Navigating Digital Change by Leaning Into Tech and Expanding a Human Touch with Agathe Daae-Qvale

Many organizations struggle to balance technical project demands with the human elements essential for successful change. This gap often leads to inefficiencies, low morale, and failed initiatives, despite thorough planning and structured processes. Ignoring the emotional aspects of teams prevents companies from unlocking their workforce's full potential. Integrating both technical and human sides of work, with a focus on consistent communication and emotional awareness, is crucial. Enabling this holistic approach helps organizations achieve dynamic processes that meet goals and foster a joyful, productive work environment.

Agathe Daae-Qvale is an Integral Master Coach™ working in leadership development that focuses on both the human and tech sides of digital transformation. She works as a special advisor in the Norwegian public health care sector on new software technologies and their successful applications.

In 2017, she founded TinkerBlue AS and later co-founded DoubleYou AS in an effort to unleash underused tech potential and skill sets among internationals in Norway.

Agathe is proficient in industrial IT and process modeling and improvement, IT governance, IT strategy, IT operations, and product management.

Her experience includes working with management consulting companies like EY, KPMG, and Sopra Steria. She has worked as a consulting director in the exhilarating growth phase of the industrial IT unicorn Cognite, which primarily focuses on industrial data and digitized product management. She has also served as Chief Development Officer for Cenium, responsible for product development and global distribution during the shift from local based to cloud based platform technology.

​In this episode Agathe shares insightful discussions on balancing the technical and human aspects of business, especially during times of change. She talks about her experiences and practical strategies for integrating emotional awareness into structured, technical environments. You'll also learn about the importance of consistent communication, the role of personal growth in effective change management, and how to motivate teams by recognizing and expanding their perceptions of possibilities. 

"For change to happen, raise the awareness of possibilities --- that space of possibilities is crucial." - Agathe Daae-Qvale

SUPERPOWER Notes:

01:21 - What she realized the time she first noticed the power of listening: It was not only about the words but very much about the sentiment and the capacity of both of us to open up for in that very moment 

04:08 - What it means to be in a shared space: That moment when you are in a conversation; you're just completely paying attention to what's going on there 

08:00 - The distinction between merely getting the work done and creating a meaningful, emotionally resonant shared space

17:10 - The crucial integration of human change management with technical change

21:21 - How creating a shared understanding and clear purpose within the organization is crucial for the successful adoption and implementation of new technologies and changes

25:16 - Here's how to achieve a shared understanding: The organization needs to be well aligned both vertically and horizontally.

29:07 - Achieve vertical and horizontal alignment in an organization: Important to give everyone a shared direction and the why as to what they're doing.

32:54 - What does effective change management require: In addition to communication, skill sets and competence in the company among coworkers and staff is super important.

37:56 - Making that lasting change and effect happen: Value, moral and a sense of entrepreneurship are also needed to make that lasting effect happen.

42:54 - Helpful tools for navigating change effectively: It's about listening to, first, myself and then start listening to others around me.

45:33 - Moving pas