AI is changing how work gets done. In this moment, leaders are finding themselves at very different stages of adoption. Some are still learning the basics, while others are redesigning work and changing the strategy trajectory for their teams and organizations. Understanding where you are on the AI adoption path is the first step toward determining what comes next.
A Leader’s AI Adoption Path
Before I outline each of these for you, here’s an image to help you see where you are in AI adoption.
Let’s discuss each step of AI adoption to help you do two things:
- Assess your current place on the path.
- Determine what to do next to move further down the path.
Stage 1: Awareness
If you aren’t yet here on the path, you are either Rip Van Winkle or an ostrich. This is the stage of:
- Understanding AI - both what it is and isn’t
- Considering it at the conceptual level
- Learning the risks and opportunities associated with it.
The problem with staying at this stage is that until you move past it, all your “knowledge” is conceptual. Waiting at this stage to get all the understanding before you move forward means it will be very difficult for you to ever move forward. And at this point, not moving forward is falling rapidly behind.
Stage 2: Adoption
On the surface, you moved to this stage the first time you tried CoPilot, ChatGPT or any other AI tool. But you aren’t firmly into this stage until you are using it personally and regularly to both understand the capabilities and limitations of AI but also to build confidence in what it can do for you in your work situation.
The more you adopt the tools yourself, the more you actually truly understand and have awareness of what is possible and what isn't. Using and trying tools will help you move from hesitation to confidence from questioning to curiosity.
Stage 3: Integration
Integration is more than using the tools. It is seeing how to (and actually creating ways to) use these tools in your daily work. You are in this stage when you can:
- Improve workflows
- Create time for higher level work
- Brainstorm more effectively
- Think more clearly
- Improve decision-making
You'll know you're firmly in this stage when you've developed a level of fluency that doesn't make you feel like an expert but makes you feel highly confident in your capacity and capability to use AI to get better results for you and as a leader.
Stage 4: Team Enablement
This stage is more than actively encouraging team members to use and integrate AI themselves (getting them at Stage 3) but considering how the team will use AI collectively to meet organizational goals and objectives. This stage includes:
- Creating AI expectations and norms
- Coaching and encouraging use and innovate actions with the tools
- Creating a forum for sharing best practices across the team
Stage 5: Transformation
Transformation only happens in any context when we look beyond the constraints and assumptions that led us to the current state. At this stage, leaders are considering implementing AI tools to redesign work and create true organizational advantage with AI tools. This includes things like:
- Redesigning work
- Rethinking roles
- Exploring agentic AI applications and autonomous workflows
- Opening new opportunities for team member contributions
- Creating strategic advantages
A Summary
Stage | Focus |
|---|---|
Awareness | Understanding AI |
Adoption | Using AI |
Integration | Using AI in daily workflow |
Team Enablement | Creating Team-wide application |
Transformation | Redesigning work and creating advantage |
Where Are You?
Having read my description of these five stages of AI adoption, the questions I have for you are:
- Which stage are you in?
- How comfortable are you working in that stage?
- Is it the stage that best serves you, your team and your organization?
- Knowing your answers, what will you do now?
Ultimately it is the last question that matters. The world is changing rapidly, whether you like it or agree with it or not. My goal is to help you see your place more accurately so you can make a conscious choice about what you want and need to do next.
Progress through these stages isn't strictly linear, and leaders may find themselves in different stages depending on the tool, task, or business challenge. The important question isn't whether you've reached transformation. It's whether you're intentionally moving forward.
Organizational Next Steps
I have written this from the perspective of an individual leader. Organizations need to be thinking about this adoption path too. Ask these questions:
- Do we know where most of our leaders are on this path?
- How can we support them both where they are and where we need them to be?
- What is our best next step?
Answering these questions is among the most important and impactful questions you can ask and answer this year.
Want to accelerate your AI adoption as a leader? Join me June 30th for a free webinar in partnership with the Training Magazine Network titled: How AI Makes the Best Leaders More Human (Not Less).
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