Leading Teams Through AI Change

AI is creating significant opportunities for research and insight teams, but it is also creating uncertainty, pressure and new leadership challenges. Many leaders are being asked to drive AI adoption, support experimentation and maintain performance, often without a clear roadmap for how to do it successfully.

This practical leadership workshop explores what is really happening inside teams as they adapt to AI. Drawing on organisational psychology, behaviour change principles and real-world examples, participants will learn to recognise the most common human and organisational barriers to successful AI adoption, understand why they emerge, and identify practical ways to build capability, confidence and motivation across their teams.

Leaders will leave with a clearer understanding of how AI is affecting their people, practical strategies to support successful adoption, and greater confidence in how to lead through AI-driven change without creating overload, resistance or burnout.

Who will benefit?

Directors, Heads of Insight, Managing Directors, Business Owners and other senior leaders responsible for setting direction, building capability and leading teams through AI-driven change.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Recognise the most common human and organisational challenges created by AI-driven change
• Understand how uncertainty, overload and concerns about the future can affect teams
• Identify the leadership behaviours that help teams adapt successfully to AI
• Apply practical behaviour change principles to support capability, motivation and engagement
• Communicate AI-related change with greater clarity, confidence and empathy
• Create the conditions for sustainable AI adoption without creating unnecessary resistance or burnout
• Develop practical actions to support both organisational performance and employee wellbeing during periods of AI-driven change

Trainer Biography

James Holden is a business psychologist, facilitator and former BBC Director who helps organisations navigate the human side of AI adoption and organisational change.

During more than 20 years at the BBC, James led large multi-disciplinary teams across research, strategy, marketing and audience insight, including serving on senior leadership teams and boards. He now works with leadership teams and organisations to understand why AI adoption often feels harder than expected and how to create the conditions for successful change.

Drawing on organisational psychology, behaviour change principles and real-world leadership experience, James combines practical frameworks with engaging discussion and real-world examples to help teams and leaders move from uncertainty to action.

Harassment and Safeguarding Policy

By booking this event, you agree to abide by the MRS Harassment and Safeguarding Policy. A copy of the policy can be viewed here: MRS Event Harassment and Safeguarding Policy.

MRS is committed to providing a safe, inclusive and respectful environment for all attendees. Failure to adhere to this policy may result in you being asked to leave the event without a refund. In addition, MRS reserves the right, at its discretion, to refuse future bookings and attendance at MRS events.

If at any point during the event you experience or witness anything concerning, please speak to a member of the MRS team immediately so we can address it promptly and appropriately.

If you wish to raise a concern after the event, please email conference@mrs.org.uk. Concerns will be handled sensitively and proportionately, and MRS may take action where expected standards are breached.