Future Fit Leadership

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.auOr connect on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sasmiles/

Future Fit Leadership is a business podcast hosted by Sadhana Smiles, with 100 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Sadhana Smiles hosts Future Fit Leadership, a business show with 100 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #3

  The Steady Leader: Performing Under Pressure Without Losing Your People| Drew Ginn OAM

  Sep 27, 202629 minS13

  What does Olympic-level performance teach us about leading people through pressure? Drew Ginn OAM is a three-time Olympic gold medallist, a member of Australia’s legendary Oarsome Foursome and now General Manager of Marshall White Bayside. In this conversation, Drew takes us behind the medals to explore the trust, honesty and discipline required to build a team capable of performing when the stakes are high. Drew reflects on joining an already successful Olympic crew at just 21 and questioning whether he was good enough to belong. He shares how the team practised difficult conversations before they reached breaking point, why immediate feedback matters and what leaders can learn from people who understand that discomfort is part of growth. We also explore the difference between sustainable performance and expecting people to operate at 100 per cent every day. Drew explains why recovery is not a reward for finishing the work, but part of the work itself. He discusses how leaders can remain steady while their people experience the inevitable highs and lows of performance, and why knowing when to challenge someone and when to support them is a critical leadership skill. The conversation also examines resilience, reinvention, coaching and the loneliness that can come with leadership. Drew shares why culture cannot sit with one person, why everyone must become a culture keeper, and what changes when leaders move beyond their own success and take responsibility for the performance of the whole team. Originally recorded for Behind the Numbers ahead of Drew’s appearance at the RISE Leadership Breakfast, this is a practical and deeply human conversation about leading under pressure without losing sight of the people beside you. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  Episode #3

  Fix Work, Not People: The Work Design Reset with Organisational Psychologist Dr Kat Pagewith Dr Kathryn Page

  Sep 20, 202639 minS13

  When people struggle at work, organisations often respond by trying to make them more resilient. But what if the problem is not the person? What if it is the way the work has been designed? In this episode of Future Fit Leadership , Sadhana Smiles is joined by organisational psychologist Dr Kat Page, author of Good Work: Transform Your Work from the Inside Out . Drawing on almost two decades of research, Kat challenges leaders to look beyond wellbeing programs and examine the systems shaping people’s daily experience of work. She explains why resilience should not be used to help people tolerate preventable dysfunction, and how load, latitude, love and leadership can create healthier, more sustainable workplaces. Kat also shares how being made redundant forced her to confront how closely her identity had become tied to her career, and how reconnecting with her values helped her redesign her own relationship with work. Together, Sadhana and Kat explore whether performance should be measured through energy rather than hours, why psychosocial safety risks becoming another compliance exercise, and who should benefit when AI gives us time back. Because good work is not simply about preventing burnout. It is about creating workplaces where people have agency, feel that they matter and can perform without sacrificing their health to do it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  Episode #2

  Useful Belief: Choosing How You Lead When You Can't Control What Happens || Chris Helder

  Sep 13, 202650 minS13

  What if positive thinking isn’t always the answer? In this episode of Future Fit Leadership , Sadhana Smiles sits down with speaker and author Chris Helder for a wide-ranging conversation about the beliefs we carry, the stories we tell ourselves and how both shape the way we live and lead. Chris shares his concept of Useful Belief , a practical alternative to forced positivity. When circumstances are difficult or outside our control, the question becomes: what is the most useful belief I can choose right now? They explore Chris’s GOGI philosophy - guilt out, gratitude in , controlling the controllables, authenticity, influence and why leaders need to become more comfortable saying, “I don’t know.” They also discuss designing a life for excellence across work, family, health, friendships and self, rather than allowing success in one area to come at the expense of everything else. Chris also opens up about how his understanding of resilience has changed, his own struggle with feeling “enough”, and why reaching the top of one ladder led him to choose a new one centred on helping people. A thoughtful, funny and deeply human conversation about mindset, uncertainty, resilience and one deceptively simple idea: we may not control what happens next, but we can be intentional about the story we tell ourselves about it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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  Episode #1

  Stop Fixing People. Start Fixing The System : Felicity Furey

  Sep 6, 202650 minS13

  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.

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  Episode #7

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

  Aug 30, 20261h 8mS11

  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.

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