Leaders today are often put in the position of overseeing digital transformations or introducing new technology, including artificial intelligence, to their teams. Recent data shows that many professionals see AI and automation as key to improving their future job prospects. We’ve seen organizations that have been highly successful incorporating new technologies around AI, and we’ve also seen organizations that have had unfortunate blowback.
Navigating the digital age is much less about convincing your team to use the technology or already knowing the technology, and much more about understanding cycles of change and getting buy-in before rollout. Leaders today are often put in the position of overseeing digital transformations or introducing new technology, including artificial intelligence, to their teams. We’ve seen organizations that have been highly successful incorporating new technologies around AI, and we’ve also seen organizations that have had unfortunate blowback.
For any leader looking to introduce new technology to their team in the hopes of streamlining operations or enabling better customer service, one of the biggest missed opportunities is getting buy-in from the team beforehand.
Prior to introducing any new technologies, gather influencers from different departments and sites together in one physical room. Influencers are not necessarily leaders, C-suite executives, supervisors, or managers—although they might be. We all know people within organizations who have the ability to get their peers on board and excited about new developments, or quite frankly, throw a wrench in the process. When they’re not excited or when they give pushback, the rest of the team often follows.
These are the people you want in the room while ideating. You may even want to bring in an outside facilitator to conduct these meetings. Once they’re in the room, start asking questions about the gaps they see within the organization. What are the challenges? In what ways are clients or customers not fully being served? What internal issues stand out?
Give them space to surface these insights.
This is not an opportunity to debate or to find solutions. The purpose is to encourage them to share while you record their responses. Keep in mind that the culture of an organization will greatly influence the quality of feedback you receive. Organizations that have historically penalized team members for speaking up—especially when it challenges a popular idea—will see far less honest input.
After gathering these insights, begin to ask about technology. Are there tools they would like to see implemented to address these issues? Are there specific features that would make a meaningful difference? Once you have this information, take time before moving forward.
Ideally, this focus group happens before you investigate technologies. However, if a solution has already been identified, this process can still help reduce pushback. Allow time between the focus group and the rollout. Then, before introducing the technology company-wide, bring that same group of influencers back together and share it with them first.
Most importantly, don’t sell the features. Show them that you listened.
Explain that you took detailed notes and selected this technology because it addresses their specific concerns. Draw clear connections between what they shared and how the solution responds. Make it personal. If someone identified a gap in your CRM system, show how a specific feature resolves that exact issue.
Once you’ve built buy-in with these influencers, you can begin rolling out the change more broadly.
At this stage, it’s helpful to remember that change follows a pattern. One widely used framework is the Transtheoretical Model of Change, developed by James Prochaska and Carlo DiClemente, which outlines stages such as pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. Another model, developed by Anne Salerno and Lillie Brock, describes a cycle that includes loss, doubt, discomfort, discovery, understanding, and integration.
Understanding these cycles allows leaders to better anticipate reactions and guide their teams through change more effectively.
In the end, navigating the digital age is not just about the technology you implement—it’s about how you prepare people to move through change.
