AI is no longer a future conversation. It is already shaping how organisations think about productivity, risk, talent, and competitive advantage. And yet, when leaders are honest about where they really are, many still describe themselves as being at “crawl” rather than “walk” or “run”.
That reality was evident during a recent CIO and CFO dinner hosted by Livingston James, KubeNet, and Cisco. When attendees were asked to assess their organisation’s AI maturity, the majority chose crawl. Importantly, this was not framed as a failing, but as a sensible and responsible position to be in.
The discussion was anchored around a number of leadership questions that increasingly define how organisations experience AI in practice. Livingston James Director, Alistair Shaw, has provided a summary of the key themes and takeaways from the event below.
Shadow AI is already here and leadership must respond
One of the strongest themes was the reality of shadow AI. Employees are already experimenting with AI tools, often outside formal governance structures. Attempts to fully suppress this are becoming unrealistic in a world of mobile devices, personal accounts, and rapid innovation.
Rather than viewing shadow AI purely as a threat, the conversation reframed it as a familiar pattern seen in previous waves of technological change. The leadership challenge is not whether shadow AI exists, but how it is acknowledged, guided, and managed without eroding trust or stalling momentum. Education, clarity of intent, and principled guardrails were seen as more effective than heavy-handed restriction.
Adoption is cultural, not technical
Where AI adoption has stalled, it was widely viewed as a leadership and cultural issue rather than a tooling one. AI becomes embedded when leaders visibly use it themselves, link it to outcomes that matter, and make it relevant to people’s everyday work.
One of our guests shared how they are addressing this through structured education, including internal AI academies designed to build literacy, confidence, and consistency across all roles, not just technology teams. These approaches were seen as critical in reducing fear and accelerating responsible adoption.
If AI can explain how things are built, what happens to innovation?
One of the most thought-provoking moments centred on intellectual property and innovation. As AI becomes increasingly capable of inferring and explaining how machinery, processes, or design concepts have been achieved, leaders questioned what this means for IP protection, trademarks, and long-term competitive advantage.
The implication is profound. Innovators may need to rethink how value is protected in a world where knowledge can be reconstructed at scale. This is not yet a solved problem, but it is fast becoming a board-level concern.
Risk is the price of admission, but who owns it?
AI risk featured heavily throughout the discussion, particularly the tension between enabling innovation and maintaining control. Traditional risk and compliance frameworks can struggle to keep pace with the speed of AI development, raising questions about whether static policies can ever fully keep up.
While boards clearly have a vital oversight role, there was strong agreement that AI ownership cannot sit in a single silo. Responsibility must be shared across leadership spanning technology, finance, risk, people, and culture.
Crawl is normal and often the right place to be
Perhaps the most reassuring conclusion was that being at “crawl” is not only common, but appropriate. Organisations that are moving deliberately, investing in education, clarifying values, and acknowledging realities like shadow AI may ultimately be better positioned than those that sprint ahead without alignment.
From a leadership advisory perspective, this mirrors what Livingston James is seeing more broadly. AI is now a standing topic in CEO, board, CIO and CFO conversations, not because leaders have all the answers, but because they recognise the need to ask better questions.
If you would like to get involved in future Livingston James events, or you are looking for executive search support for your organisation, please contact Alistair Shaw for a confidential discussion: [email protected].
AI, Leadership and the Comfort of Being at “Crawl”
AI is no longer a future conversation. It is already shaping how organisations think about productivity, risk, talent, and competitive advantage. And yet, when leaders are honest about where they really are, many still describe themselves as being at “crawl” rather than “walk” or “run”.
That reality was evident during a recent CIO and CFO dinner hosted by Livingston James, KubeNet, and Cisco. When attendees were asked to assess their organisation’s AI maturity, the majority chose crawl. Importantly, this was not framed as a failing, but as a sensible and responsible position to be in.
The discussion was anchored around a number of leadership questions that increasingly define how organisations experience AI in practice. Livingston James Director, Alistair Shaw, has provided a summary of the key themes and takeaways from the event below.
Shadow AI is already here and leadership must respond
One of the strongest themes was the reality of shadow AI. Employees are already experimenting with AI tools, often outside formal governance structures. Attempts to fully suppress this are becoming unrealistic in a world of mobile devices, personal accounts, and rapid innovation.
Rather than viewing shadow AI purely as a threat, the conversation reframed it as a familiar pattern seen in previous waves of technological change. The leadership challenge is not whether shadow AI exists, but how it is acknowledged, guided, and managed without eroding trust or stalling momentum. Education, clarity of intent, and principled guardrails were seen as more effective than heavy-handed restriction.
Adoption is cultural, not technical
Where AI adoption has stalled, it was widely viewed as a leadership and cultural issue rather than a tooling one. AI becomes embedded when leaders visibly use it themselves, link it to outcomes that matter, and make it relevant to people’s everyday work.
One of our guests shared how they are addressing this through structured education, including internal AI academies designed to build literacy, confidence, and consistency across all roles, not just technology teams. These approaches were seen as critical in reducing fear and accelerating responsible adoption.
If AI can explain how things are built, what happens to innovation?
One of the most thought-provoking moments centred on intellectual property and innovation. As AI becomes increasingly capable of inferring and explaining how machinery, processes, or design concepts have been achieved, leaders questioned what this means for IP protection, trademarks, and long-term competitive advantage.
The implication is profound. Innovators may need to rethink how value is protected in a world where knowledge can be reconstructed at scale. This is not yet a solved problem, but it is fast becoming a board-level concern.
Risk is the price of admission, but who owns it?
AI risk featured heavily throughout the discussion, particularly the tension between enabling innovation and maintaining control. Traditional risk and compliance frameworks can struggle to keep pace with the speed of AI development, raising questions about whether static policies can ever fully keep up.
While boards clearly have a vital oversight role, there was strong agreement that AI ownership cannot sit in a single silo. Responsibility must be shared across leadership spanning technology, finance, risk, people, and culture.
Crawl is normal and often the right place to be
Perhaps the most reassuring conclusion was that being at “crawl” is not only common, but appropriate. Organisations that are moving deliberately, investing in education, clarifying values, and acknowledging realities like shadow AI may ultimately be better positioned than those that sprint ahead without alignment.
From a leadership advisory perspective, this mirrors what Livingston James is seeing more broadly. AI is now a standing topic in CEO, board, CIO and CFO conversations, not because leaders have all the answers, but because they recognise the need to ask better questions.
If you would like to get involved in future Livingston James events, or you are looking for executive search support for your organisation, please contact Alistair Shaw for a confidential discussion: [email protected].
Can we help?
If you are looking for leadership advisory or recruitment support, please get in touch with our team of experts.
More Articles...
Livingston James Retained by Enable to Appoint People Director
One of Scotland’s largest and most innovative charitable organisations, Enable supports more than 15,000 people to live, work and participate as active citizens across Scotland and beyond. This is a pivotal role, providing strategic and operational leadership across HR and Organisational Development.
Livingston James Retained by Sulmara to Appoint New CFO
Sulmara is an international, private equity-backed business operating in a growth-oriented and evolving market. The role requires an individual who can balance financial discipline with commercial awareness, and who is capable of contributing meaningfully to both the day-to-day operation and the long-term strategic direction of the business.
Livingston James Retained by Change Mental Health to Appoint Chair or Board Trustees
The charity exists to improve mental health across Scotland by transforming how people think and talk about mental health, delivering high-quality evidence-based services, and championing the voices of those affected. These roles offer the chance to influence services, drive innovation, and contribute to transformational change across the sector.