Future Fit Leadership

Guide Your Light
Guide Your Light
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Welcome to Future Fit Leadership a podcast for emerging and experienced leaders to learn, grow and become future fit!  There has been a global shift in how we lead people. Traditional models are being challenged, and our workplaces are now dynamic.  In this podcast you will hear and connect with leaders, CEO’s and change makers who will challenge the status quo and share their future ready strategies to unlock your growth.  No matter where you are on your leadership journey this podcast will give you practical ideas and tools to help you think outside the square and become a change maker in your industry.  Future Fit leadership is your place for bite sized learning, for time poor executives. Contact Sadhana Smiles via email: sadhanasmiles@realchange.com.au  Or connect on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sasmiles/ 

  1. 6 days ago

    Stop Fixing People. Start Fixing The System : Felicity Furey

    What if the biggest leadership problem isn’t your people, but the system they’re working within? In this episode of Future Fit Leadership, Sadhana Smiles speaks with engineer, entrepreneur, author and founder of five businesses Felicity Furey about what it means to design leadership for impact. Felicity shares how being one of the few women in engineering shaped her early career, why she once hesitated to put her hand up despite managing $45 million worth of projects at just 23, and how one decision to step forward ultimately changed the direction of her career. They explore why culture is revealed through everyday behaviours, how workplace systems can unintentionally create barriers to performance and belonging, and why leaders need to understand people's individual strengths rather than make assumptions about what motivates them. The conversation also turns to AI, our growing obsession with speed and the human capabilities Felicity believes we cannot afford to lose: judgement, curiosity, imagination, relationships and genuine care. And ultimately, Felicity poses a bigger challenge for leaders: what if we moved beyond measuring productivity and started measuring impact? Impact on the business. Impact on people. Impact on communities. And impact on what we leave behind. A thoughtful conversation about systems, belonging, AI, legacy and designing a more human future of leadership. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Stop Fixing People. Start Fixing The System : Felicity Furey

  2. 30 Aug

    Where We're Failing: A Frank Conversation on Domestic Violence Prevention with Cassandra Kalpaxis

    Domestic violence is not a fringe issue. It is not a private matter. And it is not someone else’s problem. In this episode, I sit down with family lawyer Cassandra Kalpaxis for a direct and deeply confronting conversation about domestic and family violence in Australia. Cassandra shares that in her practice, around 95 percent of her cases now involve domestic violence. Not always physical. Often invisible. Coercive control. Financial abuse. Psychological harm that slowly strips away identity and autonomy. We discuss the warning signs many people miss, what meaningful support actually looks like, and why pressure can push survivors further into danger rather than towards safety. We explore where our systems are falling short, from policing to prevention, and the accountability that sits not just with government, but with workplaces, leaders, communities and men. As International Women’s Day calls us to Balance the Scale, this episode asks a harder question. Where are we still failing? And what responsibility do we each carry to change it? If you need support, confidential help is available through 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Where We're Failing: A Frank Conversation on Domestic Violence Prevention with Cassandra Kalpaxis

  3. 23 Aug

    Who Are You Becoming As a Leader While You're Building Success with Kenny Lange

    Leadership is often measured by what we build: the business, the team, the results and the growth. But Kenny Lange believes there is a more important question leaders need to ask: Who are you becoming while you build it? Kenny is a leadership and scaling coach, entrepreneur and host of How Leaders Think. His path to coaching came through experience rather than theory. After being let go twice in four months, he started a digital agency almost by accident, grew it into a successful business and eventually sold it. He then helped the acquiring company nearly double its revenue while expanding its workforce across six US states and four countries. In this episode of Future Fit Leadership, we talk about what happens when founders become the "chief everything officer", why scaling requires leaders to surrender some of the things that made them successful in the first place, and why self-awareness needs to come before strategy, systems and accountability. Kenny also shares the deeply personal story behind his commitment to fostering and adoption. Together with his wife, he has fostered 18 children and adopted two, alongside their three biological children. That experience has shaped his understanding of vulnerability, responsibility and what it means to use leadership in service of something bigger than yourself. This is a conversation about business growth, identity and the inner work of leadership. Because sometimes the biggest challenge in scaling an organisation isn't what needs to change in the business. It's what needs to change in the leader. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Who Are You Becoming As a Leader While You're Building Success with Kenny Lange

