What if the real IT transformation challenge isn’t technology, but trust?

Over the years, I’ve worked alongside IT leaders at a dozen Fortune 100 companies—from life sciences to travel and transportation to consumer goods. While each organization claimed to be unique, the frustrations I heard from business stakeholders were startlingly similar:

• “Why does IT focus on their challenges and issues instead of mine?”
• “IT doesn’t understand my priorities.”
• “They bring me in too late.”
• “I talk to three different IT groups who don’t talk to each other.”

These aren’t technology problems. They’re people problems—problems of alignment, trust, and communication.

And yet, many IT leadership teams fall into the same trap: believing that the next new technology—AI, cloud migration, or AR/VR —will be the thing that finally earns them trust, influence, and a seat at the table. I see this pattern time and time again. A shiny new initiative is launched with high hopes, only for business partners to feel just as disconnected and unheard.

It’s a fallacy. Technology can enhance relationships, but it can’t repair them.

Implementing a new platform doesn’t automatically make stakeholders feel more understood. A digital transformation roadmap doesn’t mean much if the people it affects aren’t meaningfully engaged along the way. No dashboard, however slick, can substitute for trust built through early engagement, consistent follow-through, and a shared understanding of what matters most.

I often see this – the more ambitious the initiative, the greater the strain on fragile relationships. Stakeholders feel change is being done to them, not with them. IT gets frustrated that business teams aren’t “aligned.” And the pattern repeats.

Here’s the takeaway: If you’re leading a transformation, start not with the tech roadmap, but by asking: Do our stakeholders feel heard, understood, and involved early? Trust isn’t a byproduct of technology—it’s a prerequisite for its success.

That’s why I’m launching this series – a short, human-centered story drawn from real-life scenarios, moments where the relationship between IT and the business either fractured or flourished. These stories will be rooted in a clear insight, with a simple goal: to spark reflection and offer practical ways to build stronger partnerships between IT and the business.