Leadership is so crucial to all organizations, be they a modest startup or a globe-spanning conglomerate, as it is what allows any establishment to thrive, progress and fulfill its true potential, regardless of scope or size. Two of the most popular leadership styles are transactional and transformational leadership.

In this blog, we’ll explore the differences between the two styles and what makes each effective.

Rewards and punishments are tools that a transactional leader depends on, in order to ensure consistency. This type of leader is goal-oriented and focuses on achieving targets by providing incentives to workers who reach certain objectives. Transactional leaders are often traditional managers who are concerned mainly with maintaining the status quo and ensuring employees adhere to established policies and procedures.

Typical styles of transactional leaders include:

• Communicating a clear set of expectations and associated guidelines

• “Carrot and Stick” style, to motivate employees

• Immediate correction of deviation from guidelines and expectations

 • Employees’ performance is based on their compliance with well-defined performance targets

• Financial rewards, promotions, and other incentives to those who meet performance targets

While transactional leadership may succeed with teams tackling well-defined, short-term goals, a more engaging approach often stimulates higher performance on intricate or long-lasting initiatives requiring creativity and cooperation. However, it may not work well for complex, long-term tasks or projects requiring significant creativity and innovation.

Transformational leadership inspires and empowers employees by motivating them to think outside the box and develop innovative solutions through their creativity. Transformational leaders are visionary and believe in the potential of their employees. They empower employees to perform at their best by providing clear goals but then empowering their employees to choose the best way to achieve them.

Characteristics of transformational leaders include:

• Inspiring and motivating employees to work beyond defined expectations

• Empowering employees to be innovative and creative

• A strong focus on building team morale and relationships

• A deep interest in the personal development of employees

• Collaborative effort to design a role for their employees

• Creating a shared vision among all employees

Transformational leadership is effective in environments where employees need to feel a sense of ownership, such as when working on complex projects requiring creativity and innovation. The approach fosters collaboration and empowers individuals to make decisions and take calculated risks.

In conclusion, both transactional and transformational leadership styles have their unique ways of achieving organizational objectives. Transactional leadership provides direction and stability, while transformational leadership creates inspiration and creativity. Effective leadership hinges upon discerning an organization’s requirements, comprehending those necessities through various perspectives, and skillfully adapting leadership approaches to fulfil expected results.

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In a recent study by World Economic Forum, a report titled The Future of Job was published to report on all aspects of jobs over the coming decades. The report studied over 673 million employees worldwide and found that 69 million jobs will be created in the next five years, mostly driven by new technologies and the green transition.  Interestingly, these gains will be offset by 83 million jobs being put at risk by economic pressures and automation.

The truth is that AI and chatbots are already starting to take over certain aspects of these roles. For example, ChatGPT can answer simple medical questions and provide basic engineering solutions. However, it’s important to note that these technologies do not replace human expertise and experience.

The world economic Forum report effectively states that around a quarter of today’s jobs will be disrupted in the next five years. Governments, businesses, and workers will need to foster a culture of lifelong learning to embrace these emerging opportunities.

That said, as a technologist and a futurist, I cannot ignore the humanistic side of these conversations. In fact, in a conversation with the founder of Mind Matters Health, Nasim Yazdani, who deals with day to day challenges of her patients, including but not limited to being taken over by ‘robots’, we both agreed that moving forward, the workforce will need to amplify a certain set of humanistic skillsets, in order to remain relevant.

AI and chatbots can help streamline processes and make certain tasks more efficient, but they cannot replace the critical thinking, creativity, and empathy that humans bring to these professions. In fact, as these technologies become more widespread, it is likely that new roles and opportunities will emerge for those who can effectively leverage their unique human skills alongside AI tools.

So as my wife and I help guide my 8-year-old through various levels of the education system, to achieve her future goals and aspirations, we feel that it’s important that I explain to her how technologies such as AI and chat GPT-like platforms are changing the way some traditional professions are operating.

My advice to my daughter will be for her to pursue her passion. But regardless of her career path, I believe she will need to be equipped with the following skillsets that no AI or chat GPT-like platform can replace.   

