An In Good Company podcast with Paulina Bartoszek, Executive Director Transformation & Strategy at Lingaro Group.
What question should we be asking - ‘can I use AI for this?’ or ‘should I use AI for this?’
In this thought-provoking episode, Paulina challenges the traditional urgency around AI adoption. She shares insights from leading large-scale AI transformation, exploring why experimentation matters, how to define success when there’s no finish line, and what leaders must do to protect their human edge in an AI-driven world.
Latest listen
Paulina Bartoszek is Executive Director Transformation & Strategy at Lingaro Group, a data & AI partner for global enterprises, she joins Impact’s presenter, Dan Jones , to describe her journey from strategy consultant to passionate change practitioner and AI transformation leader. She explains why organisations need to shift their AI transformation focus from speed and proficiency to policy, safety, and long-term thinking. Tune in to hear:
- Paulina’s SUP model: speed, utilisation, proficiency for fast and consistent AI implementation - and why it’s not enough
- Why experimentation is the number one indicator of successful AI adoption
- How to define success when the AI journey has no end point
- The risk of cognitive skill erosion and how leaders can protect human capabilities
Watch the full podcast here:
As someone who has already led a large-scale AI transformation, what would you do differently if you were starting again?
I would definitely reinterpret the notion of AI urgency. When I started, the urgency was to be fast, because many people need to grow and develop their skills. But now, I see this urgency lies somewhere else - responsible AI. This is having a proper AI policy in place and being mindful of the long-term consequences of over-relying on generative AI - especially how it impacts our cognitive abilities. And of course, the data. We won’t have good AI without good quality data: well-structured, clean - data you can trust.
How do we protect human skills in an AI-powered workplace?
Generative AI mimics the way human beings generate things. Do I want to keep this ability to generate, to create, and write with a clarity of thought? Or, am I fine outsourcing it completely to AI? Over time, that will lead to erosion of my cognitive skills. Thinking is a muscle if I don’t use it, that leads to gradual atrophy. Companies that are already starting this conversation have an opportunity to reflect on this during workshops, during conversations about the importance of AI use having goals. I'm 42 today. When I'm a 70, I want to be someone who still thinks sharply, quickly, and so I’m using AI today with a thought for how it will affect my cognitive awareness years down the road.
Why does experimentation matter in AI adoption?
It matters a lot - so much so that when we officially started the AI transformation programme, we made experimentation our guiding principle. Whenever you plan a larger transformation, you start from defining your end state - you have a clear definition of done. With AI, that’s impossible. Things are changing and emerging so fast that you can’t have clarity over what your definition of done will be six or twelve months down the road.
Yes, humanity has gone through revolutions before - steam, electricity, internet - but never at this speed. AI affects everyone - an intern, a CEO, someone in a technical role, someone in back office. It’s very difficult to have a centralised unit that’s up to date with everything because the context of work affects how you use AI. We know from research that companies using experimentation as their guiding principle - that’s the number one indicator of successful AI adoption, as opposed to those trying to restrict AI access.
Bonus insight: If you were starting over in your career, what’s the best piece of advice you’d give yourself?
I would have invested in my understanding of the discipline of change management earlier in my career. I think that still, it’s one of the most misunderstood disciplines of business, it’s so overly simplified. Often people equate change management with communication and training. Of course, communication and training are part of it, but it’s much more than that. I’m genuinely passionate about this discipline, and I think it’s one of the skills of the future still worth investing in. I wish I had started my journey with change management sooner - years back.
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