AI Is the New Language of Work: Here’s How to Get Fluent.

By Heidi Jaros, MSOL, SPHR

September 24, 2025

“My biggest fear is that we’ll put all of this [tech] in place, and no one will use it…that they’ll just keep doing things the way they always have.” This was the main concern a client recently shared with me when discussing the implementation of new AI-enabled software at her company. With a recent MIT report showing that 95% of AI pilots fail to deliver impact, it’s a valid fear. And it’s not a new issue. In 2020, a Boston Consulting Group report found that only 30% of digital transformations were successful. Both reports highlight the critical role enabling leaders (especially at the middle management level) and adopting new ways of working at the team and individual level play in successful transformations.

Adoption Is Like Learning a New Language

I started my career teaching English as a Second Language in Sicily. Heading there, I believed my Italian was solid. I passed all the exams, I had a degree and I had visited Italy a few times. When I arrived, however, I could barely hold a two-minute conversation without struggling. Real proficiency didn’t come from my studies; it came from living the language: practicing daily, making mistakes and working not just to speak, but to think in a different language.

As an English teacher, I also knew that’s exactly how language teachers build fluency. They use the 3 Ps:

• Presentation – Introduce the new words or concepts.

• Practice – Give structured, guided opportunities to try them out.

• Production – Move into real conversations (role plays, task-based learning, topic-based discussion) where learners apply skills freely until they become second nature.

Since returning from Italy, I’ve spent nearly two decades helping companies navigate major transformations, coaching leaders through tough people challenges and deepening my expertise in adult learning and leadership effectiveness. What I saw in the classroom holds true on teams: lasting change happens when managers create space for their people to practice, make mistakes and build confidence together in real work situations.

That’s why I created the 4 Ps of AI Adoption model. It takes the 3 Ps of language learning and extends them with an additional first step (Pick) because in organizations, the tools you select matter just as much as how you introduce and embed them. Each stage of the model: Pick, Present, Practice and Produce, reflects not just theory, but my lived experience guiding teams and leaders through change.

Here’s the short version:

• Pick – Choose AI tools with the frontline in mind. Don’t select in a vacuum. Involve managers and end users so the tools solve real problems.

• Present – Train people in ways that stick. Go beyond “what the tool does” and show “what this tool helps you do.” Make it role-specific and grounded in real work.

• Practice – Create safe, structured space for experimentation. Weekly “AI power hours,” buddy systems, and small shared challenges build both skills and confidence.

• Produce – Move from trying to embedding. Standardize successful use cases, measure impact in terms of time saved or quality improved, and celebrate wins (big and small) so habits take root.

Why People Teams Should Lead

Tech teams bring the tools, but it’s people teams and line managers who know how habits are built, how culture shifts and how to make learning stick. We’ve done this before with learning initiatives, performance management and culture transformation. AI is simply the next arena where developing change reflexes, safe practice and human-centered adoption matter most.

AI won’t transform your business. Your people will. The organizations that succeed won’t be the ones that just roll out AI. The winners in the AI race will be the companies that make it part of daily workflows, empower teams to practice, drive AI-supportive cultures and measure real impact. That’s what the 4 Ps of AI Adoption are all about: turning AI from a shiny pilot into lasting fluency.

Contact us for a free AI Adoption in 4Ps Quick Guide: info@enableworkconsulting.com