The Skill Tech Leaders Need Now: Learning, Unlearning And Leading Humans Through Change

InnovationThe Skill Tech Leaders Need Now: Learning, Unlearning And Leading Humans Through ChangeByAnn Blakely,Forbes Councils Member.for Forbes Technology CouncilCOUNCIL POSTExpertise from Forbes Councils members, operated under license. Opinions expressed are those of the author. | Membership (fee-based)May 28, 2026, 11:00am EDTAnn Blakely is the managing principal of Baker Tilly's digital solutions practice, with a focus on modernizing legacy business models. getty​Technology teams have never moved faster. Continuous releases, AI-accelerated development and rapid shifts in platforms mean organizations can evolve in months or even weeks. But amid all that velocity, a fundamental question often gets overlooked: What about the people? The organizations that succeed through constant change don’t just deploy better technology. They develop leaders and teams who can adapt, rethink and evolve just as quickly as the systems they build. In other words, the future of innovation is human-centered. Change Now The Operating Model In many organizations, change used to arrive in waves: a new system rollout, a transformation initiative or a multi-year digital program. Today, change is continuous. Agile development cycles, AI tools and modern cloud architecture allow teams to deploy new capabilities constantly. But while systems can update overnight, people need time, clarity and support to adapt. Human-centered organizations understand that sustainable transformation requires aligning technology, process and culture. Effective change management focuses on building engagement, clarity and buy-in across the workforce so teams can move forward with confidence rather than resistance. Put simply: technology can scale instantly, but people scale through trust, learning and shared purpose. Learning And Unlearning One of the most important capabilities in today’s environment is not just learning, but unlearning. Future-of-work strategist Heather McGowan frequently emphasizes that t...