The Green Room podcast
Are people the superpower that drives transformation?
Technology can do almost anything. But its full impact depends on the people and culture behind it.
What’s the missing piece?
The hardest part of transformation may not be technical, but human.
Companies are investing more than ever in technology to transform their businesses.
But the full impact isn’t being felt. Most organisations believe they are missing out on up to 50% of the returns they expect from digital transformation. So what’s the missing piece?
Behind every platform rollout and process redesign are employees being asked to adapt to and buy into a new way of working. And without a culture enabling people to embrace this change, nearly half of leaders say their success will be hindered.
So, if technology is a tool for transformation, is it the people and culture who drive real change?
Watch below, or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. Read the transcript here.
We tend to think that transformation projects are going to begin with technology, that they're going to be led by, ‘we have this new tech, and this is how we're going to transform.’ So much of it has to do with human centric adaptation and really rethinking the processes and the workflows.
Kate O’Neill – CEO, KO Insights
“Put people at the heart of it”
When we asked Deloitte’s Mike Manby for the one piece of practical advice he’d give leaders right now, he didn’t hesitate.
From the start, it’s people who need to be front and centre.
As Mike puts it: “technology isn’t the challenge here. Technology can do pretty much anything you need it to do.” It’s a change enabler, but it can’t decide what matters, create trust or bring an organisation with it.
Those barriers are human. And while the technology might be new, it’s traditional change management which helps unlock its value.
In fact, 42% of organisations think that insufficient change enablement capabilities were either a complete or large barrier to them realising the value they wanted from tech investments. And, when it came to identifying contributors to digital transformation success, 75% believed that culture and agility were two of the most important. (Deloitte, 2026)
Are you leading your team in a digital, or analogue environment? Hear more leadership advice from Mike Manby – click the video and find out the skill you need to showcase.
“I really advocate for the term ‘future readiness’”
Curiosity opens us up to innovation and being able to plan for the future ahead.
But for a lot of us, the future is something to be protecting against, not built towards.
For Kate O’Neill – CEO of KO Insights who is also known as The Tech Humanist – “futureproofing” suggests businesses might be taking the wrong approach. There is no finished state an organisation can reach, protected from whatever disruption comes next.
The future keeps moving.
For Kate, future readiness offers a more useful ambition. It’s building for the future one step at a time, with the ability to adapt. It doesn’t require us to know what the future holds but understand that even a small step forward gets us closer to what the future may require from us. And all without losing sight of the human purpose that powers each technological change.
Are you building for tomorrow, or just for today?
Hear Kate O’Neill and Mike Manby explore why technology alone can’t deliver transformation, how leaders can create trust and what it takes to guide their teams through change and uncertainty.
Organisations that are best prepared for the future will also be the ones who shape it.
Watch below, or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Read the transcript here .
We’re going to take away some of those things that are non-value adding, let technology do that, and we’re going to liberate you to use the best of yourself and your skillset.
- Mike Manby – Technology & Transformation Consumer Industry Leader, Deloitte UK
Let’s make this work.
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