Credit to gustavofrazao
When leaders talk about AI right now, the tone is usually optimistic. Excited, even.
They’re the ones leading it, after all.
But underneath that optimism? Something else. A concern that their people aren’t getting on board as quickly - or as enthusiastically - as they’d hoped.
You can hear it in the language:
“I 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 our people are on board.”
“I’m 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 they’re using it.”
“We’ve rolled out training, so I 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦 it’s happening.”
That qualifying language matters. It usually means leaders are getting compliance rather than commitment.
Which, if you have a child, you know exactly what that looks like. 'Did you clean your room?' 'Yes.' (Narrator: He had not cleaned his room.)
What Leaders Think the AI Problem Is
Most leaders believe the AI challenge comes down to one of two things:
- They don’t have the right tool yet
- Their people aren’t trained well enough on the tool
And yes, those can be real issues.
But they’re not 𝘵𝘩𝘦 problem.
The Real Problem Underneath AI Resistance
The real challenge with AI adoption isn’t technical; it’s psychological. It’s how people are 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 about AI.
Right now, many employees are saying “yes, but” to AI:
- Yes, but this feels overwhelming
- Yes, but I don’t have time to learn another thing
- Yes, but what does this mean for my job?
Even people who believe AI could be useful are exhausted. We’re living in an overstimulated, always-on world, and AI often shows up as just one more complicated thing that doesn’t work the way you expect. At least, not right away.
So people try once. It doesn’t go perfectly. And they quietly give up. It's like that gym membership in January. Full of hope on day one. Gathering dust by February. Not that I am speaking from experience here…
Why Moving Faster Often Makes It Worse
When leaders push AI adoption without addressing fear and uncertainty first, they don’t get open resistance. They get lip service.
People do just enough to say they’re “using AI,” but not enough to meaningfully integrate it. They procrastinate. They dismiss early failures. They move on to what feels safer.
There’s a line from the movie Office Space that comes to mind here: That's my only real motivation is not to be hassled; that, and the fear of losing my job. But, you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired."
(If you haven't seen Office Space, first of all, fix that immediately. Second, just know that Peter Gibbons is the patron saint of disengaged employees everywhere.)
That’s the mentality when it comes to resistance, or apathy, to any kind of change.
And if AI is treated as a technical upgrade instead of a human change, the long-term consequences are serious.
AI isn’t slowing down. It’s accelerating. Tools will change. Capabilities will expand. Techniques will evolve.
If every iteration requires leaders to re-force adoption from scratch, their organizations will fall behind those with a culture that’s ready to adapt again and again.
A Better Reframe for AI Integration
Here’s the shift leaders need to make:
𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
Everything else flows from that.
We’ve seen this movie before.
Organizations that ignored email, websites, social media, or online ordering didn’t just resist change, they lost relevance. And organizations that adopted those tools carelessly, without experimentation or intention, often hurt themselves just as badly.
I have a friend who works with lawyers on AI adoption. There have been cases where attorneys used AI to draft contracts without proper oversight - and it cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars because of clauses the AI got wrong. They adopted without the right mindset, without the right approach, without the right strategy.
AI is no different from any other major change:
Ignore it, and you fall behind.
Adopt it recklessly, and you create new problems.
Leading AI Adoption: Three Principles That Actually Work
After years of helping leaders navigate change, I’ve found three principles that separate organizations that adapt well from those that struggle:
1. Acknowledge Both Realities
AI is here, and it’s not optional. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 fear, skepticism, and ethical concerns are real and need to be named.
Too many leaders aren’t even admitting their honest feelings about AI. Some people genuinely hate it but won’t say so because they don’t want to go against the organizational flow. Others want to use it but are afraid of looking bad if they try and fail.
By not acknowledging these feelings, people stay stuck and paralyzed.
When leaders don’t acknowledge both the reality of AI 𝘢𝘯𝘥 the reality of people’s emotions about it, nothing moves.
2. Move Forward Without All the Answers
Leaders struggle with AI uncertainty by not making decisions. When you’re uncertain about something, whether it’s AI or anything else, you freeze. It’s paralysis.
And that paralysis doesn’t just slow you down. It creates a culture of procrastination or non-adoption. It makes it harder in the future to move forward on 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.
You don’t need all the answers to take the next step. You just need to take it.
3. Start Small and Make It Playful
Because AI is touted as having so much power (and it does), people want to jump into the most challenging use cases. “How can I use AI to completely outsource my marketing and sales team?”
That’s a giant question (and probably not even realistic). But that’s the type of thinking that leads to overwhelm and paralysis.
Instead: pick one small, low-risk task and play with an AI tool for a week.
Not client-facing. Not mission-critical. Something internal where imperfection is okay.
Remember: taking small steps is faster than taking no steps. If you’re hesitating because a step feels too small when you need to move fast, ask yourself honestly, “is the alternative really taking a giant step, or is the alternative freezing because the step is so big I don’t do anything?”
A Simple Way to Get AI Moving (Without the Pressure)
Here’s one practical approach that works:
Invite your team—including yourself—to choose one small, low-risk task and experiment with an AI tool for a week.
At the end of the week, don’t ask, “Who succeeded?”
Ask:
- What did you try?
- What worked?
- What didn’t?
- What did you learn?
- What might you try next?
Better yet, start the whole conversation with a “what if”:
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘈𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦?
“What if” lowers pressure. It opens creativity. And it invites experimentation instead of compliance.
One thing leaders should stop doing immediately? 𝗥𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆.
AI is new for almost everyone. Demanding perfect results kills learning. If success must be guaranteed, the task is too big.
Shrink it. Make it playful. Let people fail safely.
Why This Matters Right Now
What worries me most about how organizations are rolling out AI is the lack of space to learn. Too much pressure, too little permission to experiment.
What gives me hope is leaders who ask questions, listen deeply, and create room for play. Those leaders don’t just adopt AI better, they lead change better.
And that’s the real opportunity here.
The question isn’t whether you’ll adopt AI.
It’s how you’ll lead people through it.
If this resonates, and you’re responsible for helping your team embrace change (AI or otherwise) I’d love to continue the conversation. My book, 𝘚𝘢𝘺 “𝘠𝘦𝘴, 𝘈𝘯𝘥!” 𝘵𝘰 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦, comes out in April and dives deep into these principles, but you don’t have to wait for the book. Reach out if you want to explore how to build a culture that’s ready to adapt, again and again.