Opinion: Overcoming resistance to AI: A roadmap for leaders

Marlene Chism

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing industries, driving efficiencies and creating new opportunities – but not everyone is on board. Resistance to AI is fueled by uncertainty, fear of job displacement and a perceived loss of control. For organizations aiming to remain competitive, and embrace innovation, leaders must proactively strive to reduce friction and encourage a growth mindset within their teams.

Here are four practical strategies for overcoming resistance to AI in the workplace.

Shift from fear to curiosity
Fear of change always leads to resistance. Fears range from the challenge of learning something new and becoming irrelevant to job loss. While there is a learning curve, and some jobs may change, leaders can ease these fears by positioning AI as a tool for empowerment rather than replacement, and by fostering a culture of curiosity.

Before trying to change minds, encourage open discussion of the concerns. Make it safe to discuss the elephant in the room. Don’t allow yourself to get triggered by their resistance. Instead hear them out first, which is an example of modeling curiosity rather than fear. Once people feel heard they’re more likely to trust your direction.

Offer training
Offer training in various formats from group training to self-paced learning. For self-paced learning, the LinkedIn Learning Library is the best there is with hundreds of online self-paced courses on everything from boosting productivity using AI, AI for machine learning, AI for business and AI for project managers. You can purchase individual accounts or enterprise licenses depending on the size of your business. Within a few videos employees start to understand the value of AI: streamlining tasks and reducing workloads.

Make AI fun
I was resistant to AI at first, until I learned to apply AI outside of work projects. My first experiment was creating poems for my father-in-law’s 90th birthday. After five minutes, I got lost in creativity. I made one poem with a rap style and another with the rhythm of the story, “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” It was like having a genie in a bottle granting my wish! My job was to give direction on tone, length, history and rhythm. Next, I asked ChatGPT to create cartoons to go with the poems.

You can do the same kind of experiment with your employees.

Initiate a contest and set the parameters. It could be a story about customer service, a tribute to the company’s history, a song about a successful team or a limerick about a recent success. I guarantee they will want to try more.

Constantly redefine roles
While it’s natural for employees to worry about losing relevance or losing their job, it’s important to stress the reality that AI won’t replace human jobs – it will redefine them.

Leaders must articulate how AI tools complement existing roles and open doors to higher-value tasks. Stress the fact that expertise only adds value to the addition of AI. An experienced marketer is far ahead of the novice who doesn’t have the experience to spot mistakes AI can make. We’ve all been subject to getting marketing messages that on first glance are clearly generated by AI with very little nuance or relevance.

At this point, AI still needs thinking humans to refine and oversee the work. Offering employees the opportunity to upskill or pivot to new roles will minimize resistance, as they shift from seeing AI not as a threat but as a pathway to growth.

AI adoption isn’t a one-time initiative – it’s an ongoing process. There will be bumps along the way, frustrations and more resistance to the speed of change. In addition, AI implementations may not deliver immediate results. Leaders must foster resilience within their teams, encouraging a mindset that embraces learning from setbacks and continuous improvement. In the end, AI offers long-term benefits, and organizations that persist through challenges will emerge stronger.

Marlene Chism is a Springfield-based consultant and author of “From Conflict to Courage: How to Stop Avoiding and Start Leading.” She can be reached at marlene@marlenechism.com.