Interview Questions and Answers
Speaker A: There are a total of 12 questions. Eleven are subject related and the twelfth one is about feedback of the interview. In the beginning may I ask you some questions about yourself, maybe your role and position that you are right now?
Speaker B: Here we are now at the University of () of Research. And since about two years; I’m responsible in the department for information technology; I’m responsible for this education.
I’m the manager of further education in the Department for technology.
Speaker A: Which industry?
Speaker B: Education industry.
Speaker A: What are your areas of experience, what do you have?
Speaker A: So I’m a lawyer specialized in Information Technology Law and data protection law. And my experience of universities is in project management, building up new educations, bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees and whatever. And then I’m part of a group from the University of Applied Science.
So all departments are involved and the group is called Creative Lab. And there we have discussed many issues about innovation, about how to what to do with the people and become innovative, and once they are innovative; what we have to do that in a ways that can be realized on an industrial way there, and also involved in research projects with space. There are so many focuses to help entrepreneurs that the innovation is not on the good idea in product. And with this product you can really earn money.
And I’ve also asked a lawyer and I have looked of projects and questions in the field of digitization; and so also disruption and how to deal with data from various perspectives.
Speaker A: May I ask you about your years of experience?
Speaker B: 30 years.
Speaker A: I mean the organizations you have the experience are just universities.
Speaker B: Yeah. Just universities.
Speaker A: What is the approximate size of organization?
Speaker B: Before I was in the Department of Economics and this is a really big department. Now it’s a new and small department but growing up really fast. And now we have about 150 employees.
And so when we have more than thousand students but it’s growing up so that the university of applied science and department in information technology we also are improving new organizational forms.
Speaker A: How is your general perception of the technology evolution or technology transformation? What do you as happening right now?
Speaker B: It’s happening a lot and really fast. Some people mix up the help from Information Technology with digitization, and this is probably a question of degrees.
And many employees are helpless; they don’t know what that means for me, now what can I do, and what they have to do?
Especially the Board members are not educated. Not at all, they don’t see the point and they don’t understand.
So we have different aspects of how the board members act or don’t act? How the organizations are organized? What kind of people they hire or they can hire? It’s really difficult to find the right people.
And then you have a really disruptive dynamic in some branches. And going really quick, that change is quite quick.
Speaker A: Do you think the technology evolution is accelerating or the cycles getting shorter. Do we have any examples of areas of technologies that are the fastest or your observations of your of any of those?
Speaker B: Yeah. I would say general branches and the companies where the information is the main asset, I shouldn’t see banks and bookmakers see these branches as quite probably than farmers or food sector.
Speaker A: You mentioned IT is the enabler of maybe services like social media sector?
Speaker A: Yes. We are all in the health sector and the robots and the interface between man and robot. We have seen also self-driving cars. For example cleaning probably some people have cleaning woman. Why you have robots? You have always to do something by yourself? All the stuff? And when you have a cleaning woman? But for many small works, now you have some kind of machine for cleaning the windows and the robots for cleaning whatever that comes in.
Speaker A: So for repetitive jobs you may use robots but do you see also artificial intelligence taking place in this age?
Speaker B: Probably this is a little bit overestimated.
Speaker A: Where do you see the challenges of an accelerated technology evolution in general?
Speaker B: In general from my view, I think it helps to change old structures.
Speaker A: So are old structures challenged by this technology evolution?
Speaker B: Yes. Because you need new mindsets to be competitive, other mindsets from other people, and other methods.
And this helps to change the social structures of power. And there are some who would like to maintain as Trump Make America again and this really is a toss.
Speaker A: A leader or as a leader, how do you how consider the technology acceleration of technology transformation in your decision making? Or how should a leader consider this evolution into leadership of an organization?
Speaker B: A leader has to have an overview of important technologies that could be important for his environment for his company. And I’m sure he needs some help and some advice from several experts. Probably he needs some not only advice, he needs a peer who helps him for discussion to find really sustainable next steps for his company and field of responsibility.
