Future-Fit Leadership: Why Most People Aren’t Doing Their Best Work | Cherie Mylordis

There’s a quiet truth sitting inside many workplaces right now.

People are capable. They care. They want to do great work.

But something is off.

In this episode, Cherie Mylordis takes us deep into that tension. From shaping strategy and workforce for the Sydney Olympic Games to leading transformation across some of Australia’s largest organisations, she has spent decades inside complex systems, watching what helps people thrive and what slowly breaks them down.

What she found is confronting.

It’s not that people aren’t capable. It’s that the way we work hasn’t kept up with the world we live in.

This is a conversation about rethinking leadership, rebuilding workplaces, and asking a simple but powerful question:

What if the problem isn’t the people, but the system they are operating in?

Key Highlights

~ Only one person out of 200 leaders said they were doing the best work of their life Cherie’s global research revealed a hard truth. Most people are constrained by culture, not capability. Even high performers are held back by outdated structures and unclear purpose.

~ The Olympic Games changed everything Working on the Sydney Olympics showed what is possible when purpose is clear, hierarchy is removed, and people are trusted. No playbook. No legacy systems. Just collaboration, ownership, and a shared goal that mattered.

~ The modern workplace is still built on a 100-year-old model Command-and-control leadership was designed for factories, not thinking humans. Yet many organisations still expect creativity and innovation inside rigid hierarchies. That tension is where disengagement begins.

~ The 3D framework: Dare, Ditch, Dial A simple but powerful reset for any team or organisation:

• Dare: define a bold purpose people can rally behind
• Ditch: remove what slows you down
• Dial: increase autonomy, trust, and better ways of working Small shifts here create meaningful change.

~ You don’t need a title to lead Leadership is not a position. It is how you show up. Curiosity, intention, and small daily actions can shift culture more than hierarchy ever will.

This episode stays with you.

Because it challenges something most people accept without question.

Work shouldn’t feel like survival.

It shouldn’t drain your energy, limit your voice, or make you question your value.

And yet, for many people, it does.

Cherie reminds us that there is another way. One built on purpose, trust, and the belief that people are capable of more when given the space to step into it.

Not someday. Now.

And maybe the real shift begins with a simple decision.

To stop waiting for permission. And start leading from where you are.

...

Connect with Cherie Mylordis: LinkedIn |

Nextgenify: Website | nextgenify academy | Whitepaper

This episode is brought to you by: Cell Wellness Co

Connect with Kirsty Gee: LinkedIn | Instagram | Website