Show, Don't Tell: Your Team Won't Use AI Until They See You Using It

Last week a CEO asked me the same question I hear from every executive: 'How do I get my team to use AI?' My answer shocked him.

"I really want to show people how to use AI to think strategically," he said. "Not just tactically, but strategically."

"That's your burning question?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yes."

"Okay, here's my approach to answering a CEO's most burning question: You might expect me to answer straight away, but I have a strategic thinking partner I'd like to invite to the conversation, if you don’t mind."

Then I opened ChatGPT and shared my screen.

I typed: "You're an AI implementation expert. I'd like to request your assistance with an important question: how do I get my team to use AI to think strategically? Please ask me three questions, one at a time, so you have enough context, and then suggest five non-obvious strategies with a rollout plan."

As we walked through the conversation, the CEO started getting attached to the tactics being suggested. "Can I just do these things?" he asked eagerly.

I stopped him. "As much as I like some of these ideas, they’re not the point. I was trying to demonstrate a new behavior for you, real time. Do you see what I just did? I just placed your question — the most important question I’m going to be asked all day — into AI!"

"With all due respect, you're a big-time CEO whose time is quite valuable. Your question is the most important one I've heard today, in terms of my own business prospects. But rather than answer it myself, what did I do?"

"You were expecting me to answer with whatever I already know. I mean, I'm the world expert, right? I could have just answered you. But instead, I shared my screen and showed you how I use AI for MY most important questions."

"I showed you how YOU can use AI the same way.”

That's when it clicked for him. “You’re teaching me to fish, and not just fishing for me.”

"That's what YOU have to do for your team. You have to share your screen and show people how you're using AI to answer your own questions."

"Because otherwise, how will they know to use AI for THEIR questions? Only by modeling the behavior will your team understand, 'Oh, if the CEO is using AI, I should be using it too.'"

The Pattern is Clear

This isn't just my theory. My former student and podcast guest Diarra Bousso puts it perfectly: "I can't tell my team to level up when I'm leveling up in private."

Diarra doesn't just tell her team to use AI better—she shows them how she uses it. "I use Loom a lot to screen record how I'm working," she explains. "I open all the tabs of different things I'm working on. I record a Loom and show them how I'm going from one tab to the next."

She doesn't just share results; she makes her thinking visible.

Brad Anderson, President of Product, Engineering, and UX at Qualtrics, takes the same approach. When we asked him how he drives AI adoption across his organization, he didn't talk about policies or programs.

"At least every week, maybe several times in the week, we'll have a few minutes as people are joining a meeting, or maybe we're wrapping up a little bit early," he told me. "I'll be talking to the team. I said, 'Hey, let me show you what I've been working on in my notebook.' And I'll pull up a shared notebook, show how we've imported data into it, start asking questions of it, and actually just show people how to do it."

His conclusion? "The only way that I've ever known to drive behavior change is you have to show people."

Your "Show, Don't Tell" AI Playbook

Here's exactly what to do:

1. Record your screen using Loom and tell your team: "I want to show you how I'm using AI in my own work."

2. Don't just demonstrate the 'easy' stuff: Show them how you use AI for your most important questions—the ones that keep you up at night.

3. Show vulnerability: "I'm still figuring this out too, but here's what I've learned so far."

4. Demonstrate the process: Walk through a real conversation with AI, showing both your prompts and how you interpret and refine the responses.

5. If you don't know where to start: Show them how you're using AI to figure out how to use AI! Just like I did with my CEO friend.

6. Create accountability: "Next week, I want each of you to record a short video showing how you're using AI in your work."

7. Add incentives: "I'm keeping track of the most innovative approaches, and there's a bonus for whoever finds the most valuable use case."

The key point? Your team needs to see YOU using AI before they'll embrace it themselves.

Even If You Don't Know How

Don't know how to use AI yourself? Perfect. Record yourself asking AI this exact question:

```

I'm new to using AI in my work, and you’re an expert in workplace AI use cases. Given my role as [your role], what are 3-5 ways I could start using AI that would have the biggest impact? Please explain each one with a specific example, but before you do, please ask me up to three clarifying questions, one at a time, so that your recommendations are tailored to my unique situation.

```

You can copy/paste that directly into an LLM of your choice, after you start your Loom recording. Then share that recording with your team. There's no more powerful message than showing them you're learning alongside them.

Because when Brad Anderson at Qualtrics shows his NotebookLM projects, when Diarra Bousso records her screen, when you share your own AI conversations—it creates psychological safety. It says: "If I'm doing this, you can too."

The CEO I mentioned? He's recording his first AI interaction video this week. Not because I told him to, but because I showed him how.

Your team doesn't need more instructions about AI. They need to see you using it. Because nobody follows the manual. They follow the leader.

Related: Beyond the Prompt: Diarra Bousso
Related: Beyond the Prompt: Brad Anderson
Related: Use AI to Use AI: The Meta-Skill Nobody's Talking About
Related: Stop Hiding Your AI Use (And Make Your Team Stop Too)

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