When Dr. Koh Cheng Boon asked his students what stood in the way of change, one answer stood out: fear of failure.
It’s something he observed personally in his young granddaughter, Aurora, who boldly experimented while learning to walk. “She fell, she got up, and she tried again,” he said at the Digital Leadership Summit 2025. “We are born to be resilient, but over time we forget.” That’s why, he told the audience, the real question for leaders today isn’t Why transform now? It’s — why not now?
Dr. Koh Cheng Boon is Academic Programme Director of the IMBA at Nanyang Business School and Deputy Director of the Asian Business Case Centre. With research spanning crisis leadership, emotional intelligence, and organizational transformation, he’s emerged as a leading voice on leadership in uncertain times.
Highlights
From VUCA to BANI: Why Leaders Must Act Before Crisis Forces Them
Hosted by NewInAsia, the Digital Leadership Summit 2025 brought together innovation leaders and C-suite professionals confronting transformation head-on. In his keynote, Dr. Koh explored the shift from a VUCA world to a BANI world — Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, Incomprehensible — where traditional strategies no longer apply.
He used the “Gray Rhino” metaphor by Michele Wucker to warn of visible, obvious risks that are too often ignored. Digital transformation, he said, is one of them. “If we don’t deal with transformation now, something much bigger and scarier will come along to force us to change.”
Change Your Thinking — or Be Left Behind
Dr. Koh argues that true transformation starts with the way we think. If the internet redefined how we access knowledge, then AI is redefining how we think.
But many organizations still operate under outdated, hierarchical leadership models. That needs to shift — fast.
He calls for a move to collective leadership, where decision-making is shared and leadership is distributed across empowered teams. In today’s unpredictable environment, centralized control just doesn’t scale.
From Traditional Leadership to a Collective Mindset
The traditional leadership model was built on the idea of the all-knowing leader — the single figure at the top who held the answers, made the decisions, and steered the ship. This approach assumed that expertise flowed in one direction, from the leader down to the rest of the team.
But in today’s fast-moving and often chaotic environment, that model no longer holds up.
Dr. Koh described a different way forward — one rooted in collective intelligence. Rather than expecting one leader to know it all, organizations must embrace the reality that “we know more, together.”
In a collective leadership model, there’s no single hero carrying the weight alone. Leadership is shared. Everyone contributes, everyone leads in their own way, and decision-making becomes a collaborative effort. Instead of “one decides, all follow,” it becomes “we decide, and everyone’s on board.”
This shift isn’t just about structure — it’s about mindset. Where traditional leadership relies on centralization and control, collective leadership is powered by trust, empowerment, and shared responsibility. It flattens hierarchies, unlocks initiative, and builds resilience across the organization.
For Dr. Koh, this isn’t a theory — it’s the essential upgrade leaders need to navigate the complexity of a BANI world.
Leadership is a Team Sport
Backed by five years of research, Dr. Koh outlined the core competencies needed to build collective leadership:
- Empowerment and trust
- Supporting leadership and role-sharing
- Empathy, humility, and authenticity
- Goal clarity, communication, and stewardship
It’s not just about changing job titles. It’s about changing culture.
Insight and Foresight Begin With Self-Awareness
Quoting research from Tasha Eurich, Dr. Koh emphasized that while 95% of people believe they are self-aware, only 15% actually are. “That means, on a good day, 80% of people are lying about themselves to themselves.”
And that gap doesn’t just affect individuals — it holds back entire organizations. When leadership lacks insight, transformation becomes reactive instead of strategic.
AI is Not the Threat — Stagnation is
Dr. Koh highlighted examples like Saladin, a Vietnamese Insurtech startup using AI to disrupt traditional insurance models. He also cited the “T2 Remake” film project — created in just three months by 50 AI artists, with no actors or crew — as a glimpse into what’s possible.
AI, he said, is not just a disruptor. It’s also an enabler — for collaboration, speed, and foresight.
His Challenge to Every Leader
Dr. Koh Cheng Boon closed with a challenge: “A lie is like a painkiller. It gives instant relief but has side effects forever. The truth is like surgery. It hurts — but it heals.”
For organizations to stay relevant, leaders must stop avoiding discomfort. The choice isn’t between change and stability. It’s between evolution and irrelevance.
Highlights
Read the Chinese article here.
