How does your team use AI? It can be a great brainstorming tool, and it can help you summarize client conversations or turn meeting recaps into follow-up plans. However, if your strategy is just to “use AI more,” you may be setting your team up to fail. The real problem might not be the technology but the leadership.

In a post for the Great Place To Work blog, Ted Kitterman says the conversation at many companies is going from “How do we get more employees to use this?” to “Why isn’t this paying off?” So, where are companies going wrong when it comes to AI? We share Kitterman’s thoughts in this issue of PromoPro Daily.

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  1. Senior leaders don’t model AI use. If leaders don’t use AI themselves, Kitterman says adoption stalls. He points out Great Place To Work research that found that employees who trust how their leaders encourage them to use AI are 2.5 times more likely to use AI monthly. In other words, it’s the leader’s oversight that determines the ROI of AI, not the technology.

  2. AI processes aren’t built in collaboration with employees. Make sure your team provides input into your AI strategies. They’re the ones doing the work and it’s important to hear what they have to say. It also helps increase buy-in because employees feel like they’re co-creating something.

  3. Leaders use AI only for low-value work. Kitterman says many leaders use AI to replace Google searches or write better emails. That’s helpful, but not that valuable. What’s better is determining the 80/20 split — what are the 20% of tasks that drive 80% of value for your business?

  4. Leaders put the tool ahead of the strategy. With AI, the goal should never be to use it as much as possible. It can help you achieve your goals but it can also distract you from them. If your only goal is to use more AI, you risk becoming a hammer in search of a nail.

  5. Leaders don’t give AI enough context. If AI isn’t giving you useful answers, the problem might be a lack of context. You probably haven’t provided enough information. Try asking AI to interview you about a problem. Even just 3 questions can improve the response.

  6. Leaders trust AI too much. Be careful about outsourcing your thinking to AI. Instead, think of AI like a thought leader and you become its partner. This keeps you at the center of the thinking that drives your work.

The goal isn’t to see how much AI your team can use. It’s to figure out where AI can actually make a difference. Give your team a say and keep human thinking at the center. This is how you can help your team work smarter while keeping human judgment front and center.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Ted Kitterman is a content manager for Great Place To Work®. He has experience covering the workplace, business communications, public relations, internal communications, work culture, employee well-being, brand purpose and more.