Leading AI Change When Nobody Trusts You

10 March 2025 Reading Time: 4 minutes

by Dana Poole:

63% think business leaders deliberately mislead them.

88% fear job loss.

And here you are, tasked with implementing #AI in your organisation.

Welcome to the toughest challenge in #changeleadership – driving #AItransformation in an era of broken trust.

The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals what change leaders are up against: a fundamental breakdown in the relationship between business leaders and their people.

With 61% holding active grievances against business and the wealthy, #traditional change management approaches aren’t cutting it anymore.

As both an engineer and change leader, I approach problems by breaking them down into solvable components. The trust gap in AI implementation isn’t just a soft challenge – it’s a systemic issue we can address with the right #framework and #actions.

Here’s my analysis of what we’re facing and, more importantly, what we can do about it

The Perfect Storm: Technology Fears Meet Economic Anxiety

The data paints a stark picture of what we’re facing:

🔹 62% fear their jobs are threatened by #automation (up 5% from 2024)

🔹 59% believe current AI implementations lack proper #oversight

🔹 58% worry about lacking the right #training for future jobs (up 5%)

🔹 62% of employees fear their jobs being threatened by international trade conflicts (up 5%)

But here’s what’s most concerning: those with high grievance are 22% less likely to trust business leaders’ use of AI.

We’re trying to drive transformation in an environment where people fundamentally #distrust the drivers of change.

The Human Cost of Grievance

Take for example Maria, a mid-level manager implementing AI tools in her team. Her words capture the zeitgeist perfectly:

“Every announcement about AI feels like another brick in the wall between leadership and us. They talk about enhancement and efficiency, but all we see is our colleagues disappearing and workloads increasing. How can we trust the next big thing when we’re still hurting from the last one?”

Take another example Sarah, a finance professional whose department was implementing AI-powered analysis tools. Her words..

“Every time they say ‘enhancement,’ we hear ‘replacement.’ Every time they say ‘efficiency,’ we hear ‘layoffs.’ We’re not resistant to change – we’re scared of being left behind.”

Four Ways Organizations Can Address the Crisis of Grievance during AI Transformation

1. Rebuild Trust Through Action, Not Just Words 🤝

The Edelman data shows a critical insight: 85% of employees believe business is obligated to provide good-paying jobs and training.

This means:

🔹 Make concrete commitments to employee development

🔹 Create clear career pathways in an AI-enhanced workplace

🔹 Demonstrate how automation creates new opportunities rather than just eliminating roles

🔹 Share success stories of employees who’ve grown through AI upskilling

2. Give People Real Control Over Their Future 🎮

A striking finding: trust in innovation doubles when people feel they have control over how it affects their lives.

Here’s how to apply this:

🔹 Let teams influence the pace of AI implementation

🔹 Provide multiple pathways for skill development

🔹 Create opportunities for employees to #shape how AI is used in their roles

🔹 Build #feedback mechanisms that actually #influence decisions

3. Address Economic Fears Head-On 💡

The 2025 data shows that economic anxiety is fueling grievances.

Leaders should:

🔹 Provide transparent information about how AI will impact jobs

🔹 Create clear plans for workforce #transition

🔹 Offer concrete support for #reskilling

🔹 Share the #economic benefits of automation with employees

4. Lead with empathy 🗺️

People want to be heard. We want to be listened to. We want leaders to put themselves in our shoes.

Instead of presenting AI implementation as a fait accompli, co-create the journey with them:

🔹 Share the roadmap, including uncertainties

🔹 Listen and acknowledge their concerns and fears and communicate your challenges openly

🔹 Create opt-in pilots rather than mandatory rollouts

The Edelman data shows that 82% of people want to be heard and have their concerns addressed. Give them that platform.

Your Path to Success: Trust through Action

My background as an engineer taught me that every complex system needs the right foundational elements to function.

Leading change in the age of AI is no different.

The Edelman data confirms what I’ve seen in practice – when you build the right foundation of trust through concrete actions, #resistance transforms into #engagement.

Help your people feel SEEN, HEARD, and INVOLVED and you’ll be astonished of the results.

My challenge to every CIO or CEO reading this

Merging #technology with #trust isn’t just about managing #change – it’s about engineering a system where both your people and AI can thrive together.

Before your next AI or automation announcement, ask yourself:

1. Do our actions and words match
2. Are our people in control of how we deliver AI Transformation
3. Are we sharing the economic benefits of AI and Automation with our employees
4. Are we leading with empathy

The trust gap isn’t just a metric – it’s a call to action.

If we acknowledge the #trustcrisis and actively work to rebuild it, your organisation’s transformation won’t just change HOW your people work, it will strengthen the human connections that make work meaningful.

Trust isn’t a nice-to-have in change management; it’s the foundation everything else is built upon.

What’s your experience with trust during tech change? Please share thoughts below…

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#NarrativeAutomation #ChangeManagement #AITransformation #Trust #EdelmanTrustBarometer

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Dana Poole is a Tech Transformation Change pro with top FTSE 100 corporate experience.  She makes change irresistible by telling stories in a way that moves and inspires people.  These days, Dana is upskilling in AI, having built a foundation in intelligent automation at Shell.

 

Written by: Editor