RPA and Character - What's the Connection?

In the digital arena, where I spend my daily life, it's a jungle. There are innumerable competing interests and perceptions about how technology affects or should affect our lives and business'. I've been blessed to be a veteran in the space known as RPA (Robotic Process Automation), a breed of software known as "software robots" to help companies revolutionize how boring day-to-day work gets automated. What I've come to realize over many years working with large enterprises is that in business, just like in life, there is no shortcut when it comes to REAL change. Change must be dealt with appropriately and one must call upon internal and external wisdom to be successful. Automation tends to be a word that implies "shortcut", "easy" or "big red button pushed, problem solved". Wrong! This delusion is the primary reason I have seen companies struggle in the digital jungle. The success I've seen comes from a particular character of company and person. In the following exert, I'd like to share the insights I've developed that define the DNA of a successful RPA leader and company.

Let's start by aligning in an RPA vision to lay the foundation

My perspective comes from spending each year since 2012 (the year "Robotic Process Automation" was coined and pioneered by Pat Geary with the Blue Prism Group) managing projects that implement business-driven process automation. Since RPA's inception, our market has observed many companies RPA badging, which is like wearing a letter jacket but never actually playing in the "game". I was delighted when the IEEE created standards to define true RPA from RPA badging. Having quarterbacked more than 100 RPA startup programs and supported several hundred more, I've developed a solid view of the requirements for success. Categorically speaking RPA is a "no coding" automation approach, yet I've ironically only seen 2 techs that can honestly live up to this fundamental. This lays the groundwork for the "character" of RPA leaders and visionaries, which I feel must view RPA as revolutionary in enabling the Democratization of IT. This is a mission many of us share for purposeful business changes. To democratize something is to make it available to ALL, to be pervasive. This further implies that an RPA leader must possess characteristics that catalyze inspiration and change.

My observations have also developed an understanding of the holistic impact on people and organizations. The very notion of automating business operations in a pervasive way is extremely disruptive to our psyches. It shakes us to our core because changes in the workplace expose our vulnerability of worthiness, fear, and security. I believe it will help us all to liken RPA and Intelligent Automation in companies as the equivalent to changing your neural-circuitry and DNA as a human being. If the result of digitization will require this, it behooves us to think this way, but this is a topic for another article. I'll park the philosophical discussions for now. :) This is a fitting example first because we as humans are capable of these changes (advances in neurology and epigenetics), but more relevantly because changing the business operations and activities of human workers is the very core of a company!

1. As alluded to, the first note of importance is the recognition that RPA is not just about a next-level technology, although that it is. It's also about human and organizational change.
2. My view on RPA and Intelligent Automation (to use a broader term) is that is must be viewed holistically and approached as such. A land and expand model is needed, with an eye on and alignment with company initiatives.
3. Not respecting the "non-technology" aspects of RPA and Digital Change is a recipe for failure.
4. You must pursue RPA with this organizational character in mind, and then choose your starting lineup of leaders with similar characteristics.

Who will take you to the Promise Land of Success?

One key element to success is choosing a person as a Head of RPA (or Dept Head) with the correct content of character. RPA is transformational for an enterprise, that's now a fact thanks to Blue Prism and the expansive RPA marketplace now emerging. It's important to remind you that lacking respect for RPA by just viewing it as a "macro on steroids" (a common perception), will be an immediate wrong turn in your journey for real change. The most successful RPA leaders display wisdom, patience, and view it as a journey, not a sprint. This is adverse to the RPA manager who demands speed, ease, and immediate results. The latter is akin to addressing a health concern by taking stimulants to keep your mind and body going. You will quickly see results through the ease of popping a few pills, however, we all know the end game --a crash and restart. From a long game perspective, this puts you further back than doing it right the first time. RPA, like health, should be viewed as addressing the core issues and then developing a plan and selecting the technology (or wellness plan) that will get you to higher ground. The VP's, SVPs, and Managers I've worked with to build a successful RPA program display the following:

1. Vision - they are aligning automation in the same direction as their company
2. Resilience - they recognize that change is hard and keep pushing onward
3. Patience - they understand the balance between pushing things forward and letting them play out in the best manner for the company
4. Resourcefulness - they ask questions, and they seek advice and guidance from multiple business partners to learn as much as they can
5. Humility - They recognize they need help with change and seek out what they don't know to make the best decisions
6. Educators - they socialize and evangelize RPA throughout the company
7. Challengers - they challenge their leaders and colleagues when necessary to ensure the company makes a decision that is sustainable

