By Priya, Research, HUMAN HIVE
Employees say the leadership behavior they want most during an AI rollout is honesty about how AI will change their work, and only 36% say they get it, according to FranklinCovey research released November 10, 2026. The fix costs nothing but courage: tell people what you know, what you don't, and what happens to their job, before the tools arrive.
The 60-second version
Employees rank leader honesty about how AI will change their work as the number one behavior they want, and only 36% say they receive it.
The gap is not the tools: it is leaders rolling out AI without saying plainly what it means for people's jobs.
The fix this week: hold one honest AI conversation with your team, using the three-part script below.
What happened
On November 10, FranklinCovey released new research from a June 2026 global survey of workers across industries and regions. The question was simple: during an AI transformation, which leadership behaviors do you want most, and do you actually get them?
The five behaviors employees ranked highest, with the share who say their leader delivers each one (per the Business Wire release):
My leader is honest about how AI will change our work: 36%
My leader provides access to learning opportunities to build AI skills: 46%
My leader creates a safe space for experimentation and learning: 59%
My leader helps the team connect AI to our specific work and workflows: 41%
My leader communicates a clear and compelling vision: 46%
FranklinCovey CEO Paul Walker summed it up: "The gap between AI access and adoption is human, not technical." And: "Leadership decides AI's ROI." One note on precision: the release does not give a sample size, and the full study is due later this fall. We'll update this post when it lands.
Why it happened: the human side
I read a lot of workforce surveys. This one stood out because the top ask is not training, budget or better software. It is the truth.
Here's what we think is going on. Many leaders don't know exactly how AI will change their teams' work yet, so they say nothing. Others know some roles will change and worry that saying so will scare people. Silence feels safer. It isn't. When people don't hear it from their leader, they fill the gap themselves, usually with the worst version of the story.
The pattern isn't new. FranklinCovey's July 2026 report, AI Transformation and the Human Imperative, found only 9% of employees say their manager clearly explains how AI contributes to business growth, and 25% say expectations around AI use remain unclear. Different survey, same story: the tools showed up, the conversation didn't.
What Mitch has taught on this
Mitch made this point from the stage in a full keynote on making AI useful. After showing a room how AI can run outreach on its own, he drew the line: "However, it cannot scale trust. In fact, it can erode trust very quickly. So, the trust element is the hard work. That's the personal work, the human touch work."
And then the line that matters most for leaders right now: "And so building trust is a skill."
He also took the pressure off, which is its own kind of honesty: "If you can write your emails faster than AI can and better, then write them. There's no pressure that you have to." That's what an honest AI message from a leader sounds like. Use it where it helps. Here's where it doesn't. Here's what stays human. Watch the full keynote: Making AI useful for real.
Best practices: 5 moves for this week
Say the three things out loud. What we know about how AI will change our work, what we don't know yet, and when you'll hear more. A leader who says "I don't know yet, and I'll tell you by December 15" earns more trust than one who says nothing.
Talk role by role, not company-wide. A town hall can't answer "what happens to my job." A 15-minute team conversation can. Managers own this, so give them the script first.
Ask before you roll out. Before the next AI tool goes live, ask the people who'll use it: what would make this useful, and what worries you? Write the answers down and report back what you changed.
Name what stays human. For each role, list the two or three parts of the job AI will not take: the judgment calls, the client relationships, the conversations. People can commit to change once they know what they keep.
Make "I'm worried" a safe sentence. When someone raises a fear about AI, thank them before you answer. Fear that gets punished goes underground and shows up later as quiet resistance.
What's driving people crazy this week
Being left out of the decision. In a Jobs for the Future survey of 3,020 people (fielded November 28 to December 8, 2025, published March 2026), 56% of workers said their employers have not consulted them about how AI tools are used in their work. Only 36% said they have the training and resources they need to use AI in their jobs, down from 45% a year earlier. The human fix: before the next rollout, spend 15 minutes asking the people who'll use the tool how it fits their real day. Consulting people is cheaper than winning them back.
What this means for the next 1 to 3 years
The AI briefing becomes a leadership ritual. We expect the best teams to hold a short, regular "here's what's changing" conversation, the way good teams already do safety briefings. Same time, same format, no spin.
Honesty becomes a measured leadership skill. As AI handles more of the work you can count, people will judge leaders on the part you can't count: did they tell us the truth early? Expect it to show up in engagement surveys and in who people choose to work for.
Trust becomes the real adoption metric. Mitch called it on stage: AI can scale outreach, but it can't scale trust. Companies that track licenses bought will keep wondering about ROI. The ones that ask "do our people believe what we tell them about AI?" will see the gains.
How we evolve
The skill to build is candor with care: telling people the truth, including "I don't know," in a way that keeps them in the room. It matters more as AI gets better because the faster the tools change, the more often leaders will have to say hard or uncertain things. A leader who can do that calmly becomes the steady point in a moving system. As Mitch put it: "building trust is a skill." Skills get built with reps.
Daily practice: once a day, give one person on your team a straight answer you might have softened or skipped. Short, kind and true. It takes a minute and it builds the muscle.
Try this today
Ask at your next team meeting (5 minutes): "What's one thing about AI and your job you wish leadership would just tell you straight?" Write every answer down. Answer what you can on the spot.
Score yourself (5 minutes): look at the five behaviors above. Mark each one: do my people get this from me, yes or no? Pick the weakest and fix it this week.
Send one honest update (15 minutes): use the script below in an email or at your next stand-up.
Free tool: the honest AI update script
"Here's what we know: [one sentence on how AI is changing our work right now]. Here's what we don't know yet: [one honest sentence]. Here's what stays human in your role: [two or three parts of the job]. Here's when you'll hear more from me: [a specific date]. And here's how to tell me what worries you: [a time, a channel, or just 'grab me after this meeting']."
FAQ
What do employees want most from leaders during AI adoption?
In FranklinCovey's June 2026 global worker survey, released November 10, 2026, employees ranked honesty about how AI will change their work as the number one leadership behavior they want. Only 36% say their leader provides it.
Why do AI rollouts stall even when companies buy the tools?
Because adoption is a people decision. When leaders don't explain what AI means for each role, connect it to real workflows, or make it safe to experiment, people hold back. FranklinCovey's CEO put it as "The gap between AI access and adoption is human, not technical."
How should a manager talk to a team about AI and job changes?
Say what you know, what you don't know yet, what stays human in each role, and when you'll update them next. Then ask what worries them, and thank them for saying it.
Where HIVE can help
Tools are bought but nobody uses them? Book an AI Friction Snapshot and find where your people are stuck. Not sure where your team stands? Take the free readiness assessment.