What began as a whisper about AI’s potential has erupted into a roar. From the boardroom to the break room, conversations about automation, agents and artificial intelligence seem to echo throughout the workplace.
Amid the noise, leadership can’t stay silent. Owners and managers who engage openly (even when they don’t have all the answers) build trust — the essential element to moving teams from AI resistance to AI readiness.
Concern from employees generally falls into one of two buckets: fears about changes to their jobs and worries about dramatic shifts in the customer journey. Often those fears converge into one singular anxiety about being replaced or rendered less relevant.
Take financial services, for example. Advisors and other financial professionals who have devoted decades to earning the credibility to guide people through sensitive financial strategies are watching GenerativeAI (GenAI) platforms step in between them and their clients. Two-thirds of adults who’ve used AI for financial advice say they’ve taken that advice, and 80% say it actually helped.
Rather than see AI as a runaway train of disruption, however, there are approaches leaders in all sectors can take to encourage their employees to get onboard with a shared sense of direction. Here are three to consider:
Be intentional about setting aside time and space for the team to get together and talk about all things AI. Make it clear that all questions, concerns and curiosities are welcome.
For the most enthusiastic early adopters on your team, invite them to lead a session, giving demos of how AI is improving their work (or even their personal lives). Encourage them to share what they’ve learned and how they believe this particular tool may adjust the way the organization can have even greater impact.
(Bonus points for weaving AI into these experiences with tools like meeting transcription platforms, smart summarizers and AI copilots to help employees build comfort with everyday automation.)
Make sure the top brass attends often. When leaders show they’re listening and learning, too, employees tend to see change not as a threat, but as a growth initiative everyone’s pursuing together.
By framing AI as a tool that actually amplifies human strengths, leaders can reorient the team’s thinking from threat to advantage.
Take those financial advisors who may be worried their advice is being usurped by AI, for example. Firms that demonstrate how automation can take things like routine data entry and compliance checks off advisors’ plates, helps them get excited about the many different ways to use their newfound hours.
Here again, leaders must provide… well, leadership. Too much autonomy for how to fill free time can backfire. Owners and managers should set aside time to remind employees what truly sets them apart, reiterating strategies for human-centered capabilities, like building trust, guiding complex decisions and deepening client relationships.
When AI adoption is tied to the organization’s broader mission, like helping people achieve financial freedom, employees can more easily recognize the parts of their work that technology supports but cannot replace.
Curiosity that is modeled at the top is powerful. Set up a simple governance framework that protects the organization and then encourage teams to pilot AI use cases. Build accountability into each initiative by scheduling moments to share learnings and detail further opportunities for progress.
Don’t forget to include the imperfect attempts or even down-right failures. These are huge learning opportunities that create a culture of failing forward. In organizations with “okay to fail” vibes, employees are eager to try new things, unafraid of professional blow back.
Leaning into experimentation rather than edicts is how modern companies stay ahead of their competitors and deliver hyper-relevant experiences, often before their customers even ask for them. With technology and customer expectations evolving too rapidly to wait for perfection, progress now favors those willing to refine in real time.
Internally, this approach signals that adaptation is a shared privilege to learn, rather than a top-down mandate to “figure out AI.”
AI is rapidly defining the climate of business. Those who see it as a passing storm — or worse, a catastrophic natural disaster — risk missing the moment.
The Iowa businesses that meet AI with curiosity (along with empathy for their employees) can do more than steady their teams. They have the potential to turn disruption into a new wave of growth for the entire state’s economy.
If our team can work with yours to find (or fund) new AI initiatives that make peace with progress, reach out to one of our Bank Iowa lenders today.