Inspiring Future Leaders

About Inspiring Future Leaders

The Inspiring Future Leaders podcast, hosted by author, coach and consultant Kellie Lucas, is a regular show that explores the components of current and future business models, cultures, people and leadership styles to inspire and motivate leaders to be more human, connected, socially minded and ultimately more successful. Let's ACT! to make work better so that organisations and people thrive!

Publisher

Inspiring Future Leaders

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

31 Aug 2021

Latest episode

27 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

33 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   27 Aug 2026

   Episode 32: Power informed w. Bob Bharij

   About the episode In this episode Kellie sits down with Bob Bharij, founder and chief executive of Foundation for Change, an independent London charity supporting people rebuilding their lives after drug and alcohol addiction. Bob explains why his organisation describes its work as power informed rather than just trauma informed, teaching the people it works with psychology, philosophy and feminist theory so they can understand how power operates in society and how it has shaped their own lives. He traces his path into the work, from a psychology degree he came to distrust, through teaching English in Japan and on the Tibetan Plateau, to the funding cut that pushed him to found Foundation for Change twelve years ago. The conversation moves through the framework of values that keeps his team's culture genuine as it grows, why he rejects the idea that the charity sector and the business world are fundamentally different worlds, and closes on his guiding idea: outer change needs inner change. Key takeaways "Power informed," not just trauma informed. Foundation for Change teaches the people it works with psychology, philosophy and feminist theory, so they understand how power operates in society and how it has shaped their own lives. Bob calls this a power informed lens. He thought going solo could not be that hard. When Bob's approach did not fit the orthodoxy of drug and alcohol treatment, the organisation he worked for cut its funding. He and his co-founder started Foundation for Change that same year. Twelve years on, the charity is still going. The team lives by twelve values, qualities and ways of being. Authenticity, communication, critical thinking and awareness of your own trauma are among them. Bob calls the framework a spine that runs through everything the organisation does. Culture is built through small, repeated practices. A Monday morning check-in, bi-monthly retrospectives and quarterly away days keep the team connected to itself and to its values, rather than leaving them as a list on a wall. People are not just their work selves. Bob pushes back on the idea that employees should leave their personal lives at the door, arguing that emotions, health and care responsibilities do not disappear just because someone has clocked in. Outer change needs inner change. Bob's closing message is that any change you are trying to create, in yourself, your team or the wider world, starts with getting deeply connected to your own inner world first. About Bob Also mentioned Foundation for Change (https://www.foundationforchange.org.uk/), Bob's not-for-profit organisation Bob's "power informed" framework, built on psychology, philosophy and feminist theory The twelve values, qualities and ways of being that run through Foundation for Change's culture The idea of the polycrisis or metacrisis, referenced by Bob in relation to climate, capitalism and patriarchy Connect with Bob on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-bharij-a5305742/)

2. 

   30 Jul 2026

   Episode 31: Start the change w. Aden Bharij

   About the episode In this episode Kellie sits down with her youngest ever guest, twelve-year-old Aden Bharij, recorded in person in Singapore. Aden talks about LEAP, the environmental group at his school and how it led to chicken birthdays, beach cleanups and building birdhouses. He shares what it was really like leading his exhibition group as the deadline pressure built and how he worked through it by figuring out what each teammate was actually good at and wanted to do. He talks about his mum's influence on how he leads and what he noticed watching the England manager during the 2026 World Cup. He also shares an update on the book he's writing, born from a story he made up with his best friend years ago. He ends with a message that's stuck with us: don't wait for change, start it yourself. Key Takeaways Chickens started it. Aden's environmental group at school ended up looking after chickens, which involved organising chicken birthdays complete with mealworm treats and a game of duck duck chicken. Small, silly and a genuine leadership project. He sorts out arguments by working out what people actually want to do. When his exhibition team hit stress near the deadline, Aden's fix wasn't rules, it was figuring out what each person was good at and letting them do that bit. He learned it from watching his mum. Aden says his mum has taught him a lot about helping leaders develop and look after their people and it shows in how he talks about leading his own team. The best leaders push you and look after you at the same time. Aden's example is the England manager during the 2026 World Cup, someone he thinks gets the balance right between motivating a team and not wearing them out. Even $1 counts. Aden's own example: one person giving a dollar may feel like it doesn't do much but everyone giving a dollar makes a real difference. Don't wait for it. Just start. Aden's closing message, in his own words: if something needs doing, go and do it. Don't wait for the leaders to notice. About Aden Meet Aden, our youngest guest on the Inspiring Future Leaders podcast. At 12 years old, he already understands what great leadership looks like, partly from watching it modelled (and sometimes not) at home with an Organisational Psychologist mum and partly from living it himself. He leads on environmental issues at school, supports nervous peers on outdoor camps, climbs with the school rock-climbing team and is learning the drums. He's about to start Year 7 and he's genuinely excited about the leader he's becoming. Proof that our future generations aren't short on leadership, although perhaps short on people giving them the chance. Also mentioned LEAP (Leaders of Environmental Action and Protection), Aden's school environmental leadership group School Exhibition and the UN Sustainable Development Goals The England men's football team's third-place finish at the 2026 World Cup Aden's book in progress, working title Mega Talon

3. 

