As Senior Vice President, Professional Services at BairesDevDamian oversees the entire customer relationship lifecycle, ensuring business operations.
We live surrounded by technology. So much so that it’s inseparable from what humans experience in the 21st century𑁋unless you’re deliberately trying to live off the grid. Today, even the uninitiated constantly check their smartphones throughout the day, receive packages from online retailers, subscribe to streaming services, are present on social networks, look up addresses on apps maps and find new restaurants online.
Because technology is omnipresent in our daily lives, it also has the potential to bring about positive change. Leaders across all industries, not just technology, understand that their role is about more than just the pursuit of profit. It is also about harnessing the potential of technological innovations to stimulate social change. In this article, I’ll explain how leaders should view profit and purpose as a combined objective and how to leverage technology for social good.
Gone are the days when a CEO only cared about the bottom line. A new generation of senior executives is beginning to see their role as a means to become agents of change. This leadership philosophy is about harnessing these strengths for the greater good. They consider technological innovation as a tool providing societal benefit beyond the commercial domain.
Technology as a tool for social empowerment
The impacts of these changes can include bridging socio-economic gaps, providing affordable education to disadvantaged sections of society, reducing carbon footprint and improving healthcare. Let’s look at some examples.
Apps like ShareTheMeal allow users to donate to someone in need with a single click. The United Nations World Food Program delivers meals to Africa, Central America, Ukraine, the Middle East, Southeast Asia or wherever the user wants.
Platforms like Coursera and Domestika are democratizing education by offering cheaper alternatives to traditional colleges and can help professionals in other fields pivot to a different career later in life.
My company has also worked on projects with companies with a mission to reduce the carbon footprint. One of our clients has a technology platform that allows users to easily access clean energy. Their platform gives individuals greater control over the type of energy they support, how much it costs, and how they pay. The platform also serves as a marketplace for solar energy consumers and producers.
Another exciting project we developed was an online clinic, the first of its kind, to help women take control of their health in the second half of their lives. Their team of doctors and coaches serve patients in all 50 states, improving the quality of healthcare options patients have access to.
These examples are all born from visions of leadership that go beyond profit.
How to Pivot to Social Empowerment
For businesses that already have an established business model but want to do more to increase their social empowerment, they should do the following:
• Integrate purpose into the company’s DNA. Whether a startup or a tech giant, having a clear, focused mission embedded in the company culture ensures alignment with societal good. This way, even if the benefits do not materialize as expected, these initiatives will not be relegated to the background.
• Encourage collaboration. Leaders must encourage collaboration with NGOs, governments and other stakeholders to understand real-world challenges and find solutions. Additionally, everyone in the company should be encouraged to get involved.
• Invest in R&D for social solutions. Dedicate resources to research and development of technological solutions that address societal challenges. They must subsidize the resources and time needed to create valuable solutions that make a difference.
Involve all stakeholders
Sustainable societal change takes time and commitment. That’s why leaders must understand that while their vision provides direction, stakeholders – from employees to consumers – play a central role in driving social change. Engaging with these groups, gathering feedback and ensuring technology solutions meet real societal needs will amplify the positive impact.
One way to involve everyone on your team is to involve them in decision-making and problem-solving. They thus acquire a feeling of autonomy, empowerment and ownership of social initiatives. It is essential to provide adequate resources, support and tools to carry out their work effectively. It is also essential to encourage talent to pursue their professional goals by providing training, mentoring and career development. If they see that the company values them, they will, in turn, be more likely to take ownership of the company’s goals, especially those in the social area, and follow them.
For example, my company annually launches the Giveback program, an initiative that supports causes that promote STEM education and greater access to technology. We invite all our customers to participate in this initiative, in which we make a donation on their behalf to one of three pre-selected non-governmental organizations. In this way, we involve our customers and our employees to make a difference in the world.
Conclusion
It seems that many leaders in the tech world are beginning to understand the intersection between profit and purpose and are acting accordingly. The digital age has equipped leaders with tools that, when used responsibly, can weave societal transformation into the fabric of their business models.
The journey to technology for social good is a collective path, where leaders serve as torchbearers, guiding their teams and stakeholders toward a future where technology not only makes life easier, but also makes the world best. The question for all leaders today is not whether they can generate profits through technology, but how they can leverage that technology to leave an indelible mark on society.
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