Speaker A: Sometimes companies need to shift to a new technology because some new technologies have evolved or new ideas have come. How do you think a shift to a new technology should be tackled so that the company is not too early and it is not too late?
Speaker B: Sometimes I think it’s good to be first mover and this can be risky. Sometimes it’s better to wait because you can spear money; because you don’t make mistakes and you can follow the forks. And so I think I cannot answer this in general. It depends really with what is the type of technology and what the company doing.
Speaker A: I have interviewed a couple of startup companies in the U.S. in California.
And they most said it is a gut feeling that you have to observe the market. Of course you have to talk to your customers. But maybe you have to make a decision on a feeling you have that it is the right time now. They mentioned some of the big companies use that as a strategy that they come late like Microsoft did come in a lot of times. They wait and see if the startup is successful and they take over buy the startup or they make it themselves. So I understand when you say depends it’s not the right or wrong answer.
Speaker B: The Americans have another approach to business. They see more and more here and make that a concept in the research market. There is no need to post a status in the U.S. I realize they will completely try it out in a different way. That’s probably a reason why the answers can be diverse.
Speaker A: What does an effective leader need to do or how does an effective leader need to be to meet the challenges of accelerated technology evolution? Are there important skills, mindsets, and values that you think are important for such a leader in this time?
Speaker B: He asked to be open for new ideas. Even he has to be open to consider that it can be possible that he’s coping strategies should change with good change completely. Then he has to be confident experts. And he must know how to lead to expertise; to have experts as employees, it’s an add time of managing. Then if you have people who have just to obey completely others; and construction of the reality. And what you have to do to keep the experts on the same high level. And I think this is a gift you have to really know the holistic way of organizational thinking and also mold to the way of living that we have.
We’re all living in an ecosystem like the artistic.
Speaker A: As a leader when you identify a specific task for the success of the organization, how do you select the team or team members for these specific tasks? What would you do to look at that?
Speaker B: Do they understand why it’s important? And do they have enough fire to invest life energy? And I think that’s important. And I think the personality and within the way of how they think, how they deal with uncertainty, with possibilities? It’s a little bit more important than just the skills you can be learning.
Speaker A: Talk more about this team and team members. How would you involve them? How would he inform them? Would you like, you mentioned the personality; but what do you make them be involved and be devoted to the task they are doing each day?
Speaker B: The goal is that they understand the task as their task and that even better not as an individual but as a team.
Speaker A: How do you think about collective decision making?
Speaker B: I think it’s important. And this message is also important to be really transparent. But are your presumptions, what are you doubts? I think yes we stand together.
Speaker A: Do you think collective decision making would make the process of decision making take too long?
Speaker B: No.
Speaker A: Do you think collective decision making would help to reach that goal more effectively.
Speaker B: Yes.
Speaker A: Is it worth reducing any resistance because everybody in included?
Speaker B: Yes, I would say yes.
Speaker A: How important do you see a continuous education of the team and team members to meet the challenges of the accelerated innovation?
Speaker B: I think it’s important and probably not the education in a really traditional way can introversion, feedback, coaching and whatever special different methods. To reflect how I work, how we work, how, and what is my role in the system.
Speaker A: So do you think they should just put out there antenna and to see what’s happening and inform themselves in the case they have to get new ideas for the team?
Speaker B: Yes but that probably you need a little bit of a person that can arrange it a little bit for them and help them.
Speaker A: Can it be also a self-organizing team like the small team.
Speaker B: Yes can be
Speaker A: And enabling the team members and encouraging them to have education and to educate themselves, would it make them feel more involved. Do you think?
Speaker B: Yes I think so.
Speaker A: And if they feel involved do you think would put more effort in this of course they are doing.
Speak B: Yes I think so. They would put more effort and not only in time and quantity but also in quality.
