In today’s rapidly evolving technology landscape, CIOs and other IT leaders are at a crucial juncture. They’re transitioning from digital transformations to AI-powered intelligent transformations.

77% of IT leaders say they’ll be responsible for leading AI transformation within their organization

Drawing on insights from a survey of more than 1,200 IT professionals 

Our report delves into the opportunities and challenges IT leaders face in 2024. It digests the increasingly strategic role of the IT leader and provides actionable insights for IT leaders to navigate the path toward a more intelligent transformation.

The modern IT leader’s battleground

From bloated tech stacks to reluctant stakeholders, IT leaders are navigating competing and even conflicting mandates. Our report delves into these hurdles and the obstacles in the way of intelligent transformations.

Biggest predictors of AI preparedness

We analyzed thousands of data points to pinpoint the key skills that IT leaders need in 2024, and what gives IT leaders confidence that their organizational leaders are prepared to implement AI successfully.

Lead your organization’s AI transformation

Download the full report to discover how you can help your organization lead a more intelligent transformation.

In a rapidly evolving work landscape, Australian businesses are at a crucial crossroads.

36% of Australian workers say Australia is the most innovative country in the world.

Drawing on insights from a survey of more than 2,000 Australian knowledge workers, our report delves into the challenges that Australian workers and businesses face in navigating the next era of the future of work. This report reveals the critical decisions leaders must make to shape and innovate their organisations’ future. These include:

1. Fragmented and cluttered technology stacks: In addition to unproductive meetings and outdated collaboration practices, Australian businesses are grappling with fragmented technology stacks. Teams working in silos with preferred tools lose significant time every day on basic tasks.
2. AI’s untapped potential: There’s a lot of optimism surrounding AI in the Australian workplace and its potential to enhance work. Australian executives are even more enthusiastic about AI than their US counterparts.
3. More AI fundamentals needed: Despite this optimism, some of the fundamentals around AI are lacking. In particular, the reality on the ground shows a lack of alignment between executives and individual contributors, stymieing effective AI implementation.

Learn how to lead your organisation’s innovation journey. Australian businesses have historically been at the forefront of innovation. As we look to 2024 and beyond, it’s clear that navigating these challenges requires more than incremental changes; it demands a bold reimagining of work practices.

Decoding digital overwhelm with research-driven strategies for streamlining tech tools and boosting productivity

In today’s hyper-connected world, navigating the flood of digital tools has become a pivotal challenge for businesses. The reality is startling: the average company juggles over 300 apps. This digital disarray bleeds into every aspect of your business, from strained budgets to fragmented attention.

The Work Innovation Lab, in partnership with AWS and leading researchers on technology and friction at work—Professor Bob Sutton (Stanford) and Professor Paul Leonardi (UCSB)—provides a roadmap for mastering this complexity.

The report includes research-backed insights on how to declutter and optimize your technology toolkit, including:

1. Finding the Perfect Balance: Learn how limiting your tech stack to an ideal number of tools can supercharge productivity. We’ve identified the optimal tool count that marks the threshold between efficiency and overload.
2. The Role of AI in Simplification: Explore how AI can streamline workflows, reduce redundant tools, and focus on high-value tasks, leading to a more productive and less exhausting work environment.
3. The Collaboration Cleanse: Gain insights from our study conducted with Asana and Amazon employees, showcasing the impact of reducing digital clutter and fostering mindful tool usage.
4. Strategies for a Smarter Tech Stack: Walk through a step-by-step guide to audit, optimize, and integrate your tech stack, reducing digital exhaustion and enhancing overall productivity.

It’s time to declutter, refocus, and revolutionize the way you work.

Embracing the future of AI at work

AI is rapidly transforming our world, reshaping the very fabric of our workplaces and lives. This leaves leaders at a pivotal juncture—they need to harness AI’s transformative capabilities, while also managing its challenges and uncertainties. That’s why The Work Innovation Lab surveyed over 4,500 individual contributors, middle and senior managers, and executives in the U.S. and U.K.. We came away with actionable insights to help leaders navigate the changing landscape and get the most out of AI.