  4. 16 Aug

    Brilliant Minds, Rigid Systems: The Case for Neuro-Inclusive Leadership with Frankie Berkoben

    What happens when highly capable people can solve complex problems but struggle with tasks the workplace considers simple? In this episode of Future Fit Leadership, I speak with executive coach Frankie Berkoben about neurodiversity, executive functioning and what leaders misunderstand about people who think differently. Frankie’s own career has crossed geology, engineering, product and program management, endurance cycling and executive coaching. Following her experience of burnout and a later ADHD diagnosis, she began to recognise that many talented people spend years believing they are inconsistent, unfocused or somehow broken, when the real issue may be the fit between the individual and the system around them. Frankie explains why systems thinking, pattern recognition and intuition can be significant leadership strengths, even when traditional workplace structures fail to recognise them. She also explores the shame created when people are repeatedly told they are too much or not enough, and the impact this can have on identity, confidence and belonging. The conversation moves beyond diagnosis. Stress, uncertainty, overload and constant context switching can affect executive functioning in any of us. Frankie and Sadhana discuss what neuro-inclusion looks like in practice, why psychological safety requires more than a policy, and how small changes to meetings, communication and work design can help different minds perform at their best. This is a conversation about building workplaces around humans, rather than expecting every human to fit the same system. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Brilliant Minds, Rigid Systems: The Case for Neuro-Inclusive Leadership with Frankie Berkoben

  5. 9 Aug

    From Taiwan to Silicon Valley- The Mindset That Refused To Accept No with Anya Cheng

    What does it take to build a career that spans some of the world's biggest technology companies before launching your own AI start-up? For Anya Cheng, it wasn't a perfectly mapped career plan. It was curiosity, resilience and an unwillingness to accept the first "no." Born and raised in Taiwan, Anya arrived in the United States with little more than a marketing degree, limited English, and no professional network. Finding work after graduating during the Global Financial Crisis meant knocking on countless doors, creating opportunities where none existed, and refusing to let rejection define her future. That determination led to leadership roles at Target, Facebook, eBay and McDonald's, where she helped shape global digital products, launch Facebook and Instagram Shopping, expand e-commerce, and rethink customer experiences at scale. Today, she's the founder and CEO of Taelor, an AI-powered platform transforming how men discover, rent and buy clothing while helping fashion brands reduce waste through real-time customer insights. In this episode of Future Fit Leadership, Anya shares why curiosity has been the greatest driver of her career, why the best leaders stop thinking about their job title and start solving problems, and how every setback became an opportunity to think differently. Whether you're leading a team, building a business or navigating your own career, this conversation is a reminder that extraordinary opportunities rarely begin with certainty. They begin with asking better questions. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    From Taiwan to Silicon Valley- The Mindset That Refused To Accept No with Anya Cheng

