May I lift a weight from your shoulders? In three different ways, actually.
First, even team leaders, whose teams are already working with AI, are still thinking this: where do we actually start with AI?
Meaning: it is just natural not to have all the answers yet. Most likely, your team is with AI in the exact same phase as most teams right now
Second, it is possible to make more sense of AI. I created this guide for leaders who want to get their team moving, regardless of where the team is with AI right now. Run this AI workshop with your team, and you have a plan in a couple of hours.
Third, you got this. Check out the steps below, and realize that this change is about working together as humans. Focus on that.
Let’s start. Below you’ll find five steps for an AI workshop and the questions to guide each step. It’s a similar kind of approach I run with my clients in the Team’s AI Sprint.
Step 1: Work with intention
Outcome: AI serves your team’s goals and purpose
- Where do you need to be as a team in a year or two?
- What makes those goals meaningful for all of you?
- Where are you today in relation to those goals?
- How can AI support your mission?
- How will you know when AI is truly working for you?
Concentrate on this:
Make sure the team reaches a shared sense of direction before moving on.
If your team notices it’s lacking organization-wide goals, that’s an important finding: that gap needs to be addressed, but you can still agree on where you should be heading next. So, try to find solutions instead of hitting your head against the wall.
Step 2: Find focus
Outcome: The team has 3–5 concrete AI priorities
- What is most urgent to accomplish with AI right now?
- How do you know that?
- What do you need the most right now to move forward with AI?
- Based on your conversation, what are the 3–5 things to focus on first?
Concentrate on this:
This step really is about choosing priorities. If everything feels meaningful or urgent, help the team choose and make decisions.
Step 3: Identify resources
Outcome: The team has a clear plan for the resources they need
- What resources do you need to work with your AI priorities?
- Which of those are essential?
- What resources are already available? (budget, knowledge, guidelines, networks, etc.)
- What are you still missing and need? (budget, knowledge, guidelines, networks, etc.)
- What is your plan to get and activate the resources?
Concentrate on this:
This step is a great opportunity to focus on your strengths as a team, because your strengths are your most important resources. For example, if you lack a budget, you might be great at pulling that together and arguing for your needs to the leadership team.
Step 4: Take action
Outcome: The team has a concrete AI action plan for the coming months
- What actions have you already agreed on today?
- What other actions would make a real difference in the coming months?
- What actions will you commit to 100% today?
- Who owns each action, and by when?
- What do you do next when leaving this room?
Concentrate on this:
Identify which actions will build your AI foundation (a weekly team learning session, for example), and which will directly serve your business goals. Both are needed, but you just need to find the right balance.
Step 5: Make shift happen
Outcome: The team has AI KPIs and metrics
- How is success with AI defined in your organization?
- What can you learn from that?
- What will have changed when your team has succeeded with AI?
- How can that impact be made visible through metrics?
- What are the metrics you commit to?
Concentrate on this:
Think about what metrics already work well in your team or organization and why. Then try using the same recipe when choosing your AI metrics. Also, what does real impact look like for your team? Saved hours, stronger client relationships, or something else entirely?
Your role as a facilitator
- Focus on people and purpose over tools
- Listen and guide by asking questions
- Make not-knowing safe and natural
- Treat every answer and insight as useful
- Make progress visible and encourage the team
How did the workshop go? I’m very curious to hear what you discovered together.
I’m Nina Santaniemi, a certified leadership and team coach from Finland with 15+ years of experience in communications, workplace development, and branding. I work with leaders and organizations adopting AI. With me, you focus on the human side of AI change.
