The Legacy Keeper

They carry deep expertise and team memory. But when ignored or sidelined, they can quietly stall AI adoption. Not from spite, but from self-protection.

How to spot them

Signature behaviours:

Rejects the new – Avoids AI tools, sticks to what’s manual and familiar.
Leads with intuition – Trusts gut feel and experience over data.
Asks the tough questions – Pushes back on ethics, reliability, and value.
Resists change – Slows or blocks AI-related projects and policies.
Defends human judgement – Believes AI can’t match real-world know-how.

What this means for you:

• They’re the keepers of quality and caution.

• They offer essential pushback, the kind that stops bad AI decisions.

• But left unmanaged, their scepticism can spread quietly and stall progress.

• Ignore their concerns and you risk a full team backlash.

The challenges they create

⚠️ Trust Gap – They don’t believe AI is reliable or built for their work.
⚠️ Change Fatigue – AI feels like another new thing in a long list of disruptions.
⚠️ Quiet Resistance – They won’t shout, but they’ll slow things down from the inside.
⚠️ Expertise Protection Mode – If AI feels like a threat, they’ll guard their methods even harder.

What to do

Channel their energy:

• Show how AI supports, not replaces, their judgement.

• Start with low-risk, familiar tasks to build comfort.

• Use co-creation, not top-down rollout. Bring them into decisions.

Align their impact:

• Link AI to improving quality, not just speed.

• Highlight how AI can free up their time to focus on what they do best.

• Frame AI as a craft-enhancer, not a cost-cutter.

Guide their influence:

• Give them a platform to ask smart questions, don’t shut them down.

• Help them become a mentor in blending tradition with innovation.

• Pair them with early adopters for balanced rollout energy.

Success looks like this

✔️ They contribute to AI plans, not just comment from the sidelines.
✔️ They champion AI use where it adds value to human expertise.
✔️ They model cautious optimism, helping others feel safe to try.
✔️ They preserve quality while adapting to new tools. The best of both worlds.

Methods that use the profiles

More profiles to explore

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