How Kerryn Kathleen Kohl Is Rewriting the Rules of Leadership in the Age of AI**
By Karl Woolfenden — BCN.News
Time is moving faster than ever—or at least it feels that way. Information floods our feeds, workplaces are shifting beneath our feet, and technology evolves before our eyes. For leaders navigating this new reality, the question isn’t if they’ll need to change, but how quickly they can adapt.
That’s why Kerryn Kathleen Kohl’s new book, Oh SHI(F)T! Now What? Navigating the Age of AI, has struck such a nerve with executives across the globe. A leadership strategist based in Australia, Kerryn helps leaders and organizations face the chaos of the digital era while staying grounded in what makes us human.
During our recent conversation on BCN.News LinkedAM, Kerryn took us inside the ideas behind her book—ideas that are reshaping how companies think about talent, culture, collaboration, and the future of work.
What emerged was a powerful message: as AI accelerates, leadership must become more adaptive, more human, and more intentional than ever.
The Myth of Adaptive Leadership
One of the first things Kerryn tackles in her book is the misconception around adaptive leadership. Too many leaders, she says, are sprinting on a technology treadmill—adding tools, rolling out dashboards, and racing to keep up with competitors—while leaving people behind.
“We’re not making good use of the tools available to us,” she explains. “We’re trying to keep pace, but we’re losing the human stuff… We’re trying to lead with technology and leaving the people behind again.”
Her argument is clear:
Technology should support purpose—not the other way around.
The adaptive leader of 2025 isn’t the one who deploys the most software.
It’s the one who slows down, asks the right questions, and reconnects people to purpose.
Digital Transformation Isn’t a Tech Project—It’s a People Strategy
Digital transformation has become a buzzword, but Kerryn reminds us that it’s far more than a procurement exercise.
Most organizations, she says, start by chasing technology:
But the real question should be: What are we trying to achieve?
Only then should technology enter the conversation.
“Be people-led and purpose-led,” she says. “Then choose the technology to support that.”
The danger of tech-first thinking?
Technical debt, overwhelmed employees, scattered communication—and a culture that breaks faster than it can be repaired.
A Digital Culture on the Brink
When I asked Kerryn about early warning signs that workplace culture is cracking under digital strain, she didn’t hesitate:
“I think we’ve missed them already.”
Quiet quitting, disengagement, and burnout aren’t isolated trends—they’re symptoms of an overwhelmed workforce. Employees are drowning in notifications, jumping between 10 different platforms, and struggling to make sense of the noise.
Kerryn argues that leaders must now step back and intentionally rebuild:
And we need to do it thoughtfully—not by rolling out even more tech.