Here are a few of those skillsets:

1. Ability to sell and negotiate
2. Ability to convey what you think and feel
3. Ability to not speak, listen and learn from others
4. Ability to adapt, improvise and overcome obstacles
5. Ability to walk away
6. Ability to stay positive and optimistic
7. Ability to speak in front of large audiences
8. Ability to keep trying even after failure
9. Ability to learn how to learn
10. Ability to understand and feel others
11. Ability to master your own thoughts
12. Ability to write words to persuade and influence others
13. Ability to ask for help

You can find a link to this article here.

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You can find a link to this article here.

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Virtual Health

The healthcare industry is constantly evolving and changing, which means that the way that care is delivered to patients is also changing. One of the latest trends in healthcare is virtual care, which is a way of providing care to patients that isn`t always taking place inside a medical office. Virtual care is a rapidly growing trend in the healthcare space today because technology has made it easier than ever to offer remote care services to many patients in different areas of the country. Here are some of the ways that we are leveraging technology to revolutionize the healthcare industry with virtual care.

Healthcare Technology Is Changing The Way That We Deliver Care To Patients

One of the biggest ways that technology is changing the way that we deliver care to patients is through telemedicine. Telemedicine is the use of technology to deliver healthcare services such as treatment or diagnosis to patients without having to see the patient in person. Telemedicine uses videoconferencing and other technological tools to bridge the distance between patients and healthcare providers. There are many reasons why telemedicine is becoming more popular in the healthcare space. For example, it can allow a patient to receive medical care from a specialist in a location where they otherwise would not have access to that kind of specialist. In some cases, it can be less expensive to provide telemedicine services than it would be for the patient to travel to an office or clinic to receive in-person care. These are just a few of the reasons why telemedicine has become such a big trend in the healthcare industry in recent years.

How Telemedicine Can Help Reduce Cost In The Healthcare Industry

Another way that technology is being used to transform the healthcare industry is through remote patient monitoring (RPM) devices. Remote patient monitoring devices are small devices that attach to a monitor that is placed in your home and are used to track vital signs and track your health while you are home instead of at the hospital or medical clinic. These devices are used to collect and transmit data to a secure server where the data can be accessed at any time by healthcare professionals. This technology has the potential to provide patients with greater access to care than ever before while also reducing the need for them to visit the hospital so often. When used properly, RPM devices can help reduce the cost of providing care by giving patients the ability to stay in their homes when they are sick or recovering from surgery and allowing them to receive the support they need without having to visit the emergency room every time they have a medical issue.

One of the big advantages of telemedicine is that it allows patients to access healthcare without having to travel to receive care from a healthcare provider. This is especially important for patients who live in remote areas where they do not have easy access to healthcare facilities. With telehealth, these patients can still have access to medical professionals without having to drive long distances to see a doctor. Telehealth also allows healthcare providers to provide services to a larger patient population than they would be able to serve with an in-person office visit. For example, a team of doctors at a medical center may have the option of seeing multiple patients at the same time through the use of telehealth. This provides them with the opportunity to provide a greater level of service than they would if they were only able to see one patient at a time. In addition, telehealth can be used to provide follow-up care for patients who have been discharged from a hospital or other medical facility and need to schedule appointments with a primary care physician for further treatment. Through the use of a remote patient monitoring system, the patient is able to check in with the nurse practitioner who is administering their medication remotely to ensure they are taking the medication as prescribed and to monitor any symptoms they may be experiencing at home. As the use of virtual care technologies continues to grow, it is important that these technologies are used safely and effectively. Although there is currently no standard of care in place to ensure that remote patient monitoring devices are safe and effective, the FDA and other government agencies are working to develop guidelines for this type of technology. In the meantime, it is important to understand that these devices are not currently FDA approved for remote patient monitoring and may not be appropriate for all patients. It is also important to verify that the medical device manufacturer of the remote monitoring device follows applicable safety standards. These standards help ensure that the device is being manufactured according to appropriate guidelines. When using a remote patient monitoring system, it is essential that the device you are using is appropriate for your type of medical condition and that the healthcare provider who will be using it is properly qualified and trained to do so. This is to ensure that the device is being used correctly and that it is providing reliable results that can be used by your healthcare provider to evaluate your health and provide you with the best possible care.

