What if the person struggling in your team is not unmotivated, underperforming or lacking skills? What if they are simply in the wrong environment?

Mike Erlin is the co-founder and CEO of AbilityMap, a business helping organisations understand people’s natural capabilities and align them with the work that needs to be done.

In this episode, Mike shares the early experiences that shaped him, from helping his mother financially through his paper round at nine to living between vastly different communities in Mexico. He also reflects on playing Division One football, competing in sailing and what those environments taught him about ego, teamwork and performance.

We explore the difference between skills and capability, why training cannot always overcome poor role fit, and how sustained misalignment can leave capable people exhausted, disengaged and questioning themselves.

Mike also explains why his team assessed Catwoman’s capabilities, what the exercise revealed about overlooked talent and why organisations may be missing people whose strengths do not fit the traditional mould.

As AI takes on more analysis and routine work, human judgement, critical thinking and decision-making become even more important. But AI can also amplify poor decisions and existing capability gaps.

This is a practical conversation about leadership, bias, burnout and the responsibility leaders carry to understand not only what their people can do, but the environments in which they can perform at their best.