How to Bridge the Skills Gap & Lead a Learning-First Culture
- Approach innovation with intention and a solid business case.
- Put structure around your AI strategy to drive clarity and consistency.
- Build in measurement tools from the start to capture ROI.
- Not everything is quantifiable, but there is value in increased employee morale.
- Manage expectations by clearly communicating the purpose behind new technology.
- Introduce emerging technologies like AI thoughtfully to avoid overwhelming your staff.
- Adopting AI may require rethinking your business model—but it’s key to staying relevant.
- AI can enhance human work—but it shouldn’t replace it.
- AI can deliver significant time and resource savings—without cutting jobs.
- Prepare your organization for a winding road ahead.
- Don’t overthink AI adoption. Treat it like any other technology rollout.
- Stay informed! AI is evolving fast, and it’s already reshaping the workplace.
- Consult the people who will actually use the tools.
- Create guardrails that manage risk—without stifling innovation.
- You don’t have to navigate AI adoption alone.
From Buzzword to Business Value: Making AI Work for Your Team
Artificial intelligence is a major buzzword right now because it’s moving from theory into practice—fast. The technology holds enormous promise: it can streamline repetitive tasks, unlock new efficiencies, and free up teams to focus on higher-impact work.
But realizing those benefits requires more than enthusiasm. To reduce resistance and increase adoption, the people who will actually be using your organization’s AI tools should be able to access an environment that reflects their needs, while empowering them to experiment safely and effectively.
So, how can you introduce these technologies thoughtfully? Training your people effectively is the key to transforming AI into a powerful strategic asset that goes beyond simply saving time.
Keep reading to gain real-world insights from association executives on how they have effectively leveraged emerging technologies like AI by embedding continuous learning into their organizations.
Approach innovation with intention and a solid business case.
Bob Corlett, President and Founder of Staffing Advisors, doesn’t hesitate to candidly—and comically—use his own failure story as a valuable lesson for others. Several years ago, when AI was growing in popularity, he encouraged his company to rush into implementing an AI chatbot without a real need or strategy.
"This is what I would call a classic context miss and classic vanity blunder. Was there a business case for it? No. I just thought “Hey, wouldn’t it be really great if we had a chatbot?”"
Unfortunately, the project fell short of expectations and was ultimately shelved. There’s a lesson here for leaders everywhere: don’t adopt new technology just because it’s shiny and new. Instead, approach innovation with intention and clear purpose for driving the project.
Put structure around your AI strategy to drive clarity and consistency.
Instead of imposing top-down solutions that miss the mark, Bob now guides his organization through thoughtfully approaching any new technology adoption. He has developed a set of guiding questions to assess whether a new tool truly fits the team and business.
By asking these questions early and often, Bob’s team stays focused on purpose-driven innovation and prioritizes tools that add real value, not just novelty.
Guiding Innovation with the Right Questions
What is the business case?
What problem are we solving?
Why is now the right time?
What are the risks of not acting?—or not acting?
How will this tool make our team’s work easier or more effective?
Do the benefits clearly outweigh the costs?
How will we ensure ethical and responsible use of this technology?
Build in measurement tools from the start to capture ROI.
Chip Flater, Director of IT at the National Science Teaching Association, oversaw a successful chatbot project at his organization, launched to help members more easily navigate content. After implementing tracking mechanisms, the organization has already seen a noticeable drop in helpdesk tickets. They are also better positioned to evaluate the chatbot’s long-term impact on membership growth and sales.
Every organization should be creative to identify the ROI metrics that align with your organization’s unique goals. Reggie Henry, Chief Information and Performance Excellence Officer at ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership, encourages leaders to not only define key performance indicators (KPIs) but also consider the opportunity cost of not investing in AI.
Not everything is quantifiable, but there is value in increased employee morale.
On the flipside, ROI isn’t always about numbers. Chip believes that even when direct financial returns aren’t obvious, technologies like AI can still deliver significant value. Another association leader, Tina C. Yuille, Director of IT Operations at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, says these tools have enhanced her job satisfaction by enabling her to focus on higher-impact work.
Manage expectations by clearly communicating the purpose behind new technology.
While leading her organization through the rollout of a comprehensive technology roadmap, Tina has learned the importance of helping people understand the “why” behind each new tool. For her, she believes that when employees see the purpose and value, they’re far more likely to embrace the change and feel satisfied with how it fits into their workflow.
Introduce emerging technologies like AI thoughtfully to avoid overwhelming your staff.
While around 70% of Tina’s team feels comfortable and eager to use AI, she recognizes that not everyone will be on the same page. Enthusiasm varies, and so should your approach. That’s why she prioritizes rolling out AI in deliberate, manageable stages to reduce resistance and help everyone build confidence, so they truly benefit from the technology.
Adopting AI may require rethinking your business model—but it’s key to staying relevant.
When developing a large language model (LLM) for his organization, Reggie noticed that the project prompted tough but necessary questions about the value and future of their member services. He doesn’t avoid these types of reflections, though. He encourages all leaders to view these complex conversations as an opportunity to evolve, align your offerings more closely with modern expectations, and strengthen your mission to serve members effectively.
