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Angela Schucharts career is evenly divided between customer account management and operational finance leadership. For 20 years, she has led enterprise-level processes and change with ownership of the functional strategy and operational teams. She recently Completed her Chief Digital Officer Executive Education through Kellogg School of Business. In her current position as VP of Finance Digital Transformation at US Venture, she leads strategic teams establishing next generation data and emergent technologies.
Leading workplace productivity in 2024 presents a lottery of technological opportunities. These advancements have increasingly automated decision-making to accelerate change. Angela Schuchart is driven to unfold the diverse facets of digital reforms and guide a new generation of leaders. She emphasizes the significance of working with a growth mindset to nurture this transformation. Discovering the possibilities in automation Like everyone else, I am interested in Generative AI (GenAI). At the same time, I think citizen development (desktop automation) tools are a hidden opportunity. GenAI is the cutting-edge, hype cycle, a new thing for me to figure out. What is it, how does it work, how might I apply it and what actual business value can I capture through adoption? Im in learn mode and need to go slow to understand the risks and potential before leading any sort of scaled implementation. Desktop automation technologies like Microsoft’s Power Platform are the opposite. Generally, they are low risk and easier to understand but possess the incredible potential to create a “self-serve” approach to solve that “long tail” of efficiency opportunities that exist in the everyday work happening in my organization. Seamlessly advancing operations Avoid jumping to solutions before clearly defining the problem. Technology in general might not be the best answer. Take some time to interview the stakeholders and understand what they are trying to solve. Watch the existing process and gather some information about the current paradigm. Are there key performance indicators (KPI) that would give you a definition of the starting point? Often, I find that there is a simpler answer or that the problem extends before or after their particular siloed view. “We believe, implementing change requires a clear vision and defining success helps align the stakeholders and garner resources. It also helps us be agile yet focused” Move into ‘solution design’ or ‘art of the possible’ when you have a good understanding of prioritized requirements. I always start by looking at my current platform – can my enterprise resource planning (ERP) solve this need? What about one of my existing technical providers? Answers to these questions entail the know-how of the current technical platform, its costs and capabilities. Only once those avenues are exhausted do I look to build, buy or partner to adopt a new technology. Digital transformation through clear strategies Recently, my team implemented our first GenAI product. We believe, that implementing change requires a clear vision and defining success helps align the stakeholders and garner resources. It also helps us be agile yet focused. This is a creative space that can bloom into an opportunity for scope creep. Having a clear return on investment (ROI) and a definite criterion of success becomes the compass for decisions along the way. A growth mindset was critical – I chose our first use case in a team displaying the resiliency and tenacity necessary for going first. We were going to fail, we were going to make mistakes, we were going to learn. And at the end, these were going to be the leaders helping me bring all of that experience to lead success in our next use case. Their dedication, creativity and leadership were incredible and critical to our success. Navigating innovation for sustainable business value Embrace failure! When charting a new path, you cannot know the way, and that is okay. Failure, sometimes visible, is expected. You have to get comfortable with it. More so, to create a culture of innovation, you have to encourage and foster it in others. Cultivate a growth mindset. A fixed mindset is a belief that your talents and abilities are innate and unchangeable. A growth mindset is the belief that you can improve through learning and effort. A growth mindset is critical for innovation so that you embrace new challenges and persist during times of learning Welcome change and uncertainty. This path is not clear. There are no right answers and the bullseye is moving. You will need to be adept in responding to changing situations and expectations and to cope with ambiguity and complexity. Resilience, agility and flexibility are key to innovation and transformation. Take some time to learn about your style as well as change management concepts. Invest in building a network. Phoning a friend who has ‘been there and done that’ is often the fastest path to success. Do not approach building your network with the intent of “I will call that person for this.” Look for diversity in experiences and education and people that you genuinely ‘connect’ with personally. The easiest connections to build and maintain are the ones that you give and get from naturally.