Over the last few weeks there has never been a more important time to recognise the work that we each do in this team we call digital. Not just here in the department I call home, not even ‘just’ across government but in this industry we work in we have so much possibility and in reality not enough time to do all the things we want to do. Our ambition holds no bounds as to the difference we can make through collaboration with our businesses.
One of the great transformation leaders we have in the department is Matthew Briggs who I think has kind of channelled Albert Einstein as he keeps imploring us to collectively go after the problems we have now rather than finding new ones.
“We cannot solve problems with the kind of thinking we employed when we came up with them.” Albert Einstein
During the pre-election time it is wise for us as a department to stay humble, quiet and keep our shoulder hard pressed against the way forward. Given it has been digital awards season in the UK that has been hard on the team who have missed out on a number of quite remarkable achievements.
I wanted to collect them here for us all to reflect on just how much digital is doing, can do and must do with every part of every business every day:
https://www.womeninchange.co.uk/the-winners – One that meant a lot to us was the coveted Women In Change company of the year award. The diversity we strive to create is a big part of our professionalisation agenda and being recognised for this was significant.
BCS IT & Digital Apprenticeship Awards Winners 2024 | BCS – For Business Analyst of the year. We continue to buck the trends and invest more and more in our apprentices, they are where our diverse thinking and new application of that thinking is coming from so to be recognised here was huge for us.
UKtech50 2024: The most influential people in UK technology | Computer Weekly – A shock, surprise and amazing testament to the work this team does to collaborate across the DWP business every day. We are trying so hard to help everyone to see the journey we can go on together.
https://www.computing.co.uk/news/4320336/computing-names-uks-most-influential-leaders – Tom Allen, editor of Computing, said, “IT leadership is a demanding, stressful job, but everyone named on the 2024 list is thriving, showing the real strengths of modern IT. “They’re achieving outstanding technical transformations, helping people from underrepresented groups and leading their organisations into the future.” That felt a heart felt description of what I see when I look around my team that’s for sure.
https://hottopics.ht/awards/cio-100-award#cio-100 – The Global CIO 100 Awards celebrates outstanding leaders in technology. These awards highlight individuals who excel in driving technological advancements and fostering strategic innovation, shaping the future of the global business landscape. And us securing a spot in this global list was the latest surprise just this week.
When you look through the other winners in these awards it is truly humbling to be placed amongst the. The team effort that goes in to making us be recognisable amongst some of the highest achievers in the industry is simply incredible and I want to thank everyone involved in delivering what we do day in day out.