Copilot Catalyst Lesson 1: Leaders Go First, or Nothing Goes Anywhere
Picture this: you’re standing in Las Vegas in front of two slot machines.
One gives you a 79% chance of winning. The other? Just 27%.
Which lever are you pulling?
According to Prosci’s Best Practices in Change Management, projects with active and visible executive sponsors succeed approximately 79 percent of the time. When sponsorship is weak, that number drops to 27 percent.
When we narrow that lens to AI, the odds get worse. Adoption rates are significantly lower than what we see with other enterprise technologies. That’s because AI adoption is harder. It disrupts habits and it alters how work gets done and who does it. It’s not just a technical shift.
When you step back, the pattern becomes clear: AI isn’t failing because the technology is flawed.
It’s struggling because too many organizations are launching pilots without getting their leadership teams on the same page. Without VPs, directors, and department heads level set on how this technology works and what it means for the future of their business, executives are gambling on outcomes they could almost guarantee simply by leading from the front.
They’re pulling the right handle but on the wrong slot machine.
When Leaders Go First, They Create Agency
In every Copilot rollout we’ve seen, the biggest unlock wasn’t technology or training. It was when executives started using AI themselves.
To be completely transparent, our leadership-first approach in Copilot Catalyst wasn’t how we planned to begin. Originally, we designed the rollout around department super users. What we discovered early was when leaders got hands-on, they stop talking about adoption as something “their teams” need to do and start experiencing its potential firsthand. That shift creates agency. Once leaders experienced the possibilities directly, their excitement and vision drove the program forward in ways even the most passionate individual contributors could not.
Leaders who experiment with AI gain the context to ask sharper questions, challenge assumptions, and guide investment with confidence. Without that direct leadership engagement, we see adoption stall in pilot purgatory. Enthusiasts keep experimenting while the people who have the most influence over funding new projects stay on the sidelines.
Microsoft’s internal rollout shows what happens when change management and leadership sponsorship work together.
When Copilot was introduced through structured enablement, clear communication, and executive modeling, 85% of employees reported using the tool regularly, and 76% said they were satisfied with it.
The company credits that success to the same principles Prosci has advanced for decades: active sponsorship, visible leadership, and a deliberate change management framework. When leaders engage early, they give the organization something concrete to follow.
The executive signal is clear: this matters. A VP who says, “Here’s how I used Copilot yesterday,” communicates more than progress. Those stories become political capital. They justify continued funding, attract cross-functional support, and keep momentum alive when priorities compete.
People Follow People, Not Programs
Humans take cues from people they trust.
Long before business plans or strategy decks, that’s how we learned what kept us alive. We figured out what was safe by watching the people we respected and that instinct is still running the show. When executives experiment in public, they clear the path and everyone else watches. It’s not just a leadership trick. It’s hard-wired into our DNA.
The true nature of the executive job means most leaders aren’t naturally comfortable experimenting where anyone can see, but when they do it together in a cohort or pilot group, it changes the dynamic. Shared curiosity replaces fear of judgment, and learning becomes a collective act instead of a personal risk. The signal to the organization is clear: this is new, and we all have to learn it together.
People mirror what they see, not just what they’re told. That’s why adoption rarely spreads through slide decks or policy memos. It spreads through behavior people can observe and model. In every transformation effort we’ve led, the pattern repeats: when leaders show curiosity, teams get curious; when leaders hesitate, momentum dies. Culture follows example, not instruction.
And that’s the real lesson: leaders go first, everything else follows. Their actions create permission. Their stories create proof. Their advocacy keeps investments moving.
The Takeaway
If you’re about to start a Copilot rollout, don’t just launch another super-user pilot. Think about those two slot machines and which handle you’re going to pull.
Let the leaders go first, or nothing goes anywhere.
Up Next
Next we’ll explore lesson 2: Sprint Beats Marathon.
If you’re navigating this journey right now, take what helps and leave the rest. These lessons are meant to be used, not just read. And if you want to compare notes, our team at FlexPoint Consulting is always happy to share what’s working and what isn’t or just reach out to me directly.
If something here resonates, or if your own experience proves it differently, drop a comment. The conversation is where the real learning happens.