Technology plays an important role in enabling healthcare providers to deliver high-quality care to their patients regardless of where that care takes place. Advances in telemedicine have made this possible by providing healthcare professionals with new ways to engage with their patients. As a result, providers are now able to offer their patients access to specialized care that may not be available to them otherwise. In some cases, it is possible to provide patients with better quality of care by connecting them directly to a specialist who can provide expert medical advice in real time.

To find out more on how Dell is helping organizations with Virtual Care capabilities go to Healthcare IT Solutions & Transformation | Dell Technologies Australia

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Michael Dell recently described edge computing as “technology’s next great frontier” and IDC predicts 50 percent of infrastructure deployments will be at the network edge by 2023. Frontiers attract pioneers. They reap the benefits but face risks from unknown hazards.

In this podcast AJ Missaghi, Dell Technologies Chief Technology Officer for Healthcare and Life Sciences across Asia Pacific and Japan will show you how to monetise and make the most of edge computing, and avoid the pitfalls. Listen to the Podcast here : Monetisation of Edge (podbean.com)

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The moves made by Australian healthcare leaders to digitally transform health services now will directly impact the long-term wellbeing of citizens and protect the future economy.
However, to realise the potential of a digitalised healthcare sector and navigate the data era, leaders must prepare for innovative technologies and confront the rise in cyber and ransomware attacks head-on.

In the past two years, the healthcare system has been at the heart of societal and economic recovery. Its resiliency and innovation while facing the ongoing pandemic and other everyday medical challenges have been immense; the rapid shift to telehealth services helped reduce community transmission and protect patients and healthcare workers while keeping beds free for COVID-19 patients. Now, as governments collaborate with healthcare leaders and tech experts to realise the full potential of digitally driven service solutions, the progress made in recent times must be protected and enhanced.

Healthcare vulnerabilities

A cyberattack was reported every 8 minutes in Australia over the 2020–2021 financial year, with an 84 per cent increase in reports relating to the health sector in 2020 from 2019. The financial cost is staggering, but the human cost is incalculable. Already straining under a backlog of pandemic patient appointments, health systems are relying on digital transformations to turbocharge long-term resiliency. But cyberattacks can disrupt operations at large hospitals resulting in a lack of access to patient data and delays and cancellations of time-sensitive procedures.

The Australian Government’s Ransomware Action Plan reports that during the height of the pandemic in 2020, ransomware campaigns targeted Australia’s aged care and healthcare sectors. The ‘Maze’ ransomware encrypted valuable information, such as sensitive personal and medical information, so it could no longer be used until a ransom was paid. Reckless attacks such as these put patients’ lives at risk.

Preventative cyber technology is constantly evolving with innovations to protect data and keep pace with the bad actors; however, the Australian health sector will continue to be a vulnerable target because of its access to sensitive data and increased reliance on internet-enabled services. And alarmingly, according to a 2021 survey by Dell Technologies, 74% of health industry decisionmakers say they struggle to find suitable data protection for their AI and machine learning solutions. A collaborative public and private sector approach is now needed to maximise cyber security and resilience.

Ransomware is everyone’s problem and could hinder healthcare progress if not dealt with decisively. As the Australian government mounts more robust defences against cyberattacks, national partnerships with the brightest cyber experts, CIOs, and public health leaders are necessary to ensure Australia is cyber secure. Cyber is at the core of digital healthcare infrastructure and the basis for future progress, making it essential for combatting today’s healthcare challenges.

Protecting health data

Health data is the lifeblood of progress in solving healthcare problems. But accelerated digital transformations have created increasing complexities — and data protection must evolve to meet new demands.

After a tumultuous couple of years, healthcare waiting lists have grown out-of-hand, placing pressure on already overwhelmed facilities and staff. Telehealth services, supported by always-on digital platforms, initially boosted accessibility to services and continue to streamline efficiencies. The Australian government has recently committed an additional $24 million to support telehealth changes to give GPs and specialists additional flexibility to treat their patients safely as Omicron case numbers grow.

