Three Reasons Tech Leaders Should Also Act As Educators
Too often at tech companies, team members who actually build the brand’s products and services wind up siloed from the full business. This is not because their contributions aren’t valued; rather, there’s a misperception that the work developers and engineers do is too technical or “in the weeds” for employees in other departments to understand. While today’s tech solutions are quite complex, at minimum, every employee should have an “elevator pitch” level of knowledge about the company’s mission and how its products and services benefit customers. The question then becomes, “How do we engage and educate our employees?”—which is tricky at startups, as team members wear many hats and time is a limited commodity.
Something my company has found effective is integrating education into existing meetings. Recently, we’ve dedicated a portion of our regular all-staffs to a series called “Artificial Intelligence Explained.” While this initiative supports our employees’ development, it also fuels a deeper understanding of the AI landscape for our buyers and, ultimately, society. In the following paragraphs, I’ll dig into each of these areas and why tech leaders should act as educators.
The goal of the “AI Explained” series is to arm our employees with foundational knowledge about the industry and how our company’s solutions fit in. We discuss various topics, ranging from simply defining artificial intelligence and machine learning to reviewing the intricacies of healthcare data. It’s not a lecture but rather a conversation, and there are no “dumb questions.”
This initiative is particularly important to me because of the culture my co-founder and I have intentionally built. We’re an inclusive company that values outside perspectives. That means that some of our employees may not have healthcare expertise; others may lack experience with AI and automation. In recruiting, we prioritize intellectual curiosity, prior experience that translates and, above all, analytical thinking. We’re fully confident in our team’s ability to look under the hood and gain a deep understanding of both our business and industry.
Everyone who joins the company plays a key role in fulfilling our mission, regardless of their title and department. Our employees give a lot, and in return, it’s important they are supported in their learning efforts. Ongoing education is engrained in the company culture, and because of that, we watch our employees grow into company ambassadors and get stronger over time.
Reason 2: Help clients understand what they’re purchasing and up-level the industry.
My company sits at the intersection of two spaces that are complex and rife with jargon—healthcare and AI. Even tech vendors with the best intentions can unintentionally confuse prospects with overuse of “insider speak,” preventing buyers from getting a 360-degree view of the tech solutions that address their problems.
