May 07, 2026 • 3 min read
A broader
perspective on
leadership and delivery
Every time I thought I’d reached a limit, another opportunity appeared.
Leadership has never been about staying within the lines for Cheryl Zahara. Rather, it’s about stepping in when things get complex, leaning into uncertainty and helping teams move forward with clarity and confidence. Whether that’s on a project site, in a boardroom or balancing life outside of work.
Now overseeing global project services, Cheryl’s career reflects a deep belief in end‑to‑end thinking: understanding how early decisions shape outcomes and how people – not just processes – ultimately determine success.
From finance to project delivery
After Cheryl transitioned from professional services into our team as a financial analyst 15 years ago, the path that followed wasn’t linear. It was a series of opportunities to broaden her perspective spanning finance, commercial management, operations, project controls and ultimately, full project delivery leadership.
Each role added another layer of understanding: how engineering decisions influence construction, how procurement choices affect schedules and how early alignment can remove friction long before it appears. As her scope expanded from Canada to the Americas and now globally, the role itself stayed fundamentally the same; just with a wider lens and greater impact.
“I’ve never felt boxed in here,” Cheryl says. “Every time I thought I’d reached a limit, another opportunity appeared.”
Keeping the end front of mind
Across global projects, Cheryl champions a simple but powerful mindset: start with the end in mind. Because when teams understand the ultimate outcome, from commissioning through to handover, silos start to fall away.
Engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning stop operating as individual checkpoints and start moving as one system. That shared focus creates space for better decisions, greater agility and faster problem solving when things don’t go to plan.
“Projects aren’t meant to be perfect,” she says. “If they were, we wouldn’t need experts. What matters is how you respond, adapt and keep moving forward together.”
Lean teams, strong connections
In a global role with a deliberately lean structure, Cheryl sees connection as a strength. Decisions move faster, support is more immediate and teams are encouraged to share what’s working – and what isn’t – across regions, rather than constantly reinventing the wheel.
By reusing proven approaches and being open about where help is needed, teams scale faster and deliver more consistently. For Cheryl, leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about knowing who to call, when to listen and where to step in.
That same mindset carries through to how she approaches data and digital tools. As delivery models become increasingly data driven, Cheryl is focused on shifting attention from producing reports to understanding what the information actually means.
“When teams spend less time stitching data together, they can spend more time acting on it,” she explains. “That’s where better decisions happen. Earlier, healthier decisions that support cost certainty and schedule confidence.”
In Cheryl’s eyes, digital maturity is practical. Tools should enable judgement, not replace it.
Perspective earned outside the office
One of the defining moments in Cheryl’s career came when she stepped away from Worley to pursue a personal goal: turning around a distressed business. Pregnant at the time, she spent two years balancing travel, leadership and the realities of running her own company.
“There’s nothing more stressful than making payroll in your own business,” she says. “It gave me perspective I still carry today.”
That experience sharpened her understanding of risk, accountability and what truly matters. All lessons that inform how she leads teams and supports projects under pressure.
Learning the balance
Outside of leading teams and supporting global projects, Cheryl is also a parent of two young children, a role that has shaped her leadership style just as much as any professional experience. She speaks openly about the importance of flexibility, trust and reassurance, especially during moments of transition.
“We all can’t have a bad day at the same time,” she says. “But knowing someone has your back makes all the difference.”
Even with a global role and frequent travel, family remains her anchor. Cheryl manages her days to stay present for school mornings, shared dinners and the everyday moments that matter most.
In Cheryl’s opinion, a meaningful career isn’t defined by titles or tenure, but by personal, professional and collective growth. It’s about staying curious, stepping into the unknown and building teams equipped to handle whatever comes next. It’s a grounded, adaptable, people‑first mindset that shapes her approach to both leadership and project delivery.
“There’s always something new to learn,” she says. “And if you’re willing to try, the support is there.”