One of the benefits or my roles in RPA has been gaining insights and feedback from our world-class partners, like EY, KPMG, Mckinsey, Accenture, Deloitte, TCS, and many more. The feedback loops are helpful to improve how we serve and to understand how some organizations and competitors are struggling. I've interacted with companies who were on a fast track or have identified only a single process to automate. Upon hearing stories 1 or 2 years down the road, it revealed that impatience and lack of vision, among other things, never allowed RPA to derive impressive business benefits. Leadership is a critical factor in everything we do. In choosing leaders in your organization, what skills must they possess? In the RPA arena, I have a front-row seat to seeing how companies go about real organizational changes. It is challenging, and it must be done mindfully, not sporadically.

Start with "Why"

To steal a quote from an author I respect, Simon Sinek, "Start with Why"? In countless scenarios, my colleagues and I have asked this question to RPA adopters in the most important companies on the globe. Some common responses include,... "to cut costs, to remove manual, repetitive tasks and free humans up to do higher-value work". Even worse, we simply state the desire to automate a single process in a single function. If not also connected with a larger vision, this dismisses the benefit of Digital Workers as transformational and supportive of a human workforce. I'm not knocking these as beneficial results, but it tells me nothing about the organization, the culture, or the character of the business. It's a functional and canned response taken from the pool of RPA articles over the last few years. It's also the same tune sung by the 80+ "RPA" vendors on the market. The answer to why someone is doing something will immediately reveal the intent and content of the individual I'm speaking to, as well as the company they are working for.

A part of the challenge with Digital Workers is that "automation" is such a catch-all term, referring to a plethora of technologies and is subjectively based on one's perception of the word. Those of us who can understand the concept of AI and Digital Workers in a business context see in RPA the components for automation at scale. In other words, it is changing the fabric of companies through democratized automation and integration (more on RPA for integration in another article). The savings and higher-value work benefits sound great. Who doesn't want to cut costs? And doing "higher value" work implies an improvement. But the reality is that looking to slash headcount is a terrible way to maintain a healthy human workforce and no-one is ever empowered to do the "higher value" stuff if you don't provide the cultural and organizational path to learn how.

"It's critical that synergy exists between functional LOB managers and top 
level leadership, and that the digital goals of each are aligned."

From what I've observed, the Manager or VP who is 100% aligned with their organization's goals perform on another level. The examples I'll share are stuck with me today, and they are major companies.

Example 1: I still recall speaking with the Head of HR at Walgreens and upon asking why RPA is of interest, he proceeded to communicate how the company was making a major migration to a new HR system, SuccessFactors, and were replacing other legacy HR systems. He also discussed the industry pressures, where drug prices are going up, and Obamacare (at the time) reimbursements had decreased, squeezing margins. That's a "Why" statement. It goes beyond cutting costs to the reason for innovating to a digital workforce with RPA, which by the way allowed them to grow without adding headcount, the key to successful digital transformation.

Example 2: My second example is United Technologies, which creates aerospace systems, elevators, and building controls. When asked what is driving this automation initiative, I was immediately educated on a few major organizational-wide imperatives, i.e. simplifying the organization via a Finance & Shared Services Transformation, and IT Digitization, where the latter was propelled by the CIO's desire to better bridge IT and Business groups to allow innovation. All of these aspects fit perfectly into how RPA transforms companies, and they align with the CEO's desire to better allocate capital and innovate. UTC is in the middle of the IoT noise, so managing data operations is a key element to success. For RPA to succeed and make a true impact, it's critical that synergy exists between functional LOB managers and top-level leadership, and their digital goals align. If middle managers are chasing an RPA badge due to the market storm and going rogue on their own tactical needs, the result has been 3 steps back before the company can move digital forward.

Closing Remarks: Leadership is Hard

To be adaptable, to continue to learn and to display humility are very tough. Yet, they are required in the AI Economy. Make no mistake - we are all leaders. We are moving from hierarchical structures to horizontal, collaborative ones, where all of us must lead side by side. This is another changing phenomenon in the AI Economy. In contemplating the above perspective, those of us leading in the technology space can seek to find our own balance in thinking fast and slow, and in turn, moving fast and slow. I urge you not to forfeit the larger picture to engage in AI and RPA for the sake of doing it. On the other hand, there is also a balance in not having analysis paralysis. Simply develop a larger vision before and during your execution steps, while maintaining the flexibility for inevitable changes to come.

Please let me know if this resonates with you and how you think about building your business, career, and team in the best manner for the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Respectfully,

Michael Kern