Empowering the workforce with AI

Whether it’s augmenting human intelligence or unlocking untapped potential, AI is a game-changer. But as our findings reveal, leaders need to take a careful approach. While many executives and certain departments are excited about AI, some employees are downright fearful. So while AI is an exceptionally powerful tool, leaders will need to thoughtfully plan adoption efforts to successfully leverage the new technology.

This report can help you navigate this new and uncertain landscape. Dig in to learn:

• Tangible, actionable insights you can implement today to help your organization better understand and use AI.
• Which departments are most excited about AI, and which might need some extra support.
• How taking a human-centric approach to AI can transform fear into excitement.
• How to choose the best AI tools to protect your data, enhance productivity, and future-proof your tech stack.

…and more.

Embrace the AI Revolution with Confidence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has exploded onto the business landscape, offering unprecedented opportunities for productivity, decision-making, and competitive advantage. But the rapid evolution of AI also presents challenges for leaders, from keeping up with technological advancements to managing security concerns and departmental resistance.

The Work Innovation Lab conducted an in-depth study to help IT and Ops leaders navigate these challenges and harness the full potential of AI in order to work smarter in this new era of work.

Key Takeaways for Successful AI Implementation

Our research reveals four key areas for successful AI implementation:

1. Cross-Functional Collaboration: AI impacts every department, making cross-functional collaboration crucial. However, communication gaps, conflicting priorities, and entrenched hierarchies can pose challenges. Our report provides insights on how to overcome these obstacles.
2. Streamlining Processes with AI: AI isn’t just about adding more tools—it’s about leveraging AI to streamline processes and improve efficiency. We explore how AI can be used to automate repetitive tasks, improve forecasting, and enable dynamic data analysis.
3. Security Considerations: With the rapid evolution of AI, security concerns are paramount. Our report discusses how to balance the need for quick technological advancements with corresponding security considerations.
4. Human-Centric AI: AI is only as good as the people who use it. We emphasize the importance of making AI human-centric, focusing on continuous learning and upskilling employees as AI technologies evolve.

Dive into the Full Report

Our comprehensive report provides a roadmap for IT and Ops leaders to navigate the complexities of AI implementation. It offers insights into:

1. The daily challenges leaders are facing and how top-performing leaders are addressing them
2. How to future-proof your organization with AI
3. The role shift in IT and Ops leadership in the AI era
4. …and more.

By embracing a path forward with experimentation and strategic AI implementation, you can drive sustainable growth and lead your team to success in the AI era.

Transform fear into fearless execution with AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the marketing landscape, offering unprecedented opportunities for creativity, data analysis, and efficiency. However, the rapid evolution of AI has also sparked uncertainty among marketers. The Work Innovation Lab, in collaboration with leading global companies, has conducted an in-depth study to help marketers transform this hesitation into confident execution and work smarter.

Key insights for successful AI adoption

Our research reveals crucial insights for successful AI adoption in marketing:

1. The AI Paradox: While AI promises to revolutionize marketing, fear and uncertainty are holding marketers back. Our report provides insights on how to overcome these emotional barriers and unlock the full potential of AI.
2. AI as a Creative Companion: AI can be a powerful ally, enabling marketers to work more creatively by taking over mundane tasks, analyzing vast amounts of data, and surfacing key insights. Discover how AI can supercharge your marketing strategies.
3. The Power of Experimentation: Knowledge is power. Learning and development in AI can help marketers feel more excited and confident. Our report discusses the importance of AI training and learning initiatives in overcoming resistance.
4. Case Study – Embracing AI Experimentation at Asana: Learn from Asana’s “AI Brain Boost” initiative, which encouraged the marketing team to propose and implement daily uses of AI in their roles, leading to increased willingness to integrate AI into their daily work.

Dive into the full report

Our comprehensive report provides a roadmap for marketers to navigate the complexities of AI adoption. It offers insights into:

1. The paradox of fear and opportunity in AI adoption in marketing
2. How AI can serve as a creative companion in marketing strategies
3. The transformative power of AI experimentation in overcoming fear

…and more.

