The leadership effect: How a single demo nearly doubled AI usage

What could possibly cause a 180-person team’s Rovo usage to increase by nearly 90% over the course of a single Wednesday afternoon?

Let’s set the stage:

It’s a Wednesday afternoon in Sydney, where 180 members of the People Team are gathered for an ITG (Intentional Team Gathering), our dedicated, in-person gatherings designed to accelerate important work.

Sherif Mansour, Atlassian’s Head of AI, presents a live demo. In it, he shows how he built a Rovo agent, the “Aussie Lingo Buddy,” which translates regular speech into Australian slang.

The energy shift in the room is palpable, with everyone’s attention rapt. In Aussie terms, this room full of Atlassians are going off like a frog in a sock! The demo is a ripper!

Why leadership AI demos are so powerful

Many teams are still figuring out how they feel about AI at work.

According to our AI Collaboration Report, AI demos have an impact, but aren’t always enough to inspire meaningful adoption or change the overall employee mindset.

Leaders set the tone for collaboration at work. A leader’s attitude towards experimentation influences and inspires a shift in their team’s approach, too.

While these findings were compelling, we wanted to take a closer look.

After tracking Weekly Active Users (WAU) over time between different groups, we saw Rovo usage increase incrementally across all Atlassian orgs during this period, with one big outlier.

The People Team that watched Sharif’s demo experienced a 90% increase in Rovo usage!

As a group of researchers and data folks, we delighted in seeing that kind of lift-off.

Leaders dispel the “is this cheating?” hesitation

Even at a company that builds AI, plenty of people quietly wonder, “Is this really for me? And is it actually okay to use this on my work? Is this… cheating?!”

Leader demos make a huge difference in dispelling these types of questions. During his AI demo, Sherif created an excitement that put his audience at ease. However, the resulting surge of Rovo usage came from the trust he had already been building as a respected leader.

When a manager or senior leader uses AI in front of their team, it sends a clear signal: Not only is this “okay,” it’s transformative to the way you might approach your work.

If your leader is using AI tools to prepare for a talent review, summarize a strategy doc, or draft a change announcement, it reframes AI as a supportive part of the team.

In behavioral science terms, it’s social proof: people like me, whose judgment I trust, are doing this.

Tackle the “so what?” problem

Sure, it’s impressive to watch any AI tool at work. Maybe you’ve turned your family into a Studio Ghibli animation or tested out several rug options in your living room, but what does that have to do with your work?

When leaders show their teams the possibility of using AI on real work, people don’t just get inspired. They change their behavior in the long-term.

It turns “so what?” into “what could I do?”

4 ways leaders can run effective AI demos with their teams

A good demo like Sherif’s doesn’t pretend that AI is perfect or infallible.

Rather, it should show the rough edges, narrate where human judgment still matters, and make it explicit that experimentation is encouraged.

That combination is exactly what we saw play out in the data following Sharif Mansour’s Rovo demo.

1. Choose a painful task

You probably already know the one.

Every team has a task or set of tasks that they hate. Pick a high‑friction, high‑frequency task your team regularly groans about. If it doesn’t show up on someone’s weekly to‑do list or it isn’t universally reviled by your team, keep looking.

The goal is to have your team think, “Oh, wow, that would make my job easier.”

2. Make it interactive

The best leader demonstrations aren’t necessarily perfect, but they are thoughtful. Skip the polished deck in favor of some levity, imperfection, and real-time collaboration.

Think of yourself less as a presenter and more as a facilitator of a shared experiment.

3. Be honest about limitations

Even the most prepared demo can actually backfire if it attempts to feign perfection. Just like any tool, AI has weaknesses.

Use an AI demo to model how you really use it, including do-overs, improvements, and even some of the funnier misunderstandings or hallucinations that can happen.

This transparency builds more trust than a flawless script. Instead of aiming for perfection, focus on teaching your team how to think with AI. This approach has the added benefit of converting some of your more persistent AI skeptics.

4. Close with experimentation and actionable next steps

Don’t end with “Any questions?” End with a clear approach, and maybe a little homework.

• “This week, try using an AI tool once for [X Workflow]—like your next sprint update or policy summary. Bring one win or one frustration to our next standup.”
• “Create one AI use case idea that you can try this week. It doesn’t matter how small. We’ll revisit what worked (and what didn’t work) next week.”

Specificity is what turns an otherwise cool demo into a real behavior shift. Using the trust and influence you’ve built as a leader can be the catalyst for organization-wide change that lasts.

The takeaway: Transparent leadership for the win

Leadership demos work.

Savvy managers tap into creativity and real-life application while sprinkling in touches of humility in their approach to AI demos.

When done thoughtfully with their team in mind, leaders can usher their entire team into their next (awesome) era!