Why it matters now
Many leaders tell me their people are resistant. When I look closer, the stall usually sits higher up: there is no clear plan, managers have not been given the time or confidence to lead, and the tools were handed out without changing the work. People are often more ready than their leaders assume. What they need is a reason, permission and support.
- 72% of employees use AI regularly, but frontline use has stalled at 51%, and only 25% of frontline workers say their leaders give enough guidance.BCG, AI at Work 2025 ↗
- Only 22% of employees say their organisation has communicated a clear AI plan. Those who strongly agree it has are three times as likely to feel very prepared.Gallup, AI use at work, 2025 ↗
- Employees who strongly agree their manager supports AI use are 1.7 times as likely to use it frequently.Gallup, AI Indicator, 2026 ↗
Common mistakes
- Treating adoption as a software rollout instead of a change in behaviour.
- Blaming employee resistance when the stall sits with leadership.
- Leaving middle managers out, even though their teams take their cue from them.
- Assuming adoption has succeeded because leaders feel it has, without asking employees.
- Handing out licences without time, training or a changed workflow.
What to do instead
- Explain the why and the plan. Tell people why AI matters for the company, what will change, what will not, and how they will be supported. Repeat it more often than feels necessary.
- Make managers the channel. Give managers the time, training and expectation to lead adoption in their own teams. They are the people employees actually listen to.
- Redesign real workflows. Pick a few workflows and redesign them with the people who do the work. Value comes from changed work, not from access to a tool.
- Train hands-on. Replace generic e-learning with practice on people’s own tasks, with someone to help. A few hours of real practice does more than a webinar.
- Use it visibly yourself. Share how you use AI in your own work, including what did not work. It gives everyone else permission to try.
Your first step this week
Ask five managers from different teams what stops their people using AI in daily work. Write down the answers word for word, and fix the most common one first.
Related guides
- Should we mandate AI use or tie it to performance reviews?
- How do we build AI skills across the organisation?
- What happens to jobs and roles, and what do I tell people?
All AI leadership principles and guides · 100 AI use cases by function