How AI Is Transforming the Workplace and How to Adapt

How AI Is Accelerating Workplace Change

Forty years ago, workplace change happened at a much slower pace. Major shifts driven by technology, people, or the environment might occur just a few times per decade. Organizations had time to prepare, adjust, and recover. Change experts described these transitions in phases: endings, a neutral zone, and new beginnings. Many still think this model applies.

But that’s no longer the reality; there is no “neutral zone”..

Today, change is constant and fast-moving, often overlapping as another change is introduced before the last transformation is complete. There’s no longer a “neutral zone.” Most of our clients would agree. To support people through this kind of change, we start with the individual and build outward, helping leaders foster adaptability within their organizations.

Emotional intelligence, personality type, and change-readiness all play a role. With over 30 years of experience guiding leaders and teams through rapid change across 22+ countries, we’ve seen one truth again and again: There is no escaping change, but you can learn to thrive in it. As Louis Pasteur once said, “Chance favors the prepared mind”.

How AI and Automation Are Transforming Workforce Needs

With our extensive education and experience in technology, including time in the Strategic Technology Research Group of one of the biggest and best investment banks on the planet, as well as working with many IT and operational functions over the years, we speak with confidence about the impact of automation on the workplace. Our view in the good news is that technological advances have driven incredible gains in productivity and perhaps more importantly, speed in today’s marketplace – a key factor in creating real competitive advantage.

 The bad news is that technological change(s) are nearly impossible for most people to predict in precise terms. Be careful listening to those who claim they can predict the impact of AI in precise terms with certainty. Even the great visionaries can get it wrong once in a while; for example:

• Bill Gates once said, “640k memory should be enough for anybody.”
• Thomas Watson, the founder of IBM, once said, “I think there might be a world market for maybe 5 computers.” 

My point is that based on the difficulties predicting the impact of technological change, you’re likely thinking, “What am I supposed to do – find a crystal ball somewhere?”.  “How can I move from seeing AI as a threat to seeing AI as an opportunity?”.

The Need For Upskilling and Re-Skilling in an AI-Driven Workforce

As AI-driven automation reshapes industries, continuous upskilling and reskilling have become essential. Whether you’re an employee, leader, or business owner, developing adaptability and emotional intelligence is critical to staying relevant in the future workforce. To increase your career agility and build a change-adaptive mindset, we strongly suggest focusing on your behavioral response to change, as well as elements of personality type and emotional intelligence. We can help you as experts in these areas. 

Key focus areas for staying future-ready include:

• Developing a change-adaptive mindset
• Understanding your personality type and how it impacts your response to change
• Leveraging your emotional intelligence to become more flexible and resilient
• Engaging in continuous learning and upskilling

Strategic Leadership in an AI-Driven Workplace

Let’s start with your behavioral response to change. Most people don’t wake up in the morning thinking, “Wow, I hope our firm announces a major change today that will create a boatload of uncertainty and be a threat to my future!”. Quite the opposite. One step in the right direction is learning to set our expectations to match reality. 

For example, suppose you were going in for your first surgical experience, and you really aren’t sure what to expect (other than hoping for a successful outcome). The surgeon stops in to see you before you are moved to the operating room, answers your questions, and says, “Don’t worry, you’ll feel a lot better after this operation”. So you feel pretty good going into the OR. 

However, you wake up in post-op in serious pain (as opposed to feeling better). Your first thoughts might include, “OMG, the operation didn’t work, the doc is a quack, I’m screwed – better get a good lawyer”. Did the surgeon really set your expectations to match reality? No. All the surgeon had to do differently was something very simple – to include, “when you wake up, you’ll have some post-operative short-term pain, which we can help you manage – in the longer-term, you should be better than ever”. That’s setting expectations to match reality! Who needs to do this? We all do – to fail to address this issue (“AI won’t affect me for a long time!”) is a classic example of denial and potentially damaging to your future.

The Three Guarantees of Workplace Change

So, how do we learn to “set our expectations to match reality” around changes like the impact of AI? A good starting point is to adapt the mindset of the 3 Guarantees of Change.

1. Change is constant and inevitable.
2. Change is rarely smooth or trouble-free.
3. Everyone is accountable for making change successful.

Guarantee #1: Change is a Constant

These simple “guarantees” are not so simple in real work-life. Regarding the first guarantee, how many times do we hear managers or fellow employees say something like, “once we get through this change, things will settle down for a while” (i.e., there won’t be more changes for at least 6–12 months)? I once observed a senior manager who was announcing a major outsourcing initiative, a change that would impact over 1,000 employees directly. They said, “Once we get through this change, there will be no more changes facing us for at least two years.” I’m sure their intent was to reassure their people; to try to calm them down.  However, did they really have the power to predict tech or organizational change up to two years out? No! In fact, within 9 months time, the markets moved away from them, and they were laying people off less than a year later. So much for building trust in the people.

Guarantee #2: Expect Obstacles, Not Perfection

Regarding the second guarantee, tech organizations are well-known for stating that “this major change needs to be smooth and transparent to the clients” (another “nice to have”). In other words, employees hear, “don’t make any mistakes on this change”. Their response is frequently to create unnecessary meetings/committees, “build consensus” on every decision, effectively slowing things down to minimize risk, etc. – this might sound rational, but going slow might be the biggest risk of all in today’s marketplace given the accelerating pace of change.

Guarantee #3: Accountability is Key

Regarding the third guarantee, it is not uncommon to hear things like, “It’s not my job to make this change work.” This is a mindset that no longer fits the modern workplace. In the AI era, every individual, from entry-level to executive, is responsible for adapting to and driving organizational change. Sitting out the change on the sidelines may feel safe – it’s not.

But how many of you knew some or most of these points already? I bet you did. However, is there a difference between knowing something and believing something? Absolutely! We might know something in our head, but we believe in something in our heart – that is critical to motivating one to commit to taking action (i.e., behavioral change) in adapting to the new “AI world”!  Genuine acceptance is what aligns change-adaptive behavior with belief.

Develop a Future-Ready Workforce for the AI Era

To shift from seeing AI as a threat to recognizing AI as the opportunity it is, you need to get started now! Make a decision to change.

Be decisive. Right or wrong, make a decision. The road of life is paved with flat squirrels who couldn’t make a decision.”

We are only scratching the surface of how to prepare your mindset for major changes in the workplace. This article is just a starting point in what will become an on-going dialogue. We plan to offer future articles on becoming more change-adaptive, as well as focusing on the impact of personality type and the value of emotional intelligence elements (flexibility, optimism, etc.) can help us all to be ready ahead of the AI change curve.

Please feel free to contact us to further explore how we can help you and your organization.  Our Leading Organization Change Seminar is packed full of strategies and solutions to help you address the challenges of the AI world.  May the change be with you!