How real-world project brings to light the key to thriving L&D AI upskilling efforts (see how it's done)

It's not just about choosing wisely when we hand off tasks to AI. And nailing the right use case. 

From helping teams to adopt AI, in the last few months, it turns out the emotional side of change is often the missing piece.

Did I get you all warm and fuzzy? We're talking fear, excitement, even the worry of feeling less smart.

These feelings can make or break our efforts to upskill and raise awareness.

Especially for L&D. 

If you take only one thing away from today’s conversation, let it be this:

→ Address the emotional side of change in your programs to take them far.

Simple, right?

And… maybe an even more important takeaway, there is an easy way to achieve this.

Trust but verify: The data and validation behind this!

Let me pull back the curtain on a recent AI upskilling and adoption project.  

Big win with AI Use Case that was not so big!

We explored using ChatGPT for personalized learning plans.

I followed the advice to T. – find the right problem, build a perfect use case, show tangible outcomes, and business was convinced too! It was perfect! (Sounds like a fairy tale! Right !)

But, as we did the show and tell, crickets!

After a little push, people started talking, “This will increase our effort.” “I’m not sure this will work.”, “How will we it is correct?”, “I can do it faster”

Now, friends, if you're nodding along, thinking, "That sounds way too familiar," stick with me.

The real snag was not tech. They were not tech haters.

So, as the clock ticked, it struck me! It was the emotional side of change that had been ignored. Who knew feelings could be unavoidable, right?

I quickly switched gears, opening the floor to everyone's thoughts on AI.

And the “Red”, “Blue” “Green” exercise salvaged some of the deniers. It took a few more meetings. More on these at a later date.

Lessons learned, right?    

The reality is change starts and ends with humans. And humans are driven by emotions!

Let’s see what data says.

Oliver Wyman Report Findings

Take a recent study by Oliver Wyman. Diving into it, I unearth weird scenario - 30% open to AI as therapists, 14% finding AI more emotionally intelligent than humans, with a link for the curious.

In my mind, translating it to L&D, this drew a stark divide. Those trusting AI more bypassing  L&D for a direct chat with AI, believing it gets them more.

Then, there are the sceptics, whose doubts might keep them from even showing up to the L&D party.  (Quietly check-out! )

It's ok because who hasn't had a moment where AI made us feel a little...less than useful?

True impact? It's about gauging if folks are actually ”feel like”  and “feel prepared” for this shift.

We need to tackle the "feel like" and "feel ready" parts.

I help global teams make their educational efforts a success, supporting any new change.

This is what I advise them to do.

How to Protect Your L & D Educational Efforts

I’m often asked by leaders, what’s the one thing that can hinder all the efforts to build awareness, what’s that one thing that cannot be missed. My answer is almost always to not underestimate the emotional side of change.

So, how do we make it happen.

You don’t need to wait for a separate change management plan.

Just include simple activities it into your learning and upskilling programs.

They’re all zero-cost tools. I’m looking out for your budget here.

Let’s break it down!

A practical approach is to start by grabbing both ends of the rope. Win leaders over with heartfelt stories that resonate and equip your teams with the emotional tools they need to thrive.

Win Leaders' Support: Stress the need to handle the emotional part of change.

Gather them for coffee chats to share their change related stories. Make it relatable: your toughest change feeling? This also helps them relate to their teams' feelings.

Give Tools and Trust to Teams: Teams need to feel empowered to explore AI, knowing they have the support to experiment safely.

Provide them with tools to uncover their emotions of denial, resistance, anger. Link them to the broader mission and goals, helping them navigate initial fears of "I can't do this."

This helps them process the initial difficult emotions then they quickly move forward.

Now, for the nitty-gritty—the practical steps we can take to weave this all-important fabric of change management into our L&D programs:

Cheat Sheet 1: Underpinning Principles

•Gauge Feelings: Start by understanding how your team feels about AI. Give the team apps or brain-based coaching to spot and address their mindset and thinking.

•Open Dialogue: Hold open discussions about AI’s usefulness and drawbacks. Being transparent is key. Talk about - what excites us about AI, what scares us, and everything in between.

•Educate and Inform: Clarify what AI can do, using real, relatable use cases. Inspire with simple use cases, AI as research partner, idea partner and creative partner.

Cheat Sheet 2: How to Integrate Change Management in AI Learning Programs

 •Self-Check: Spark openness and reflection. Kick learning program off with questions that explore personal feelings about AI. Begin with questions like, "When was the last time you overcame an obstacle? How did you do and feel?"

•Challenge Comfort: Add stories of stepping out of comfort zones to the learning content. I have seen these make it easy to shift people’s feelings. After all we love stories!

•Provide Tools: Introduce self-help tools to explore personal feelings towards AI. Introvert team members prefer tools that give them their space.

•Reflect and Connect: Use reflection activities to deepen the connection to AI. I have spread out reflection activities through e-courses or even workshops.

Is it useful? My two cents! I have seen success from such activities. I recall one time when I had to embed an entirely new way of enabling team members. This was a blended program led by facilitators.

Before doing anything else, I had to help them move those tough feelings out of the way.

 In sum:

My friends, managing emotional side of chagne doesn't have to be a leap into the unk

nown or a drain on your budget. It's about taking small, integrated manageable steps together as part of the learning experience design.

Remember, the most significant shifts start with a simple 'What if we...?' So, what’s your first small step going to be?

 "That's my two cents. I’d love to hear yours. Drop a comment, let’s chat!"