TL;DR: A pervasive "AI anxiety" is gripping the corporate world, leading to a paradox: massive investment in AI tools with near-zero adoption. The problem isn't the technology; it's a failure of leadership. This article deconstructs the "emotional friction" that kills transformation and argues that the traditional, passive "lead by example" is an insufficient solution. The only way to succeed is for leaders to evolve from "managers" to "Chief Users," actively re-architecting the organization's operating system by mandating AI interaction and integrating its use directly into performance metrics.
I am James, CEO of Mercury Technology Solutions. October 29, 2025
There's a quiet crisis unfolding in boardrooms and executive suites around the world. It’s a crisis of expensive, dust-gathering treadmills.
Companies are spending millions on sophisticated AI systems, convinced they are buying a ticket to the future. Yet, when I speak with my peers, the story is always the same: a spectacular launch, a few enthusiastic early adopters, and then... silence. The powerful AI engine, meant to revolutionize their business, sits idle. The ROI is a ghost.
This isn't a technological failure. It is a profound failure of leadership and a misunderstanding of the human dynamics of change. The brutal truth is that when it comes to AI transformation, the classic leadership advice to simply "lead by example" is the most ineffective strategy you can deploy.
Deconstructing the "Emotional Friction" That Kills Transformation
Any organizational change is a challenge to inertia. The adoption of AI is a particularly potent challenge because it touches on our deepest anxieties about competence and relevance. At a recent Google AI Labs event, a powerful framework for change management was discussed, and it perfectly diagnoses why these initiatives fail.
The framework identifies five key elements required for successful transformation: Vision, Skills, Incentives, Resources, and an Action Plan. More importantly, it predicts the precise negative emotion that emerges when any single element is missing:
- No Vision leads to Confusion. (Employees don't know why they're doing this.)
- No Skills leads to Anxiety. (Employees feel they can't keep up or will be replaced.)
- No Incentives leads to Resistance. (Employees ask, "What's in it for me?")
- No Resources leads to Frustration. (Employees are asked to do a new job without the right tools.)
- No Action Plan leads to False Starts. (Everyone knows the goal, but no one knows where to begin.)
Most companies provide the Vision ("We will be an AI-first company!"), the Resources (the expensive treadmill), and a vague Action Plan ("Everyone should use it!"). But they utterly fail on Skills and Incentives, creating a perfect storm of anxiety and resistance.
The CEO's Treadmill: When "Adoption" is Just Decoration
This is where the "treadmill paradox," comes into play. Buying an AI system is like buying a treadmill. You have the best intentions, but without a culture and discipline of using it, it quickly becomes a piece of furniture that collects dust.
The most fatal version of this paradox is when the CEO who mandated the company-wide fitness initiative never steps on the treadmill themselves.
The core of a failed AI transformation is almost always a culture and process problem, and the biggest bottleneck is the leadership team itself. When leaders don't personally understand and use AI, they are incapable of identifying the correct leverage points for it within the organization's workflows. More importantly, they cannot authentically convince their teams why they must endure the initial pain, anxiety, and frustration of change.
Passive "leading by example"—mentioning AI in a town hall or having an aide generate a speech—is worthless. It is a performance, not a practice.
From Manager to "Chief User": A New Leadership Mandate
If a leader's inaction is the biggest bottleneck, the solution is brutally clear: leaders must evolve from being managers of people to being "Chief Users" of the new technology. This is not a suggestion; it is an imperative. It requires two disruptive, non-negotiable actions.
1. Mandate a New Default: "Did You Ask the AI First?"
Leaders must first publicly and decisively break their employees' fear of AI. The two biggest unspoken fears are: "Will my boss know I used AI?" and "If I finish my work faster with AI, will I just be given more work?"
The solution is to establish a new organizational principle, championed from the very top: "Before you ask a colleague or your manager, you must first ask the AI."
This simple directive is a powerful cultural catalyst. It sends an unambiguous message: the company not only encourages but requires you to use AI. It reframes AI from a potential threat into a mandatory tool, instantly dissolving the fear and stigma.
2. Link AI Usage Directly to Performance
To overcome organizational inertia, the change must be tied to what is measured. The most aggressive and effective way to do this is to integrate AI usage directly into KPIs and performance reviews.
When using AI is no longer a "nice-to-have" but a "must-have" for a positive performance review, it ceases to be a novelty and becomes a core competency.
As a leader, this requires you to truly lead from the front. I personally now spend time crafting detailed, multi-thousand-word prompts, feeding our core strategic data—financials, personnel plans, product metrics, international strategy—into our AI models to generate drafts of our annual plans. This is the ultimate form of leading by example. It demonstrates that AI is not just an efficiency tool for junior staff; it is a strategic decision-support system for the C-suite.
Conclusion: Redefining the Future of Talent
When AI permeates every level of the organization, from tactical execution to strategic planning, it is no longer just a treadmill in the corner. It becomes the new operating system for the entire business.
This transformation forces us to redefine what we value in our people. The most critical skills of the future are, ironically, the most traditional: the ability to listen, speak, read, and write with profound clarity. Your value will no longer be in having the answer, but in your ability to ask a precise question and clearly describe the context needed to command the AI to produce a world-class result.
The failure of AI adoption is a failure of leadership, not technology. The solution is not to buy another tool, but for leaders to become the "Chief Users" and, in doing so, re-architect the very culture of their organization from the top down.
Mercury Technology Solutions. Accelerate Digitality.
