Are you missing out on the GenAI opportunity?
If you're like many leaders I speak with, you're keeping an eye on the trends, reading a few articles, maybe attending a webinar here or there. But when it comes to real, practical steps? Things are… quiet. And that’s totally understandable. But here’s the catch: staying in observation mode for too long can quietly turn into a missed opportunity.
Organizations in the “Observing” phase of GenAI maturity typically adopt a cautious, wait-and-see approach. Leaders may be feeling skeptical of AI's practical relevance to their business or feel personally unprepared to engage with the technology in a meaningful way. The overall organizational mindset is one of curiosity, but even this curiosity is passive and often filtered through external narratives rather than internal exploration.
At the individual employee level, staff may be doing their own research on the topic, reading articles, attending webinars, or monitoring industry trends, but there is little action beyond surface-level awareness. There’s a strong feeling of needing to “understand the landscape” without making any serious commitments.
The observing organization likely has no formal systems in place to support AI usage, while their governance structures, ethical guidelines, and training resources on the topic are either underdeveloped or non-existent.
While observing can be well suited for organizations that need to first build digital literacy or those who operate in heavily regulated environments, the risk of being stuck in a state of GenAI observation is that you may fall behind in capability development. This can build an unwelcome strategic disadvantage compared to your competitors. From a talent perspective, observing organizations may experience difficulty attracting and retaining talent interested in innovation, and may find themselves lagging in future skills training and development within their team.
What "Observing" Really Looks Like
There are a few signs that you can watch for that might indicate your organization is observing:
Leaders are monitoring trends but not initiating pilots or internal conversations.
AI is discussed in terms of future possibility rather than present relevance.
Staff may be reading and learning individually, but there’s no organizational infrastructure to support deeper exploration.
Governance and ethical use frameworks are either absent or parked “for later.”
Change is happening around the organization, not within it.
Check out our Top 10 “Observing” behaviours.
This phase can be useful in the short term, especially for risk-averse or heavily regulated environments. But without a deliberate plan to evolve beyond observation, organizations risk:
Losing internal momentum and curiosity.
Becoming reactive instead of strategic in talent and tech planning.
Missing the opportunity to shape AI policy and adoption on their own terms.
If your organization is still in this observing phase, you're not alone; and it’s not necessarily a bad place to start. In fact, for many businesses and leaders like you who are just beginning to build GenAI literacy, it might be the right first step. But here’s the thing: you can’t stay there forever. Without a plan to move forward, you risk losing momentum, falling behind on capability development, and struggling to engage the kind of talent that’s excited about innovation.
So ask yourself: What would it take to go from watching AI… to actually working with it?
Wondering how mature your organization is in its GenAI journey?
Explore the GenAI Workplace Maturity Assessment. A free tool designed for business and HR leaders to gauge readiness and chart a practical path forward.
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