If you’re a leader, you’re likely being told you need to “lean into AI” right now. Use it to be more efficient. Use it to scale faster. Use it to stay competitive.
And that’s not wrong.
But we also want to get things right. In a Harvard Business Review piece, authors warn about the “AI experimentation trap”, where organizations experiment widely without focus, but most experiments yield little or no payoff. They cite research showing that “95% of investments in gen AI have produced zero returns.” (Harvard Business Review)
So how do you get it right? We think this is a great lesson in purposeful leadership and leading with courage. Because your team isn’t just watching what you do with AI—they’re watching how you do it. And perhaps more importantly, whether you’re willing to go first when the path ahead isn’t yet clear.
How should you approach this new frontier? You have options as a leader:
1. The “Dive In” Leader:
These are leaders who see AI as the next industrial revolution and believe the best way to learn is by doing. They experiment, test tools, integrate them into workflows, and figure it out along the way. The upside? Speed, agility, and often first-mover advantage. The downside? Mistakes, inefficiencies, or even ethical missteps if they’re not thoughtful about data use or accuracy.
2. The “Be Careful” Leader:
This approach is about deliberate adoption — studying the technology, building internal guidelines, and ensuring compliance, security, and ROI before scaling. The upside? Stronger trust, fewer surprises, and a more sustainable long-term strategy. The risk? Falling behind more adaptive competitors.
3. The Ideal Middle Ground:
The strongest leaders blend both mindsets. They’re curious and proactive enough to explore AI hands-on — trying pilot programs, encouraging team experimentation — but disciplined enough to measure, document, and scale only what works. They learn fast but act responsibly.
Most leaders didn’t grow up with AI as part of their daily workflow. Many are learning in real-time. That reality alone is a leadership opportunity.
But we also think this is also a lesson in modeling and teaching how to lead. Plus, when you try something new in front of your team, you give them permission to do the same. Leadership, especially now, is about modeling how to move forward through discomfort. That’s what the best leaders do. They go first. “If you’re waiting until you’re bulletproof before you act, you’re teaching your team to wait too.”
When it comes to AI, the real divide inside organizations isn’t just about budget or technology — it’s about mindset. A recent study by Übellacker (2025), Making Sense of AI Limitations: How Individual Perceptions Shape Organizational Readiness for AI Adoption, highlights a critical truth: how people interpret AI’s flaws often determines whether their company thrives or stalls in adoption. Employees and leaders who fixate on bias, error, or uncertainty tend to hesitate, while those who understand that imperfection is part of innovation are the ones who keep moving forward. The research underscores a simple but powerful pattern: when people experience AI firsthand, their expectations become more grounded, their trust increases, and their ability to use the tools effectively grows exponentially.
In other words, organizational readiness isn’t built in the boardroom; it’s built in the day-to-day interactions between humans and technology. The leaders who succeed in this new era are those who encourage curiosity over fear and who let teams experiment, test, and even fail safely as they learn the true boundaries of AI’s capability. You can’t lead others into the AI era with theory alone. The study reinforces what many forward-thinking companies are already realizing: hands-on experience, not polished PowerPoints, is what turns anxiety into understanding and skepticism into trust. In the race to integrate AI, sensemaking isn’t a soft skill — it’s a competitive advantage.
AI adoption isn’t just a technology decision — it’s a trust decision. According to recent research highlighted in Harvard Business Review, employees are far more likely to embrace AI when they trust both their leaders and the systems being implemented. When that trust is missing, even the most advanced tools stall out. Workers wonder if AI will replace them, if their data will be used fairly, or if leadership even understands what’s being deployed. The result isn’t innovation — it’s quiet resistance. But when leaders communicate transparently about purpose, guardrails, and human oversight, that anxiety gives way to participation. In those environments, employees don’t see AI as a threat; they see it as a tool that can amplify their skills and free them up to do more meaningful work.
Building trust, however, isn’t a one-time announcement — it’s a continuous act of leadership. It shows up in the way leaders test new tools openly, admit what they don’t yet know, and involve teams in shaping how AI fits into the workflow. The most successful organizations pair technological ambition with human empathy, creating a culture where innovation feels shared, not imposed. The lesson from the research is clear: the smartest AI strategy isn’t built on data pipelines — it’s built on trust pipelines. When people believe their leaders are thoughtful stewards of the technology, adoption stops being a mandate and starts becoming a movement.
