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For decades, every new wave of technology has been met with two extremes: breathless excitement about its potential and anxious warnings about what could go wrong. From mainframes to mobile phones, leaders have always faced the same challenge—how to separate hype from reality and harness technology without losing sight of the human element.
Artificial intelligence is no different. Today, leaders are asking the same pressing question: Are organizations truly ready for AI?
AI is everywhere—from headlines promising it will reinvent work overnight to boardrooms debating whether it’s a silver bullet or a ticking time bomb. Leaders are caught in the middle: employees fear being replaced, executives fear falling behind, and everyone wonders whether the massive investment in AI will really pay off.
The future of work is undeniably tied to AI, but the real question is: how can organizations harness it responsibly?
In this episode of the Future Ready Leadership Podcast, I sit down with Peter Mahoney, Chief Commercial Officer at GoTo (formerly LogMeIn), to unpack what leaders need to know about AI adoption. Drawing on his decades of experience in technology, Peter brings a pragmatic view of where AI is delivering real results, why employees still feel left behind, and how leaders can strike the right balance between promise and risk.
Listen to the episode here on Apple Podcast & leave a review!
The Paradox of AI: Overhyped and Underused
One of the first things Peter pointed out was the strange paradox of AI today. On one hand, billions of dollars are being poured into the space and executives can’t stop talking about it. On the other hand, employees on the front lines often feel underwhelmed.
In GoTo’s Pulse of Work survey, 62% of workers said AI was overhyped. Yet when IT leaders were asked about AI adoption, 91% said it was effective. This disconnect reveals a deeper cultural challenge: the tools exist, but employees often lack access, training, or trust to fully embrace them. Leaders think they’re enabling their people, but employees aren’t actually experiencing the benefits in their daily work.
This isn’t just about tools. It’s about culture. But Peter argues that AI is not just hype—it’s already making a tangible impact. Most organizations are still dipping their toes in, using AI for things like drafting job descriptions or creating basic reports. From transcription tools that save creators hours to AI-powered customer service that answers calls after hours, businesses are seeing real productivity and customer experience gains. Useful? Sure. Transformative? Not yet.
The key is ensuring that these benefits don’t remain isolated or superficial but instead become embedded in everyday workflows.
Why Culture Is the Real Bottleneck
What holds organizations back from realizing AI’s full potential often isn’t the technology…it’s culture. The problem is that organizations aren’t ready to unleash it. Concerns about privacy, compliance, and security are real, but so is the fear of losing human judgment. Employees worry about losing jobs or being replaced.
That’s why organizations often sit in what Peter calls the “trough of disillusionment”—aware of AI’s power but unsure how to deploy it safely and at scale. Expectations skyrocketed, but reality is still catching up. What leaders can do now is choose to move beyond surface-level AI experiments. Embedding AI into systems employees already use, and providing guardrails that make people feel safe, is where the real transformation lies.
Listen to the episode here on Apple Podcast & leave a review!
Practical Strategies for Leaders
Throughout our conversation, Peter shares strategies leaders can use to strike the right balance between AI’s promise and its risks:
- Embed AI into existing workflows: Instead of introducing yet another tool, integrate AI into the platforms employees already rely on. For example, GoTo has layered AI assistants into its communications tools, making adoption seamless.
- Protect critical thinking: Leaders should encourage employees to challenge AI outputs rather than blindly accepting them. Asking, “What do you think AI missed here?” is a simple way to keep human judgment front and center.
- Set clear boundaries: Just like you wouldn’t unleash a dog in Times Square, AI needs the right guardrails. The level of freedom should depend on the role—creative teams may need more flexibility, while customer service agents may require tighter guidelines.
- Foster AI fluency through practice: Use AI for coaching and training, not just automation. Peter shared how GoTo uses AI role-play scenarios to prepare sales reps, showing that AI can help people grow rather than replace them.
- Balance hype with reality: Remind employees that every major technological shift—whether email, mobile, or cloud—came with fear before it became standard. Context helps people embrace AI as just the next chapter in ongoing change.
From Hype to Impact: How Leaders Can Guide AI Adoption
AI is no longer a futuristic experiment; it’s a present-day reality shaping how work gets done. But if we reduce it to shortcuts and copy-paste outputs, we miss the bigger opportunity. The real value comes when leaders embed AI responsibly, protect human judgment, and create a culture where technology amplifies people rather than replaces them.
That’s the balance we need to strike. Unleash enough of AI’s power to innovate and create value, but keep enough guardrails to ensure critical thinking and culture don’t disappear in the process.
Every technological disruption—from mainframes to mobile—felt overwhelming at first. But the organizations that thrived weren’t the ones with the fanciest tools. They were the ones with leaders who guided their people through uncertainty with clarity, empathy, and accountability.
You can hear my full conversation with Peter Mahoney on the Future Ready Leadership Podcast. We dive deeper into the Pulse of Work survey, the risks of over-reliance on AI, and how leaders can prepare their organizations for what’s next.