November 03, 2025

FutureX Leaders with Kate Fletcher

25 minutes

Lucinda speaks with Kate Fletcher, founder of FutureX Leaders, about the evolving landscape of leadership and the emotional challenges leaders face today.

They discuss the findings of recent research highlighting that a significant number of leaders feel pressured to perform rather than be their authentic selves, leading to emotional exhaustion, and highlight the importance of intentional leadership practices and the value of community in navigating the complexities of modern organisational life

KEY TAKEAWAYS

A significant number of leaders (90%) feel pressured to perform rather than be their authentic selves, leading to emotional exhaustion for nearly 70% of them. This highlights the need for better support systems for leaders to manage their emotional well-being.

There is a growing recognition that leadership must evolve to be more human-centric, focusing on adaptability, emotional fluency, and psychological safety. This shift is essential for leaders to navigate the complexities and uncertainties of today's business environment.

FutureX Leaders emphasises the value of peer support and connection. Regular interactions within peer cohorts foster trust, belonging, and accountability, allowing leaders to share experiences, solve problems collaboratively, and learn from one another.

Traditional classroom-based leadership training is deemed ineffective. FutureX Leaders advocates for a more practical approach, where leaders engage in real-time learning and practice, enabling them to apply concepts directly to their work environments.

BEST MOMENTS

"90% of leaders feel the pressure to perform rather than actually show up as who they really are."

“What we need is a real shift towards much more human leadership... about adaptability, emotional fluency, psychological safety."

"Classroom-based leadership development just doesn't work. People need something frequent, regular, that's about the practice of leadership."

"If you are exhausted at work, then that actually feeds over into your home life as well."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

The HR Uprising Podcast | ⁠Apple⁠ | ⁠Spotify⁠ | ⁠Stitcher⁠

⁠The HR Uprising LinkedIn Group⁠

⁠How to Prioritise Self-Care (The HR Uprising)⁠

⁠How To Be A Change Superhero - by Lucinda Carney⁠

HR Uprising Mastermind - ⁠https://hruprising.com/mastermind/⁠

⁠www.changesuperhero.com⁠

⁠www.hruprising.com⁠

Get your copy of How To Be A Change Superhero by emailing at ⁠[email protected]⁠

CONTACT KATE

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/katefletcher-ceo-mentor/

Substack - https://substack.com/@thekatefletcher

ABOUT THE HOST

Lucinda Carney is a Business Psychologist with 15 years in Senior Corporate L&D roles and a further 10 as CEO of Actus Software where she worked closely with HR colleagues helping them to solve the same challenges across a huge range of industries. It was this breadth of experience that inspired Lucinda to set up the HR Uprising community to facilitate greater collaboration across HR professionals in different sectors, helping them to ‘rise up’ together.

“If you look up, you rise up”

CONTACT METHOD

Join the LinkedIn community - ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13714397/⁠

Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠

Linked In: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucindacarney/⁠

Twitter: @lucindacarney

Instagram: @hruprising

Facebook: @hruprising

This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. ⁠https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

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By Lucinda Carney

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