By embracing a path forward with experimentation and strategic AI adoption, you can drive sustainable growth, work smarter, and lead your marketing team to unparalleled success in the AI era.

Building more than the back-end

IT leaders are at a crucial moment in time—they’re managing expectations to improve data and security while balancing the frenzy of AI and automation tools. Through surveying IT professionals and interviewing leaders from top global companies, including Google, Slack, Okta, and Asana, The Work Innovation Lab tapped into what’s impacting IT leaders today. What we found is far beyond a role shift—IT leaders are closing deals, getting involved in the employee experience, and becoming both advocates for and the bearer of burdens that come with AI.

Many leaders have taken a “more is better” approach to new tech. But our research found that tempting as it may be to continue throwing the latest tool into your tech stack, doing so doesn’t solve the core problem—it’s a Band-Aid. The complexity and evolution of IT call for a more refined way of working, using a balance of data-back insights, experimentation, and automations that simplify work. 

Connecting the dots with cross-functional collaboration

IT leaders are stepping out from behind the computer screen and directly into roles supporting their colleagues. 

Dive into the full report to learn:

• The daily challenges and stressors IT teams are facing right now, and how top-performing leaders are addressing them
• The way IT leaders are future-proofing their organizations
• How these roles have shifted, and what’s to come

…and more.

Misunderstanding collaboration is costing you

Collaboration is work’s hottest buzzword…everyone is focused on optimizing collaboration, boosting collaboration, or creating opportunities for more collaboration. There’s nothing wrong with that—as long as you’re collaborating the right way. 

But many leaders don’t know the difference between collaboration and coordination—its less costly alternative.

That could have been an email

Synchronous, highly collaborative working sessions and meetings are useful ways to work—until they’re not. The reality is, sometimes that status meeting could have been more effectively communicated via email. Defaulting to collaboration (like a meeting) rather than thoughtful coordination (like an email) can cost your company time and money.

This playbook will help you design your organization for better, more efficient coordination and collaboration. You’ll learn:

• The viral framework first developed by Carlos Valdes-Dapena at Mars—one of the largest privately-held companies in the world—that drove 33% growth within one of the company’s key business units and markets
• When to use collaboration vs. coordination (and why that distinction matters)
• The impact of too little and too much collaboration (and how to strike a balance)
• Why it doesn’t always make sense to default to collaboration…and what to do instead
• How the highest-performing companies use collaboration and coordination to maximize performance (including profitability and innovation), and how you can do the same 

Leaders need to anticipate and forecast for the future—but inherent biases (like predispositions and past experiences) can get in the way.

The solution: an evidence-based approach to help you predict (and plan for) the future.

Featuring insights from top collaboration experts, including Stanford’s Bob Sutton, Northwestern’s Liz Gerber, and Founders of the Connected Commons, a collaboration-focused research center, this report gives a glimpse into the possible future of collaboration. The evidence dives deep into how we work together, and how that might be changing. Discover:

• How collaboration could change in 2023 and beyond
• Data-backed evidence that shows how the workplace is evolving
• Actionable steps you can take to plan for—and get the most out of—collaboration as it evolves

Download the report from The Work Innovation Lab by Asana to get insights into what’s to come in 2023 and make a data-backed plan for success.

Executive goal setting is changing

Goal setting is crucial to hitting your most important targets. But it’s not enough to simply set goals—you need to set the right goals. 

To understand how companies set goals, we studied executive leaders who often have an outsized impact on their organizations. The Work Innovation Lab, a think tank by Asana, partnered with Sharpist, a digital executive coaching and leadership training company, to study how these executives use goals. In this guide, learn: 

• How the goals executives set differ from those of non-executives
• How executives interact with their and their company’s goals, and the importance of sharing these goals with the team so everyone is aligned, company-wide
• How executive goal setting is changing in the face of a changing workplace

Download the full report to learn how to set goals that will have the greatest impact on your leadership—and your company’s success.