Most conversations about AI at work focus on which tools to adopt and what policies to put in place. Those things matter, but they are not actually where the hard work happens. The harder work is getting your team into the right headspace to engage with change in the first place, and that is a culture question, not a technology one.
Mindset is the bottleneck
The pace of change with AI is genuinely fast, and it is not slowing down. Most teams are not struggling because they lack access to good tools. They are struggling because some people feel curious and energized by what is new, while others feel unsettled or sidelined by it. That gap, between the people who lean in and the people who pull back, is where organizations lose momentum.
How people respond to change is shaped heavily by the culture around them and by what leaders model day to day. That means it is something you can actually work on.
What a growth mindset actually looks like on the ground
A growth mindset is not a personality trait and it is not a workshop you send people to once. It shows up in small, observable behaviours: asking questions instead of defaulting to skepticism, treating early stumbles with a new tool as information rather than failure, and staying genuinely open to the possibility that the way things have always been done might not be the best way going forward.
One of the most effective ways to build this across a team is to make learning social and low-pressure. A few approaches that work well:
- A regular “show and tell” session where team members share what they have been experimenting with, what worked, what did not, and what surprised them.
- A shared channel or running document where people drop AI tips, useful prompts, or shortcuts they have discovered. This keeps learning visible and ongoing rather than siloed.
- Short lunch-and-learn sessions built around a single tool or use case, with a debrief at the end. The debrief matters as much as the demo.
- Pairing people up across experience levels so that someone more comfortable with a tool can work alongside someone who is less so, without it feeling like formal training.
The point is to normalize experimentation as part of how work gets done, not something that happens off the side of the desk when there is spare time.
Leaders go first
If the owner or most senior person in the room is visibly skeptical or disengaged, the team reads that immediately. Culture follows behaviour, not intention. Leaders who want their teams to develop a growth mindset need to model it openly, which means saying “I tried this and it did not work the way I expected” in front of the team, asking questions publicly, and recognizing curiosity and effort, not just results.
Address the fear directly
Anxiety about AI is real and it is not going away on its own. Employees worry about relevance, about whether their skills will still matter, about what their job looks like in a few years. The organizations that handle this well talk openly about where AI is changing the work, what it is not replacing, and what the organization is doing to help people grow. That kind of transparency builds trust in a way that a policy document never will.
When the fit is not there
Some team members will resist regardless of how much support and encouragement they receive. The right response is to make sure the opportunity to engage has been genuinely offered through training, peer learning, and clear conversations about expectations. After real time and real effort on both sides, some people will still not be the right fit for where the organization is heading. That is a legitimate outcome, and addressing it honestly is better for everyone than letting it drag.
Building this takes time, but starting is the point
A team with a genuine growth mindset is one of the most durable advantages an organization can have as AI continues to change how work gets done. It is built through consistent leadership behaviour, a culture that rewards curiosity, and a willingness to have honest conversations when things are not working.
If you are thinking about how to build this in your own organization, or navigating a situation where resistance has become a real issue, we can help. Reach out at springlaw.ca.
Lisa Stam
Lisa Stam is the founder of SpringLaw and a leading employment lawyer focused on technology, digital work, and modern workplace design. She advises employers on remote work policy, compliance, and workforce strategy, helping teams balance flexibility with legal clarity in an increasingly digital environment.
