. In the survey, 56% of managers said they use digital methods to deal with work conflicts "instead of discussing the situation in person or over the phone." Effectively resolving conflict is arguably one of the most important (and least pleasant) leadership skills. If we don't occasionally exercise our conflict-resolution muscles, they won't be strong. And conflict-avoidance is an entirely natural but unproductive management (and human) tendency. By hiding behind emails or texts to address problems, you're not only partly shirking your job as a manager, but you're also missing the potentially productive conversational give-and-take that can occur during a serious emotional discussion.

It encourages immediate action over more strategic thinking. Again, not overly surprising when you think of how technology can influence behavior. With a few clicks it's all too easy to send a message out, or back. Not exactly a lot of time for thoughtful reflection. According to the study, 79% of managers feel technology "encourages immediate action." While a bias toward action can often be a good thing in management, too much of it without much thought behind it isn't optimal either. I know in my years in corporate management I felt pressure (sometimes that I placed on myself) to respond to messages by the end of the day. I'd often zip through emails and voicemails just to "clear the decks." Were my responses very "strategic"? Well, I'm sure they occasionally were. But one thing they almost always were? Fast.

Personal use at work. Last but not least - and this is less an issue of dulling management instincts than of creating problems (temptations?) for management to deal with. Nearly half (47%) of Gen Z survey respondents admit to texting in meetings, and 60% of Gen Z respondents say they "use technology for personal reasons during the workday" (compared to 22% of Baby Boomers). In other words, these are potential productivity problems that management has to be diligently vigilant about, and have proper monitoring capabilities in place. I well remember a circumstance from back in my corporate days when a bright young employee whom I quite liked in a nearby department was found to have made something like 25,000 non-business website visits over a several-month span. As I recall, he was quickly shown the door.

All I can say about this last one is: Yikes!

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