One of biggest threat leaders face right now is the cost of inaction.
AI tools are faster, smarter, and more accessible than ever. They’re already transforming how we write, analyze, plan, design, and decide. The question isn’t whether AI can help—it’s whether you’re moving fast enough to keep up.
Hesitation isn’t caution anymore. It’s a leadership liability.
In a world moving this fast, hesitation is a risk. The greatest threat isn’t being replaced by AI. It’s being sidelined by indecision. Every day you delay exploring AI—every moment you wait for more certainty or more comfort—someone else is getting sharper, faster, and more valuable. They’re building a muscle your team hasn’t started flexing yet. And in this era, if you’re not moving first, you risk becoming last.
Leaders aren’t expected to know everything. But they are expected to move. To model urgency. To take the first step before the map is fully drawn. If you’re stuck waiting to feel ready, your team will mirror that—and they’ll miss the momentum this moment demands.
The future won’t wait. And neither should you.
Why Your Team Needs You to Try First
A 2023 McKinsey study revealed that employees often embrace AI tools faster than leaders do—but they’re hesitant to use them meaningfully unless they see top-down support and modeled behavior.
When a leader experiments publicly:
AI Is the Mirror—Leadership Is What Shows Up in It
AI won’t define your legacy as a leader. But how you show up right now—when tools are new, expectations are shifting, and uncertainty is everywhere—absolutely will.
Because this isn’t just about adopting technology.
It’s about:
And ultimately, it’s about leading in a way that others can follow—not perfectly, but relentlessly.
Lead by example—be the first to experiment.
Choose one of the following ways to stretch outside your comfort zone and embrace AI:
• Host a team session to openly explore how AI could support your work. No pitch, just discovery.
• Identify one repetitive task and test an AI tool to help with it.
• Pick one area of discomfort—like prompting or interpreting results—and learn alongside your team.
• Instead of asking others to innovate, show what it looks like to take the first step.
If we are to lead courageously, we have to be willing to open ourselves up. You show me your dreams and fears, and I’ll show you mine. I’ve seen many leaders who hold back because they’re not perfect. Who am I to tell them they’re wrong? They’ll look at my record and see I’ve failed several times in my career. If I don’t know it all, then maybe I don’t know enough to take charge.
Maybe you’ve heard these same voices in your own head. Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO and author of Lean In, writes that women seem more prone to self-doubt and waiting to be called on than men (although men are not by any means immune). “Career progression often depends upon taking risks and advocating for oneself—traits that girls are discouraged from exhibiting,” she writes.
Being willing to take risks, being willing to stand up and be seen, is being willing to be vulnerable. And it’s hard. But we’ve got to do it anyway. And if you’re going to be a great leader, you have to go first.
Your staff is always watching you for cues as to how to react and how to interact. It’s how our primate brains are wired. Harvard University Press editor and author Julia Kirby noted that, when apes and monkeys are threatened, “subordinates glance obsessively toward the group leader, looking for indications of how to respond.” In fact, even when they’re not in danger, baboons continue to conduct “a visual check on their alpha male two or three times per minute.”
If you’re waiting until you’re absolutely positive, bulletproof, or perfect before you risk speaking up or taking action, you’re teaching your team to wait too. That means they—and you—will miss opportunities for growth, personal development, and innovation.
Brené Brown asked Kevin Surace, the then CEO of Serious Materials and Inc. magazine’s 2009 Entrepreneur of the Year, what the biggest barrier to creativity and innovation is. He replied, “I don’t know if it has a name, but honestly, it’s the fear of introducing an idea and being ridiculed, laughed at, and belittled. If you’re willing to subject yourself to that experience, and if you survive it, then it becomes the fear of failure and the fear of being wrong.”
How would your work relationships change if you gave up worrying about winning or losing, being right or being wrong?
A good leader will demonstrate vulnerability first and then reward it when they see their staff members risk being vulnerable.
