This is a phrase often thrown around, even described as essential for a future healthcare system that remains free at the point of delivery. Yet, when speaking to two people about it, you’ll quickly discover they often have very different ideas of what it actually means.
What Do We Mean by Digital Transformation?
Some of the differences we see stem from perspective. For some, particularly those with a strong IT focus, “digital transformation” can mean little more than taking an unchanged process and swapping the human element (the carbon) for technology (the silicon). In this interpretation, the emphasis is firmly on the “digital.”
This doesn’t really work for us. At Xytal, we focus on the “transformation” side of digital transformation. For us, transformation implies meaningful, significant change in a component that truly matters.
Tackling Frustration First
In clinical teams that have not worked with us before, transformation often begins with the problems causing the most frustration, even anger. Here, digital tools are used as enablers: carefully slotted into redesigned, improved processes.
Removing frustration can transform the emotional tone of a workplace. Practitioners have told us that, without the work we’d done, they might have left their profession. The key is focusing initial change on what matters most to the team in that moment. Externally facilitated improvement in something the team doesn’t view as important is not transformational.
The magic ingredient that separates “transformation” from “improvement” is the feeling of being back in control. Our psychology colleagues describe this as a sense of agency. As Peter Drucker said: “people don’t mind change, they don’t like being changed.”
From Reactive to Proactive Change
This reactive approach often evolves. As teams gain confidence in both us and the process, they move towards a more proactive stance. They recognise the power of coming together, defining “what good looks like,” and setting up measures around it.
At this point, digital tools can be deployed to do exactly what the team needs. It’s this approach that brought Alexandra House (see our Xytal blog) such success.
Designing Tools Around Teams, Not the Other Way Around
This way of working is quite different from being forced to adapt to the way a digital tool is designed. To be fair, many digital designers thrive when clinical teams clearly articulate the problems they want fixed.
The difficulties arise when innovation is shaped by enthusiastic early adopters and then rolled out to the sceptical late majority. What could possibly go wrong?
Asking Better Questions
We’ve found a powerful technique is to make “what could possibly go wrong?” more than just a rhetorical question. A more constructive way is to ask: “what would stop us achieving our dream?”
This gives teams space to articulate concerns, uncover underlying causes, and scope out countermeasures. It also lets facilitators stimulate deeper conversation around the team’s dream, helping them co-produce and refine their own version of “what good looks like.”
A Flexible Definition Is a Strength
So, what does “digital transformation” mean? There are, inevitably, multiple interpretations. At first glance, this can feel like an impossible concept to pin down. Yet, when we consider the near-infinite variety of situations different teams face, in different places, at different times— perhaps we could view this flexibility of thought as a feature not a bug.