Meanwhile, the datasphere has grown increasingly complex. Simplified, agile as-a-service data management across the hybrid and multi-cloud is now essential for boosting operational efficiencies. Health records and mobile devices have streamlined wait times and minimised patients’ time spent in hospitals, as IoT and Edge computing have powered patient monitoring. Behind the frontlines, AI technologies have led the charge on healthcare research — enabled by High Performance Computing. In December 2021, the Australian Alliance for Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare launched a roadmap with proposed strategies to cover critical issues in the roll-out of an AI enabled Australian healthcare system, with the goal being a fully funded national plan by 2025.

Given these advancements, it isn’t surprising that the health sector is a tempting target for cybercriminals. Retaining trust in the digital innovations that underpin Australia’s future economy and social wellbeing is critical to sustaining progress, which is why it’s more important than ever that our most sensitive data, health data, is rigorously protected.

As healthcare leaders look to reinforce the cyber resiliency of their organisations, focusing on their most critical data is key — from records with accompanying images to object data from diagnostic systems and health surveys. Placing this critical data in a vault will help ensure it is isolated, can’t be modified and can be quickly recovered in the event of an attack — enabling healthcare services to get up and running quickly again.

Better together

Protecting these unstructured datasets requires a ‘people, process, and best of breed technology solutions’ approach. While there is no antidote or 100% fail-proof approach, enlisting a cyber strategy that focuses on all three areas is vital. Cyber security is evolving quickly to keep pace with cybercriminals. That means cyber strategies should constantly evolve too, with stress tests and ongoing

assessments to ensure they are fit for purpose. So is having the right technology and cybersecurity partners. Planning and preparation are vital. This is not a journey that healthcare providers can travel alone — and there is no end in sight.

But the risks of not acting now far outweigh the short-term cost of investing in tighter cyber strategies. Healthcare progress is at stake. It is underpinned by technology innovations that require patient trust, continuity, and reliability. Take the potential for Digital Twin technology, which is transforming the sector and enabling healthcare institutions to meet pressing challenges — from personalising healthcare to combatting patient wait times. The powerful combination of the digital twin, IoT, AI, and data analytics will boost patient outcomes and hospital performance. But this must be supported by stringent cyber security to evolve with the trust of patients and healthcare providers — and remain operational in the event of a ransomware attack. Ransomware is a national and global challenge; an open, multistakeholder approach across sectors will help organisations ramp up defences. The nature of healthcare makes it particularly vulnerable, and the stakes are high as it powers national resilience beyond the pandemic. Securing the viability of healthcare innovations with first-class cyber strategies will benefit everyone everywhere. As we look to a more equitable, sustainable future that puts citizens at the forefront of progress, healthcare cyber security is more than a hot topic — it’s a lifeline.

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The majority of healthcare institutions are still not integrating data from various wearable devices, IOT devices, in home care systems and telemedicine system with other medical records. This disconnection is not only limiting the benefits that can be gained, but hindering the development of new treatments.

Remote patient monitoring has been a revolutionary tool for care delivery models across the globe. It is a technology that enables remote communication without an intermediary. This allows healthcare providers to monitor patients in hospital, at home and from a distance through wearable devices, and track their vital signs.

In the future, these networks will become more integrated with local GPs who can talk to patients from afar and offer advice on coping strategies for chronic conditions.

This article discusses how healthcare institutions need to rethink their approach to remote patient monitoring in order to integrate it into everyday healthcare practices and episodes of care.

Just over a week ago, whilst laying in bed with a high temperature, and like many others facing typical symptoms of COVID-19, I began to question if I was going to make it through the night. Now for full disclosure I knew that the events of the past 2 years had influenced my perception and general thinking about my health being in a critical state. Afterall I had faced many common cold and flu episodes in my life with many of them having similar symptoms. I had enough sanity to convince myself that the high temperature will pass but at the same time I knew that COVID symptoms can quickly escalate and become life threatening. At this point it’s nearing 2022 New Year midnight celebrations and I am trying to avoid the worst case scenario. My chest at this point is tightening, I am getting cramps in my upper back region roughly between my shoulder blades and my breathing is becoming shallow. Arguably some early signs of heart problems.  At the same time, I am conscientious that I am not the only one facing or having faced these symptoms. So instead of calling 000 – or 911 as my American friends would say – I decided to reach out to Nurse on Call. After a few ringtones and an automated answering system I was directed to a calm soothing voice of a nurse who no doubt ‘had seen this movie before’. She assured me that based upon my tone of voice I was fine but she needed to ascertain some additional information. And so began the data collection. Suddenly I realised that I have a wearable device which I had used for the past year on so many occasions to measure my recovery process post intense exercising such as running, cycling, weightlifting, or High-intensity Interval training as well as tracing my sleep patterns and stages such as REM or Deep sleep.  The data being produced was exactly the type of data that the Nurse on Call was asking for. Whilst the content (i.e. Data) was the same, the context was subtly different. She was trying to put together this data to achieve different correlations. 