   25 Jun 2026

   Episode 30: Lead with meaning w. Angela Rixon

   About the episode In this episode, Kellie sits down with Angela Rixon, Founder of The Centre for Meaningful Work and author of Meaning Over Purpose, to explore what human-centred growth really means and why meaning, not just purpose, is the missing piece in most workplace strategies. Angela traces the idea back to a pivotal moment in her HR career when a colleague asked why growth conversations always centred on cost cutting rather than on people, a question that shaped her Five Pillars of Meaningful Work: autonomy, mastery, connection, impact and purpose. The conversation moves through how leaders can build a bridge between organisational purpose and individual meaning, why coaching has replaced telling as the most effective leadership behaviour in a world where no one leader has all the answers and how to be intentional about connection in hybrid and distributed teams. Angela closes with a reminder that leaders need to put their own oxygen mask on first and that meaningful change at work, like everything else, starts small. Key Takeaways Growth doesn't have to mean cost cutting. Angela's career turning point came when a colleague asked why no one had considered growing the business through its people instead of through acquisitions or layoffs, a question that became the foundation for her work on human-centred growth. Meaning and purpose are not the same thing. Purpose is the external mission an organisation sets, while meaning is the felt, daily experience employees have of belonging, growth and autonomy. Angela argues organisations have over invested in purpose statements while ignoring meaning. The Five Pillars give leaders a practical framework. Autonomy, mastery, connection, impact and purpose can be applied first to leaders themselves, then to individuals and teams, to spot where energy is being gained or lost. Leaders don't have all the answers anymore and that's okay. Complexity, pace and AI mean leaders are often guiding change they don't fully understand themselves, which is why coaching has overtaken telling as the most useful leadership behaviour. Connection in hybrid teams has to be intentional. Office osmosis was never evenly distributed in the first place, so leaders need deliberate mechanisms such as drop-in coffee sessions, more frequent one to ones and more creative formal communication to recreate what used to happen by chance. Start small and protect your own oxygen mask. Angela's closing advice is to look after yourself as a leader first, then begin building meaningful work one small step at a time, starting with a simple question to your team: why does your work matter to you? About Angela Angela Rixon (https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelarixon/), founder and CEO of The Centre for Meaningful Work Ltd (https://thecentreformeaningfulwork.com/), is an award-winning leadership strategist, executive coach and culture-transformation specialist with over 25 years of experience. A former Partner at EY and Director at CGI and Mercer, she is recognised internationally for pioneering research and frameworks that close the Purpose-to-Meaning Gap™, enabling organisations to embed meaning into leadership, culture and performance. Her Amazon best-selling book Meaning Over Purpose (https://www.amazon.co.uk/9781788607841-strategic-blueprint-lasting-engagement/dp/1788607848) explores the “Purpose-to-Meaning Gap” – the disconnect between what an organisation says and what its people actually feel. Challenging the assumption that purpose alone drives engagement, she provides leaders and executives with a practical blueprint for embedding meaning into the very DNA of their organisations. 🔗 Connect with ⁠⁠ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/minnajvaisanen/)Angela (https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelarixon/) on LinkedIn, or email @ angela@thecenterformeaningfulwork.com⁠ (mailto:angela@thecenterformeaningfulwork.com) or ⁠angela@angelarixon.com⁠ (mailto:angela@angelarixon.com) Also Mentioned Meaning Over Purpose by Angela Rixon The Centre for Meaningful Work (thecentreformeaningfulwork.com) Gainsight and former CEO Nick Mehta, an early voice in human-led leadership ⁠⁠Let's Flow⁠⁠⁠ (www.letsflow.sg) A leadership mission and community, in partnership with ⁠⁠⁠Leah Stockley⁠⁠⁠ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/leahstockley/), to make work better so that organisations and people thrive. Follow on ⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠ (https://linkedin.com/company/lets-flow-sg) or DM Kellie to get involved

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Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.