Unlocking GenAI's Value in the Workplace Why Employee Mindsets and Agency Matter More Than Technology

The introduction of Generative AI (GenAI) has got me really excited about the potential of technology to transform the workplace. Organizations and employees should be trying to harness GenAI to boost productivity, enhance creativity, and drive innovation. However, much like the challenges faced during earlier digital transformation efforts, the adoption of GenAI will likely expose fundamental gaps in workplace culture and employee engagement.

At the heart of the challenges, I believe, lies a critical insight: the true value of GenAI is not derived from the technology itself but from how intentionally it is used. To unlock its full potential, employees must approach GenAI with presence, focus, and a clear orientation toward outcomes and impact?—?not merely task completion. Yet, pervasive issues such as a lack of psychological safety, employee agency, and the persistence of an “employee mentality” stand in the way.

This article argues that realizing the value of GenAI requires a shift in workplace culture?—?one that centers on intentionality, empowers employees, and aligns technology use with meaningful goals.

The Promise of GenAI: A Tool for Meaningful Impact

GenAI presents opportunities for a leap forward in workplace augmentation, offering capabilities that extend far beyond simple automation. It is uniquely positioned to amplify human capacity by enhancing how employees solve problems, make decisions, and achieve outcomes. For example:

• Creativity: GenAI can support creative problem-solving by helping employees frame problems more effectively, explore multiple perspectives, and scaffold innovative solutions. Instead of being confined by traditional approaches, employees can use GenAI to ask better questions, generate diverse ideas, and refine concepts in real-time.
• Efficiency: GenAI enables employees to optimize workflows and focus on what truly matters. By taking on routine or repetitive tasks, it frees employees to invest their time and energy in areas that require higher-order thinking and strategic decision-making.
• Insight: GenAI excels at identifying patterns, synthesizing information, and providing actionable insights. Employees can use it as a tool to clarify complex problems, identify opportunities, and shape well-informed strategies, allowing them to move from raw data to impactful action faster.

These capabilities make GenAI a powerful enabler of meaningful work. Yet, organizations frequently fall short in realizing this potential. This is because employees often approach GenAI as just another tool for task completion, rather than as a resource to drive innovation and impact.

The Intentionality Gap: Barriers to GenAI’s?Value

I see the adoption of GenAI revealing a gap in workplace culture: employees often lack the intentionality, presence, and agency needed to use this technology for impact. This gap is reflected in three key barriers:

Not Bringing Whole Selves to Work

• When employees feel unable to bring their full, authentic selves to work, they operate in a state of disengagement. This disengagement limits their ability to approach GenAI with curiosity, creativity, and a focus on outcomes.
• Psychological safety?—?being able to take risks and innovate without fear of judgment?—?is essential for employees to experiment with GenAI and explore how it can create value.

Lack of Agency

• Many employees operate in environments where decisions are imposed, and autonomy is suppressed. Without agency, the are more likely to view GenAI as just another tool dictated by management rather than a resource they can leverage intentionally to achieve meaningful outcomes.
• Agency fosters a sense of control and ownership, enabling employees to align technology use with their goals and the broader organizational mission.

The “Employee Mentality”

• This mindset, rooted in passive compliance and task completion, reflects a disconnect between effort and impact. Employees with this mentality may use GenAI to check items off a to-do list rather than to solve problems or drive innovation.
• Breaking free from this mentality requires reframing roles so that employees see themselves as co-creators of value, with GenAI as a tool that enhances their ability to achieve impactful results.

The Risks of Ignoring These?Barriers

Failing to address these barriers comes at a significant cost:

• Underutilization of GenAI: Investments in GenAI tools yield diminishing returns when employees lack the intentionality to maximize their use.
• Lost Opportunities for Innovation: A task-focused mindset prevents employees from exploring how GenAI can create breakthroughs in processes, products, and services.
• Cultural Stagnation: Organizations that prioritize efficiency over outcomes risk fostering a culture resistant to change and future innovation.

These risks underscore the need for a cultural shift that prioritizes intentionality, presence, and an outcome-focused approach to work.

Reframing the Workplace for Intentional GenAI?Use

To unlock the full potential of GenAI, organizations must create an environment that supports intentional and impactful use of technology. This requires addressing the barriers that hinder engagement and empowering employees to use GenAI as a tool for meaningful outcomes.

Foster Psychological Safety

• Create a culture where employees feel safe to experiment, fail, and learn as they explore how GenAI can drive impact.
• Encourage open discussions about challenges, successes, and ideas for using GenAI creatively.

Empower Employees with Agency

• Redesign workflows to give employees greater control over how they use GenAI in their roles.
• Encourage experimentation by positioning GenAI as a resource for problem-solving and value creation, not just a tool for task automation.

Shift from Task Completion to Outcome Focus

• Reframe roles and responsibilities to emphasize impact over effort.
• Update performance metrics to reward creativity, problem-solving, and the ability to use GenAI to achieve meaningful results.

Challenge the “Employee Mentality”

• Invest in training and development to help employees view themselves as co-creators with GenAI.
• Promote stories of how intentional use of GenAI has led to impactful outcomes to inspire a mindset shift.

The Role of Leadership in Driving?Change

Leaders play a critical role in modeling intentionality and outcome focus. They must:

• Champion GenAI Adoption: Demonstrate its value by using it strategically in their own work.
• Invest in Development: Equip employees with the skills to use GenAI effectively and align it with organizational goals.
• Create Alignment: Ensure that organizational priorities, workflows, and metrics support the intentional use of GenAI for meaningful impact.

Key Ideas

The value of Generative AI lies not in the technology itself but in how intentionally it is used. Organizations that empower employees to approach GenAI with presence, focus, and a commitment to outcomes will unlock its transformative potential. Addressing barriers such as psychological safety, agency, and the “employee mentality” is essential for this shift.

In a workplace reimagined for intentionality and impact, GenAI becomes more than a productivity tool?—?it becomes a partner in driving innovation, solving complex problems, and achieving extraordinary results. The future of work demands this evolution, and the organizations that embrace it will lead the way.