AI can enhance human work—but it shouldn’t replace it.
Drawing from his experience, Bob encourages leaders to identify which tasks can be reliably handled by AI, and which still require human judgment to get meaningful results.
Rather than asking how AI can replace employees to cut costs, Chip urges organizations to consider: How can we use these tools to enhance people’s productivity, and focus more on the more complex tasks we’re paying them to do?
“If AI can help take care of some of those redundant things, the things they don’t like, the things that drag them down day in and day out, if it can help do them up and free them up and spur their creative juices, then we’ve augmented that role.”
Reggie encourages leaders to leverage AI to redirect staff energy toward the bigger, more ambitious projects that often get sidelined but will truly move your mission forward.
AI can deliver significant time and resource savings—without cutting jobs.
AI’s impact isn’t just theoretical: it’s already delivering real-world results for teams. A few powerful examples:
- Chip’s team has used AI to streamline a process that once took seven hours and reduce it to just a few minutes. Thanks to this shift, the task can be completed more flexibly, during regular work hours – critical for improving work-life balance.
- Bob’s organization saved 80 hours of work per week through AI, without eliminating a single role but lightening workloads and making jobs more manageable.
- One of Reggie’s team members saved 40 hours of work thanks to an AI tool, allowing her to focus on higher-value tasks and perform her role more effectively.
- Tina has been able to use AI to innovate standard processes and eliminate common workflow bottlenecks.
The takeaway?
While AI can enhance efficiency, its secret power is all about empowering your team to do their best work.
Prepare your organization for a winding road ahead.
AI is evolving at a break-neck pace, and with that comes inevitable growing pains. Tina manages these challenges by setting realistic expectations; reminding stakeholders to be patient, flexible, and open to learning as they build confidence with new tools. She believes that for a smoother transition, organizations should be transparent about the challenges that come with adoption:
“I think being open and honest about that, and helping manage expectations and being supportive and responsive when AI isn’t doing what our stakeholders need, is the best we can do. And if we can do that well, we’re rockstars.”
Don’t overthink AI adoption. Treat it like any other technology rollout.
While AI often sparks fear and uncertainty, Reggie feels that organizations should approach it with the same mindset they’ve used for past tech integrations.
It won’t be perfect from day one—and that’s okay. What matters is being thoughtful about where the technology is today, where it’s headed, and how it aligns with your goals.
He believes AI holds enormous transformative potential. This is the kind of innovation we’ve been waiting for, so instead of resisting it, let’s embrace it with intention and curiosity.
Chip recommends that organizations get ready: AI is steadily making its way into every corner of the workplace, regardless of role or department. It’s already embedded in your tools and products, whether you realize it or not. Keeping your finger on the pulse of industry trends and developments with the technology will help your organization harness AI as a true game-changer.
“They don’t do the work on the ground, they don’t know the day-to-day things that staff could be doing to make their jobs more efficient, so get them out of the way and trust that the people that you have hired, that you have vetted to do this work can think through this work in a way that will allow them to come up with a solution.”
Consult the people who will actually use the tools.
For Reggie, organizations need to go beyond leadership when selecting and integrating new technology into their operations.
And while IT plays a critical role in due diligence and security, he doesn’t believe that they can always determine which tools will truly benefit end users, either.
Instead, organizations should involve staff and members directly in the process. Invite them to test tools early and provide feedback on what works and what doesn’t. By engaging end users from the start, you increase adoption, satisfaction, and the likelihood of success.
Create guardrails that manage risk—without stifling innovation.
Building AI policies means setting strong foundations while encouraging experimentation.
Here’s how some organizations are approaching this challenge:
- Tina stresses the importance of strong data governance and clear taxonomy as foundational elements for responsible AI use.
- Bob’s organization avoids using AI in areas where bias could have serious consequences, such as hiring decisions.
- Reggie warns that too many restrictions can end up stalling progress. While you need to mitigate risk, it’s equally important to give your team room to experiment. The goal is to strike a balance: protect what matters, but don’t block progress.
You don’t have to navigate AI adoption alone.
Bob encourages association leaders to lean on experts—especially IT partners like designDATA—who can help guide the process. From coaching your team through implementation to delivering hands-on training, the right support can make AI adoption smoother, more strategic, and far more effective.
Equip Your Team for the Future of Work
With AI handling repetitive tasks, it’s clear that leaders agree that teams gain the power to achieve game-changing goals. But to harness its full potential, organizations must adopt artificial intelligence intentionally.
That involves addressing the technology roadblocks that slow people down. DesignDATA’s Training as a Service clears those obstacles by teaching your staff how to use everyday tools to have a greater impact. That includes AI, and a wide range of other topics too, from navigating productivity software and collaboration platforms to evolving cybersecurity threats.
With practical, hands-on training that fits their schedule, your team will gain the confidence and skills to streamline workflows, improve communication, and advane your mission.