  6. 2 Aug

    What Happens When AI Does Half The Thinking with Maximos Lih

    Technology is changing faster than leadership. As AI reshapes the way we work, many organisations are focused on becoming more efficient. But what if they're asking the wrong question? In this episode of Future Fit Leadership, I sit down with executive coach and former Google Ventures leader Maximos Lih for a thoughtful conversation about what leadership looks like when AI does more of the thinking, and why the future belongs to leaders who become more human, not less. Maximos shares the remarkable story of his grandfather, an orphan who taught himself to read before rising to become a four-star general, and the leadership lesson that has shaped his entire career: great leaders are remembered not for the positions they hold, but for the lives they change. Drawing on years of coaching founders and high-growth companies, Maximos explains why leaders become the bottleneck in their own organisations, why start-ups should think more like Olympic teams than championship teams, and why copying companies like Google often leads businesses down the wrong path. Together, we explore why trust, storytelling, imagination and clarity will become the defining leadership capabilities of the next decade, why AI should free people to do more meaningful work rather than simply make them more productive, and why the most important question every leader should ask is not "What can AI do?" but "What can only humans do?" If you're leading people through growth, change or uncertainty, this conversation will challenge the way you think about leadership and leave you with a simple but powerful reminder: the future may be powered by AI, but it will still belong to leaders who know how to bring out the very best in people. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    What Happens When AI Does Half The Thinking with Maximos Lih

  7. 26 Jul

    Work Is What We Do Not Where We Go - Leading Beyond Hybrid with Karren Ferris

    For years, the debate around working from home has centred on one question: where should people work? But perhaps we've been asking the wrong question all along. As Victoria moves to legislate new work-from-home rights, the conversation has shifted beyond organisational policy and into public policy. Supporters say the changes protect flexibility and improve work-life balance. Critics argue they risk removing the very flexibility they are designed to create. In this episode of Future Fit Leadership, I sit down with leadership and organisational change expert Karen Ferris to explore what these changes really mean for leaders, businesses and employees. Together we unpack whether flexibility can or should be legislated, the unintended consequences of a one-size-fits-all approach, and why the future of work is ultimately a leadership conversation rather than a workplace policy debate. They also explore what the best organisations have learned since the pandemic, why trust has become one of the most valuable currencies in leadership, how hybrid work has exposed both great and poor leadership, and what leaders need to do to build culture, connection and accountability when work no longer happens in one place. Whether you lead a team, run a business or are simply trying to navigate the changing world of work, this conversation offers practical insights into leading with trust, creating genuine flexibility and building workplaces where both people and performance can thrive. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    Work Is What We Do Not Where We Go - Leading Beyond Hybrid with Karren Ferris

  8. 19 Jul

    What 60 Countries Taught Me About Leadership with Monika Guzek

    Leadership today isn't just about managing people. It's about understanding people. In this episode of Future Fit Leadership, I am joined by global leadership and intercultural expert Monika Guzek, who has worked with leaders across more than 60 countries helping organisations navigate the complexity of diverse teams, cultural intelligence and human behaviour. Growing up in Poland during a period of extraordinary social and economic transformation shaped Monika's view of change, resilience and ambition. Since then, her career has taken her across Europe and Asia, giving her a rare perspective on what great leadership looks like across cultures and, perhaps more importantly, what it doesn't. We explore why relationships matter more than hierarchy, how curiosity has become one of the most valuable leadership skills, and why leaders often underestimate the impact their own behaviour has on those around them. Monika also shares her personal experience with burnout, the lessons she learned about slowing down, and why finding joy, both inside and outside work, is essential for sustainable leadership. This conversation is a reminder that while cultures, languages and workplaces may differ around the world, people share many of the same needs: to be heard, understood and trusted. For leaders navigating an increasingly global, fast-moving and diverse world, these insights have never been more relevant. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    What 60 Countries Taught Me About Leadership with Monika Guzek
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About

Welcome to Future Fit Leadership a podcast for emerging and experienced leaders to learn, grow and become future fit!  There has been a global shift in how we lead people. Traditional models are being challenged, and our workplaces are now dynamic.  In this podcast you will hear and connect with leaders, CEO’s and change makers who will challenge the status quo and share their future ready strategies to unlock your growth.  No matter where you are on your leadership journey this podcast will give you practical ideas and tools to help you think outside the square and become a change maker in your industry.  Future Fit leadership is your place for bite sized learning, for time poor executives. Contact Sadhana Smiles via email: sadhanasmiles@realchange.com.au  Or connect on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sasmiles/ 

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