Change Leadership for AI delivery

Why AI Programmes Often Fail Without Proper Change & Transformation Leadership with Battle Scars

Businesses are under pressure to work faster, leaner, and with fewer manual bottlenecks. Many turn to automated tools to achieve that, but too often the technology is blamed when results fall short. In reality, the breakdown happens long before the first system goes live. The missing element is structured change management led by someone senior and robust enough to take grip and own the transformation process.

“The gap isn’t in the software, it’s in how the business adapts around it.” comments Craig Ashmole, Fractional CIO and transformation advisor based in Dubai. “Without strong change leadership, even the best tools or AI initiatives end up slowing you down or remaining a proof-of-concept.”

Introducing new, more automated ways of working isn’t just a technical upgrade. It alters roles, routines, and long-established processes. People need clarity. Workflows need redesigning. Controls need tightening. When these elements are left to chance, even good ideas fall apart. This is why senior-level leadership is essential. Change at this scale cannot be pushed down the chain. It needs someone who understands how the business actually runs, can make decisions quickly, and can keep both operational and technology teams aligned.

The logistics sector illustrates this well. Route optimisation tools promise fuel savings and smoother planning, but without proper change leadership, dispatchers override the system and drivers ignore instructions. Automated warehouse booking systems reduce congestion, yet if the change isn’t managed, hauliers stick to old habits and staff double-book slots. Digital proof-of-delivery tools cut admin time, but only when drivers adopt them consistently and back-office teams stop running the old manual checks. The technology works; the change around it doesn’t, unless someone who’s been there and done it before with all the battle scars, takes charge.

The lesson is clear: technology rollouts fail when treated as IT projects. They succeed when treated as business-wide change programmes. Strong transformation leadership provides the structure, pace, and authority needed to help people adapt, to prevent drift, and to make sure the investment delivers value rather than noise.

As organisations push harder to integrate new tools, the winners will be the ones who recognise that the real effort sits not in the software, but in how the business evolves around it and that evolution needs a steady hand at the top.

“In the UAE I have noticed that the leadership teams talk about AI as it’s a remedy to all their growth plans,” Craig goes on to say. “The issue I keep stressing is make an effort to appoint a Fractional leader to provide initial support and direction, so implementation of AI solutions have governance and are focused in the ‘right’ areas of the business.”

by Craig Ashmole, Fractional CIO, Straightalking Dubai UAE