AI Adoption That Sticks with Tracey Lovejoy

Your Plan Is Not the Problem. Your People Are. 

PMOs rarely fail because of a weak plan. 

They fail because change never fully takes hold. Adoption stalls. Pilots linger. Big bets like AI stay stuck in pilot mode. The initiative was solid. The stakeholders said yes. And yet six months in, nothing has really changed. 

In this episode, I sit down with behavioral scientist and strategist Tracey Lovejoy. Tracey spent 12 years at Microsoft leading innovation at the intersection of design, technology, and change. She co-founded Catalyst Constellations. She coaches executives navigating complexity at the highest levels. She has seen the inside of enough organizations to know exactly where the wheels come off. 

We Lead with Process When We Should Lead with People 

Tracey has a clear answer to where adoption loss begins. We lead with a process instead of people. 

Process feels like expertise. It feels safe. You have the framework, the methodology, and the plan. So, you lead with that. The moment you do, you have already lost the people. 

Here is the hard truth. Even if you are right about the problem, you are wrong if the stakeholders cannot see it. It does not matter what you know. If they do not see it, it is irrelevant. 

Your job is not to convince people. Your job is to create pull, not push. When people are pulling toward something they want, resistance disappears. 

Change Resistance Is Biological. Stop Fighting It. 

Tracey makes this point clear. Change resistance is not a character flaw in your stakeholders. It is built into human biology. The fight or flight response cannot tell the difference between a new operating model and a physical threat. What does it know is: am I going to be safe? 

In today’s environment, that question is being asked constantly. Layoffs. AI headlines. Economic uncertainty. Your initiative is landing in an already overwhelmed system. 

The resistance you encounter is physiological. Stop fighting it. Start designing for it. 

Ask different questions. What clarity do people need to feel safe enough to move? What control do they need? What skills do they need? Answer those questions and stop hitting resistance walls. 

The Grief Cycle Nobody Talks About 

Every transition trigger grief. Even the ones people wanted. Getting married triggers grief. Having a child triggers grief. Taking a promotion you worked five years for triggers grief. Because every transition requires letting go of something. 

This is happening inside your organization right now. People said yes at the kickoff. They were excited. Then the process started. They had to let go of how they worked, who they worked with, routines built over years. That grief is real. 

If you are not helping people through it, you are watching them stall and calling it resistance. 

This is exactly what the Evolve phase of the IMPACT Engine System addresses. Constant sensing for where people are. Not assuming a yes at launch means a yes at every stage that follows. 

Lovers, Haters, and Just Don’t Cares 

My stakeholder model is simple by design. You have lovers, the champions who are all in. You have haters, the vocal resistors. And you have the just don’t care, the disengaged middle. 

The biggest mistake I see PMO leaders make they avoid haters. That is the wrong move. 

Your haters are passionate enough to tell you exactly what is not working. They are your early warning system. They are showing you where your initiative is about to break down before it breaks down. Lean in. Listen. The haters who feel truly heard have a remarkable track record of becoming partners. 

Just don’t care are the real long game. Your mission is to move them toward the champions. That happens through listening, through involvement, through giving them a real stake in the outcome. 

Build a Network Map. Not an Org Chart. 

Tracey’s most practical tool is the network map. This is not the org chart. This is a map of the actual power and influence landscape around a specific initiative. 

Who are the decision makers? Who has the power to say yes or no? Who are the champions? Who are the blockers? Who are the influencers that could move others? 

The more matrixed your organization, the more this map matters. Surprises like needing legal approval three months in happen because nobody mapped the network at the start. 

Build the map early. Use it to set your rhythm of engagement. Know who to check in with and when. That is what moves people along the adoption journey. 

Two Red Flags That Predict Failure 

Tracey watches two non-negotiables before committing any transformation engagement. 

First: Are the CEO and executive team fully driving and owning the change? If a Chief Transformation Officer or PMO leader does not have a direct line to the top, that person is being set up as the lightning rod for every ounce of organizational resistance. Organizations do not change without top-level ownership. Period. 

Second: Is the organization taking workforce readiness seriously? Do people have the skills and resilience to thrive in change? If workforce readiness is an afterthought, you are not building the agile organization you need. 

Check for these two things first. If either is missing, you have a root cause of conversation to have before anything else. 

What You Can Do Right Now 

Tracey’s number one recommendation for short term and long term is the same. Build your listening skills. 

Before the framework. Before the plan. Before anything else. 

Then build listening into the operating model. Create checkpoints where you pause and ask: where are people right now? Not where were they at the kickoff. Where are they now? The answer to that question drives every decision that follows. 

That is what a Strategy Navigator does. That is what an IMPACT Driver looks like in practice. Stop managing the plan. Start leading the people. 

Press play above to hear the full conversation with Tracey Lovejoy. This one is worth your full attention.