Speaker A: Sometimes there is a tension between exploring new possibilities and new technologies in an organization; and on the other side spending time to keep the current customers happy and to preserve your current success you have right now. So do you experience just this tension between wanting to do innovation and keeping the status quo successful? Do you think this is healthy tension? Do you welcome that?
Speaker B: It’s a tension for resources in the company. I think it’s not a tension if I have my current customers and they are happy probably I can offer them some innovative products. They take or they take not. They take the products but tomorrow but not today tomorrow.
And then I have my other field. And in these other field I have to have other customers. The tension is more in the culture and in the Resource Planning in the same company. I think it’s important is that we have to learn to live with these tensions. It’s not this or that, it will always end. And we have new products and probably old styled customers on long term. They have to go on also because they live in the same believe.
Speaker A: So on one side you have your customers probably for your service or your product where you do new releases. On the other side you want to have those two innovations. You’re probably going to try out new technologies and some of them may be successful and some not. But there is not always a consistency between what you are doing which your client customers and what you want to do in the future. Is it important to explain to tall your employees why you’re doing this? Because they may be thinking you’re throwing out money in this project and have nothing to do with our goal.
Speaker B: I think for sure I have to explain. But the problem today is not everyone will understand. Ok. I’m sure you have to explain.
Speaker A: Do you think overarching and very strong corporate identity is the right strategy to ease the tensions in the company? So practically to say everybody should know who we are and what we stand for? No discussion discussions needed? I mean in regard to innovation.
Speaker B: I don’t know. Strong name, strong marketing helps a lot. I don’t know because I think these discussions are so helpful if they’re constructive. And indeed some information from the front question before it entered into this discussion you have also going on the empowerment and the improvement of the employees. That’s right why this is so important.
Speaker A: When you see the employees, the customers, and the other stakeholders like funders and board members. How do you rank them likes who comes first, second, and third in your opinion?
Speaker B: First the customer. Then get the employees as provider and helper of the customers; or problem solving for the customers, and then the board as an enabler of the eco system that all states can have.
Speaker A: Thank you for your insight. Because everybody I interview gives another different answer. There are some who say stakeholders are the funders but they are making money for the shareholders of the company. Their context is different. Some employees come second time and others customers come second too. There are some as you say; customers come first. But they are also some leaders who mention employees to come first because without employees I have nothing to do, I cannot lead, I cannot bring success to the customer. I cannot keep my stakeholders happy if they are doing the right job all the others will be happy. I think there is also no right answer to this.
Speaker B: But this is a perspective that has changed over the years. We make a product and there will be for sure customers. Note there customers and we ask them what kind of products do you need? So if you have no customer you have no company.
Speaker A: How would you describe in your perspective in your own wants, the holistic and context oriented leadership. Do you think they will give solutions? I mean it can be regarding the technology, employees and customers; just what comes to your mind.
Speaker B: It’s more a role to organize the resources, the skills of the employees, and bond this in efficient way to fulfill the wishes of the customer. So it’s not the boss. It’s more an enabler always aware of what’s going on with the employees or with several employees, teams, and outside and with other companies and stakeholders everywhere. Another perspective, another way of awareness is required.
Speaker A: Do you think big companies with less politics looks less hierarchy and more context explanation with help?
Speaker B: Who knows? Yes of course because this is extremely time and energy consuming.
Speaker A: Or sometimes that the leaders are too far away from the experts. There are too many levels to reach them?
Speaker B: Yeah, they do not appreciate that there is expertise inadequate.
Speaker A: You are perfecting time. Thank you very much. That last question is a fair question about feedback.
Is there anything else do you think is missing here in these questions or do you think there is someone else I need to talk to about to, do you have any advice?
Speaker B: I’m sure you talked to a holistic guide to the company.
Speaker A: Yeah I talked to a manager in Microsoft
Speaker B: GO and ask for Bruno.
Speaker A: Thank you very much. I thought that was it. Thank you for your time.