Looking for Leonardo – the Renaissance Technology Leader

I started authoring this article two years ago while working as Adjunct Faculty for the Certified Government CIO program with Public Technology Institute. In my work over the past four years, it became obvious to me that the role of the CIO has shifted dramatically, particularly since the pandemic.

The pandemic forced all of us to look at the technology used on a day-to-day basis and pivot to solutions that allowed us to continue operations while working from home or socially distanced work spaces. Some of these solutions resulted in “band aid” technologies that are now being evaluated for their viability long term, and some became part of standard operations. It occurred to me that the COVID-19 pandemic, and its resultant shift in the way that we manage and lead technology, is not unlike what occurred following the Black Plague in the mid-14th century. One of the outcomes of the Black Plague was a shift in the way that man viewed the world resulting in the Renaissance. Within the Renaissance era, Leonard Da Vinci emerged as a prime example of the post-Black Plague, “Renaissance man” who was now focused on new ways of approaching the arts and sciences. Could it be that like the Black Plague, our COVID-19 pandemic is leading us into technology’s modern-day Renaissance? And if it is, what traits are necessary for technology leaders in this modern technology era?

I have always loved the study of history; some view history as a bunch of boring facts, while others are fascinated by the patterns that are repeated in society, economics and politics through its study. With that in mind, if Leonardo Da Vinci is an example of the Renaissance mind of the 14th-15th century, we can certainly learn a lot from him. Leonardo provides us with an example of traits we should emulate as technology leaders in a post-pandemic world. Three key traits come to mind when studying Leonardo and identifying what we can learn from him as technology leaders today: curiosity, creativity and courage.

Curiosity – Leonardo was obsessed with the details of everything. In fact, he kept a notebook with copious lists and diagrams of things he wanted to know including, “get the master of arithmetic to show you how to square a triangle.”?And “describe the tongue of a woodpecker.”?In a world that constantly floods us with information (real or fake), we could all use a lot more curiosity. Curiosity compels us to do more of our own questioning and less of just accepting what we hear. In Einstein’s words, “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”?Technology leaders in today’s world must have that constant curiosity. With technology changing so fast, it is easy to get “stale” in what we know and what possibilities the application of those technologies might mean in improving the operations that we lead. Curiosity includes asking questions such as: What is this technology? How does this technology work? How can this technology be used? If combined with other technologies, what are the potential outcomes??We should challenge ourselves to keep a list of things that we want to learn (our own curiosities) and then actively pursue knowledge and understanding of those things. We must also be willing to submit to improving in the areas that we have become “stale,” and then relentlessly pursue knowledge to make us better leaders.

Creativity- It goes without saying that the Mona Lisa is one of Leonardo’s most famous works. However, what most do not know is the learning journey Leonardo followed to create this amazing work of art. Rather than just taking what he learned as an apprentice, he experimented with new ways to create clarity in colors by mixing source materials differently. He studied nature and humans at varying time of the day and night to understand depth and dimension and he learned how to blur colors to create a blending effect (sfumato) that became a technique used by future artists. He applied his knowledge in the areas of sculpture, carpentry and anatomy to improve his paintings. Leonardo’s approach was one of understanding the “outside” (nature, anatomy, engineering) and applying it to the “inside” (his art). Being a technology leader requires us to look at business problems and find solutions and approaches that incorporate a variety of technologies to solve problems. Like Leonardo, how are we blending our understanding of technologies to create new and innovative solutions? Additionally, what approaches are we using, like Leonardo did through applying his knowledge of sculpture and anatomy to his paintings, to ensure the solutions we are providing offer a richness in features and functionality? For example, to help a citizen requesting assistance at a Motor Vehicles or Social Services agency may require taking a persona-based approach given that there are so many different personas accessing those resources. What are the demographics of those personas? What limitations or challenges might that persona have? What approaches to accessing resources would be most beneficial in providing technology for that persona? Creativity in leadership often requires us to go outside to see inside as Leonardo did. Sometimes we are too close to the problem to see the solutions. If we allow ourselves to go outside by exploring multiple methods and approaches to solve a problem, talking to others, identifying the nuances and using diversity in the tools we use to collect and compile this information, we will have a better chance of uncovering our own sfumato, like Leonardo.

Courage - Leonardo was born out of wedlock to a lower-class woman and a wealthy notary near Vinci and was sent, at an early age, to apprentice in Florence. I can only imagine the courage that it took to leave his family and become an apprentice. He also faced challenges with aftereffects of the plague, socioeconomic conditions and political wars with other nations. Yet, he never gave up. He persisted, despite these challenges, and pivoted when faced with adversity. These are traits that played out with technology leaders across the globe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Like Leonardo, technology leaders identified new ways to deliver technology and services despite adversity. We all know that change is hard, but the “good stuff” never comes out of the “status quo.”?Hardship often results in change and growth. In this post-pandemic world, we must continue to have courage to innovate and find that new next that will allow us, as leaders, and the organizations we lead to continue to grow. What is that new next that you are working towards in your organization? Innovation is not borne out of status quo; it is in the willingness to innovate when others want to just keep the lights on. Like Leonardo, we should continue to review and analyze the solutions and technologies that we are using to ensure that they are delivering the most value for the money.

It also takes courage to lead people through change. In Leonardo’s time, the culture was changing across Europe and becoming more open to the concepts of humanism. COVID-19 has pivoted the way we work and has presented challenges for organizations that traditionally required all employees to be on site and now have shifted to a hybrid work model. Like in Leonardo’s time, our organizational cultures have changed. Leading this new model of work teams and having the courage and emotional intelligence to maneuver through traditional cultural model landmines, is essential to the success of technology leaders.

“Innovation is the art at the eyes of artist; the science at the mind of scientist; and the bridge between the art and science” – Pearl Zhu. Let us all strive to be Renaissance technology leaders by becoming more curious, creative and courageous and continue to bridge between the art and the science, like Leonardo, as we enter this post-pandemic technology era.