They stood on the line up. The top 60 leaders of the organisation. Ordering themselves on a spectrum of change responses, from Resistor, to Sceptic, to Wait and See, to Experimentor to Co-Creator (thank you Judith Glaser and your Conversational Dashboard Model).

The question they were answering with their feet was, ‘How do you feel about becoming an AI/Tech driven business?’

The results weren’t too surprising. A spread of sentiment across the spectrum representing all groups… except one – Resistor. This is common. People either don’t want to be seen to be a straight-out Resistor, or they genuinely don’t feel resistant.

But, where the conversation got really interesting was with the next two group – the Sceptics, and the Wait and See groups.

I asked them what they believed about the change.

I asked them what they worried about with the change.

But most importantly, I asked them what they needed to feel better about the change.

What came out of the discussion surprised a lot of people in that room.

The Sceptics weren’t against the IDEA of the change. The need for it, the decision to commit to it, the inevitability of it. None of that. They were as on board with the need for the new strategy as those standing in the Co-Creator groups.

But they were wary of the ADOPTION of it.

It was less about the What and more about the How.

They saw issues with implementation. They saw holes in the strategy. They worried about BAU. And with the voicing of these very real concerns, they shifted from the perception of ‘negative naysayers’ to become the canaries in the coal mine. The pivotal role that warns of the dangers ahead.

And without their voices, their concerns, their questions, the change would inevitably stall, if not fail altogether.

And so, the conversations quickly shifted from ‘why don’t you agree with this change?’, to ‘what do we need to address to get you taking action more quickly?’.

And the answers?