Future Leadership Managing Director Michelle Loader speaks with Qantas about critical future capabilities and why human judgement is vital in AI-driven transformation.
“Success is defined by the speed and quality of decisions and driven by the capabilities we build for what’s next, not just today.” – Michelle Loader
Michelle explains how the Capability Compass can help senior leaders move beyond job titles to understand the leadership capabilities they need to deliver strategy today and into the future.
Watch here.
Over the past year, what has most reshaped your perspective, and how is it influencing your priorities?
AI has galvanised us to reposition Future Leadership as a leadership intelligence company. Our model is about context, capability and capacity – we give leaders an accessible framework to navigate this complex world. Our Capability Compass 2026 report analysed data from 1129 leaders across 23 sectors to understand what the 16 most in-demand capabilities are for the future – and how we can develop those that are currently falling critically short. Over the past 12 months, we’ve seen that static strategies fail and adaptive systems win. In a static world, we would’ve talked about the future – now it’s about reading the signals in real time and moving to action.
How has the way you think about risk, growth or transformation changed and how are you institutionalising that learning across your organisation?
The deep risk right now is capability risk. Organisations don’t fail to transform because they have a lack of strategy. It’s because they haven’t built the leadership capability to execute under pressure or when the system changes. The Capability Compass 2026 report found that while 58 per cent of Australian CEOs cite transformation as their number-one concern, 82 per cent of Australian executives assessed show low alignment to adaptability and resilience. We help organisations understand where their adaptive and resilient capabilities are best put to work.
As markets and technologies evolve at pace, where are you doubling down and where are you choosing restraint?
We’re doubling down on human judgement in an AI-enabled world. As automation accelerates, the premium on distinctly human capability is increasing. The leaders who create the most value in the next decade are those who can govern AI with strategic fluency – it’s all about the human in the loop. Future Leadership’s integrated talent solutions help clients to buy, borrow or build the talent they need.
A year from now, what will define success for you?
We’ve built our business on a really clear mandate: better leadership for a better world. Success is defined by the speed and quality of decisions and driven by the capabilities we build for what’s next, not just today. When organisations work with us, we want them to be more capable than when we found them.
