AI adoption is a leadership problem, not a tools problem.
More than 80% of AI projects fail to deliver, and the cause is almost always leadership, not the technology. This workshop gives your leaders the diagnostic, the operating model, and the hands-on fluency to lead AI adoption that holds, in any industry.
Tiago Ferreira, Founder. Built from his Champlain and Walden Master's research and federal leadership experience, grounded in behavioral science.
The tools work. The money is spent. Adoption still stalls.
AI projects fail at roughly twice the rate of other technology projects (RAND), and rarely because of the tools. They fail on the human side: unclear ownership, no safety to experiment, managers left without a playbook. The research is consistent (Welch, 2025) that leaders who communicate the why, model openness, and build psychologically safe teams sharply raise adoption.
So this workshop treats adoption as a design problem you can lead, not a motivation problem to wish away. Your leaders leave with the diagnosis, the operating model, and the artifacts to make it stick.
A Leader's AI Playbook you build live, not a binder you file away.
The Leader's AI Playbook
Ready-to-adapt operating artifacts your leaders build live, mapped to their context and ready to run.
- Role-specific guardrails (allowed, not allowed, required review) so people know where the lines are
- A decision rights matrix and a one-page escalation tree so it is always clear who decides what
- A QA checklist with a sampling rubric to keep quality honest without slowing the work
- A barrier log with weekly retrospectives and a simple update template to keep momentum visible
- A six-week pilot plan mapped to the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, ready to run
Four moves that turn enthusiasm into adoption that holds.
Diagnose what is really blocking adoption
Why rollouts stall even when the tools work. We map the real barriers (ownership, guardrails, reinforcement, enablement, measurement) through the ADKAR lens, so you fix the bottleneck, not the symptom.
Install Leadership Practices 2.0
An eight-lever operating model that turns responsible AI adoption into daily leadership behavior: messaging, guardrails, decision rights, psychological safety, pilot portfolio, approved tooling, measurement, and a continuous improvement loop.
Run a real pilot, hands-on
A six-week pilot on the plan-act-observe-reflect cycle, mapped to the NIST AI RMF, plus a hands-on practicum where leaders build a real workflow for their own context. Fluency comes from doing, not watching.
Measure it and enable your managers
Value-based measurement (cycle time, rework, quality, confidence) over vanity metrics, a validated readiness survey, and the manager rituals that make adoption stick, because middle managers decide whether it does.
A full day that ends with a working playbook.
The flagship is a single high-intensity day. Your leaders move from diagnosis to operating model to a hands-on pilot design, and walk out with a Leader's AI Playbook built for their own context.
Need it shorter or deeper? It also runs as a focused half-day, or as a multi-week cohort with real pilot work, scoped to your goals on a discovery call.
Built for the people who own the outcome.
Leaders driving AI adoption
Directors, VPs, program leaders, and managers accountable for making AI stick. Industry-agnostic by design; healthcare, insurance, and financial services are common contexts.
Federal and government teams
A dedicated standalone path covering procurement, data classification, FedRAMP, and public accountability, drawing on direct federal experience at the Department of Energy.
Leadership-development programs
Plugs into your existing program as a module, co-delivered with a strengths-based facilitator using the Leadership Practices 2.0 and CliftonStrengths crosswalk.
Not opinions. Evidence.
Master's research
Built on a Champlain capstone in digital transformation leadership and Walden research in digital psychology.
Peer-reviewed base
Welch 2025 on leadership and AI receptivity, Edmondson on psychological safety, ADKAR and Kotter on change.
Recognized frameworks
The NIST AI Risk Management Framework and validated readiness constructs anchor the pilot and measurement work.
What leaders ask before they reach out.
Is this workshop industry-specific?
No. The leadership practices that make AI adoption stick are the same across sectors, so it works regardless of industry. Healthcare, insurance, financial services, and government are common contexts, with examples tailored to your world.
Can it fit our existing leadership program?
Yes. It runs standalone as a full day, or plugs into your current leadership-development program, co-delivered with a strengths-based facilitator. Focused half-day and multi-week cohort formats are available too.
What do participants leave with?
A Leader's AI Playbook they build live: role guardrails, a decision rights matrix, an escalation tree, a QA checklist, a barrier log, and, in longer formats, a six-week pilot plan mapped to the NIST AI RMF.
Do you work with federal and government teams?
Yes, on a dedicated path. It layers in procurement constraints, data classification, FedRAMP, and public-accountability framing, and draws on direct federal leadership experience at the Department of Energy.
What does it cost?
The workshop is scoped to your format, your team, and your goals, so the investment depends on length and scope. Book a discovery call and I will scope it with you.
Who runs the workshop?
Tiago Ferreira directly. You work with the same person who designed the method, grounded in his Master's research and federal and startup leadership experience.
Give your leaders what AI adoption actually takes.
No pitch, no pressure. A short conversation about your team and the format that fits.