Many teams on the AI journey hit bumps when trying to convince others – internally and externally. Some team members worry AI might replace their jobs, while senior leadership might not always be fully on board or see its benefits. If you’re a leader or manager on this journey, it’s essential to get others on board.
How are you going on your AI journey, especially when it comes to bringing your team along?
I was speaking at an event last week about AI in the geology and mining sector. This industry has had AI for a long time, and that use of AI is only going to continue increasing, as it is in most other industries and sectors. Before the event started, one of the attendees asked me for help they were having with using AI in their team.
He explained he was definitely interested in doing more with AI. One of his team members is also very excited about it, and he wants her to take the lead in this area.
Good! I always tell leaders to find an AI champion in their team, then facilitate and help them lead the AI journey.
But here’s his problem … Two problems, in fact …
First, the rest of the team weren’t as keen. Some were lukewarm, others indifferent, and even some worried that AI would take their job.
Second, their senior leadership wasn’t fully on board. They weren’t actively blocking it, but they weren’t fully convinced either.
So, even though he wanted to go ahead with AI, he wasn’t sure about the rest of the organisation or even his own team.
This is one of the most common issues leaders face when taking their team on the AI journey. You might be lucky to have a team and organisation where everyone embraces AI. But more often, you might resonate with this leader’s situation. You are interested, you have an AI champion, but there’s resistance elsewhere.
I’ll address this in my next public online virtual master class, which describes this and other non-obvious mistakes leaders must avoid to be successful on their AI journey. It’s coming soon, and it’s free and open to everyone, so please register, and share the link with others in your team and wider network.