My wearable device was spitting out real time data every second on my Resting Heart Rate, Respiratory rate, my Sleep pattern and recovery stages and my Heart Rate Variability. It gets better because I had access to historical data which had been accumulating over the past year and the picture that was being painted was one that not surprisingly my decline in health was not due to inappropriate amount of intense exercise – which I must admit that it’s not uncommon for my competitive nature – but due to COVID-19 having got a hold of my body and doing what it does best. 

Now back to my conversation with Nurse on Call, my nurse assured me that my respiratory rate was within the normal range. Yes we agreed that a healthy and active individual should not be facing such a high level of respiratory rate but I was not in a critical state. She also agreed that my high heart rate and abnormal breathing patterns were common in COVID-19 patients but not a cause for alarm. She instructed me to take another dose of paracetamol to manage my high temperature, consume more liquids and rest.

The next morning I woke somewhat bruised and battered from being upset and not being able to celebrate New Year with my family and friends. But I couldn’t help wonder about how the events of the night before with my Nurse on Call avoided a trip to hospital and its associated waiting game in an emergency department, not to mention adding additional stress that I would have added to an already overwhelmed healthcare system.

Suddenly I see a news flash on the lounge room TV that the recent COVID-19 wave in Australia had crashed many ambulance and emergency departments. Many of the calls could have been avoided by a similar assessment that my nurse had made for me. 

Wearable devices these days come in many sizes, colours and capabilities. Many of them such as Garmin have the capabilities that my Whoop device provided me. So the question is “why don’t we embrace them? Why doesn’t our healthcare system integrate these devices into Realtime patient monitoring platforms?”

Now these are somewhat rhetorical questions. My two decades of experience in the technology industry and in recent years the Healthcare Industry has taught me that these challenges are not just solved by technology, rather by embracing new ways of thinking that challenges the traditional healthcare operating models. The untapped opportunity in APJ around IOT devices is estimated to be approximately $44B and in ANZ alone we are facing a $200M virtual care opportunity, with many organisations racing to integrate the various parts of healthcare ecosystem. Dell Technologies and eCare21 have put together a proven virtual care platform that has solved some of these challenges.  Join me in the next article to go deeper into what I believe Healthcare industry must embrace in order to position itself for the future of Healthcare by introducing remote patient monitoring and fully integrated highly secure virtual care platforms as well as introduce you to Dell Technology and eCare21 with virtual capabilities that supports above scenarios. 

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AJ and his team worked with TMC to develop a set of technology priorities which aligned with TMC’s new business model. So, developed a set of strategies to allow TMC technology to become less infrastructure centric and more application and value focused.

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Key Outcomes delivered

1. Technology to support growth in the terminal upgrades as well as development of a new terminal (Terminal 4 for domestic travel).
2. Introduction of an Enterprise Data platform to support – enabling airports’ staff to perform deep analytics of its operations to support the establishment of new lines of business, products and services.

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Key outcomes of these programs of work included:

1. Simplification of the technology landscape.
2. Uplift and develop Australia Post technical capabilities to align with and enable the Australia Post 5 year strategic plans to be delivered
3. Reduction in the total number of national data centres from 8 to 2 (being 1 primary and 1 secondary data centre).
4. Introduced capabilities that allowed transition from a being predominately a ‘letters’ business to an Ecommerce and parcels business – this essentially required the introduction of a 2 speed operating model that allowed Australia Post to support the traditional letters business as well as accommodate the rapid growth of parcels business. 

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