Crain’s 2022 Notable Executives in Technological innovation Q&A: ‘Tech allows a small business, supports people’

Howard Pincham uncovered a leadership lesson a long time ago when he labored at Hyland Program. In the open up place of work environment, Pincham viewed as then-CEO A.J. Hyland took the previous glass of drinking water from a cooler, then changed the empty jug with a entire 1. “I was struck by this guy, the CEO of a substantial business, modifying the drinking water for anyone else,” Pincham reported. Pincham attempts to bring that method to his do the job as chief facts officer at Koinonia Houses, a nonprofit that supplies residing areas and activities for individuals with mental and developmental disabilities.

What IT worries have you had to handle at Koinonia?

I began in the tumble of 2019, and when COVID hit, we experienced two months to change from a place where all the get the job done took place to just one where some function could very easily materialize somewhere else. A ton of us have the similar stories, but it took us a very little extra get the job done, mainly because we have been powering in terms of know-how. We have also experimented with to assistance the persons in the entrance line report details again about clientele with some really hard disabilities. How perfectly someone had lunch that working day or how somebody else is building self-treatment habits. Our company is about treatment, and we want to document that care. A great deal of what we’ve finished is par for the course, but this is a path to maturity for us.

Your mindset seems “other”-pushed. Is that reasonable?

I believe of myself as section of the group, and I will need to maintain up my end. If I’m the government and people have to dazzle me, especially right before they dazzle close prospects, their productiveness goes out the window. If I can make this office drama-cost-free, I sense like I am serving them simply because the staff — and it is an outstanding team — is contributing for end prospects.

How do you mesh servant leadership with IT?

I am a regular man, but I am also possibly the biggest nerd you know. A single of the difficulties that nerds like us have is we consider tech is the be-all and conclusion-all. I see a few legs that are critical: folks, approach and tech. For someone in my space to say tech solves all the troubles, completely not. Tech allows a company, supports men and women, supports process.

Are you equipped to interact with customers?

We have much more than 60 spots spreading via Cuyahoga County and Summit and a bit of Lorain, so there are a lot of opportunities for all of us to interact. It can be remarkable that we are called just to deliver a house for our clients. When I clearly show up, I really don’t have the ability established to provide the care that some of them want, but I can communicate and shell out time and be present — and hopefully that assists someone. Looking at the work that the full crew does to give the tiniest detail for another person on the autism spectrum or another person who is nonverbal but so a great deal desires to be aspect of the local community, seeing the mission and seeing what entrance line folks do, it is been a blessing and a privilege.