19 Nov Recap Fwd50 2023
And that’s wrap! After three incredible days at FWD50 there’s so much this conference inspired!
After day one, with so many great talks, both on the stage and informally through the great networking and coffee chats where many are able to connect across government departments and sectors, a few things were heard on repeat that I felt important to share:
1. Culture and change management – this has popped up in almost every discussion in some form or another. Advancing government modernization is as much about process and technology as it is about people, and we can’t forget to prioritize this “people” work – such as change management – if we want to see digital progress adapted and sustained long-term. I see a lot of discussion around digital talent, but let’s not forget the importance of digital strategists and enablers – like those in change management and service design – that likewise need to be at the table.
As Richard Amos shared: “People and culture are the only two things you can’t configure. Transformation requires cultural change and an enablement of staff. It also requires alignment with senior leadership and understanding by staff on how the change will impact them personally.”
In the same regard, Karen Hay also shared some great advice: “Don’t lead with technology, lead with the problem you’re trying to solve.”
This helps humanize the change and yet, so often we forget the human behind the solution we are deploying (cue the need for more stakeholder engagement before defining the solution).
2. Recruitment – there’s certainly a skills gap, and a growing leadership gap given the many retirements on the horizon. We need to do more within our own respective departments to support digital upskilling, while also aligning to some of the great work already happening, for example through TBS and CSPS’ Digital Academy. But it’s not just about acquiring the talent, it’s about retaining it and if we don’t modernize how we recruit and develop our talent, we’ll constantly be facing a retention issue in competition with others who require the same skills within government and outside of it. This means not only modernizing how we recruit talent but how we work.
Sean Boots shared some great examples of “radical changes” that really weren’t so radical, including simply allowing people to be hired and able to work from anywhere or having the modern tools needed to do their job. These are not radical demands, it’s really the future of work that we are failing to catch up to. If our workforce can’t catch up, our legacy systems will likewise struggle given the resource constraints this may impose to modernize them
3. Networking – If you think networking is not important, you’re wrong … and we need to do more of it in government. Collaboration came up as another important enabler. Too often we are caught reinventing the wheel, or not leveraging the knowledge of our counterparts across government. We need to be able to harness this shared knowledge better and networking can help achieve that, especially in a hybrid world.
By day three, you could tell the audience was inspired, ready to go back to their respective departments to enable the change we all hoped to see.
As I sat with all that I learned, reflecting on all those I met and all the conversations we shared, I did want to share a really important topic that came up all week but was really highlighted well on our last day together.
Working in digital transformation the past five years, having attended conference after conference, and speaking with others working in similar spaces across government over the years, something that Honey Dacanay shared today really stood out to me:
“We are stuck in a conversational loop when it comes to digital transformation.”
But why is that and how do we move past talking about transformation to achieving it.
(Head over to FWD50’s platform to find Honey’s talk in case you missed it.)
From my standpoint, given my work in change management and service design, this loop likely exists from a combination of factors. Resistance to change, uncertainty about the future, and a lack of alignment on strategic goals often contribute to us revisiting the same topics when it comes to transformation. One thing that stood out all conference was the need for cultural change. But it’s often the elephant in the room no one wants to address. So while systemic issues persist, we wonder why we keep circling on the same observations and topics year after year. Overcoming these challenges requires fostering a culture of adaptability, open dialogue, and clear communication. And truthfully, what I heard this week is that we need the right leaders in government to help foster that. Unlike traditional leaders, we need leaders who can not only navigate complex regulatory landscapes and address bureaucratic hurdles, but more important than ever, we need leaders who inspire change in large, often risk-averse organizations. These are the people that will inspire action in your organizations, that will help retain talent, and maybe just maybe break the conversation loop on digital transformation.
If I learned anything this week – and I learned a lot – it’s that digital transformation leaders need to embrace innovation, leverage technology strategically, and prioritize data-driven decision-making. Their ability to foster cross-functional collaboration and communicate a compelling vision is crucial for overcoming resistance and driving meaningful change. Essentially, they need to be catalysts for a cultural shift towards agility and innovation within the government sector.
But we’re not doing enough to empower these leaders that already exist in the system. These are the round pegs in the square holes that will leave governemnt if we don’t start retaining and developing them into the leaders Canada needs to deliver better.
The truth is, we can’t ignore this need and the longer we do, the more talent we’ll lose, the less transformation we’ll accomplish, and this time next year we’ll be talking about the same things instead of celebrating the much needed change needed to deliver better services and experiences to Canadians.
I also just wanted to give a special thanks to all the incredible individuals I had the privilege to connect with this week. Your diverse perspectives and shared insights not only added depth to the conversations but also helped fill my cup with so much inspiration. You are the reason I believe our future CAN be bright.
Also a very big thank you to the FWD50 team, especially Rebecca Croll and Alistair Croll , who placed their trust in me to help host this incredible conference! I love being part of the Industry Innovation stage each year!
Digital transformation is hard. Those of us working in it, know it, those likely working outside of it underestimate it. But together, when you fill a room with people who get it, and even those who want to get it, we can catalyze the change necessary to deliver solutions that truly make a difference for Canadians. And that’s the best takeaway of all from this conference!
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