The way we talk about leadership is tired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019ve glamourized hustle, rewarded detachment, called burnout a badge of honour. I’m guilty of all this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This week\u2019s guest, Anitta Krishan<\/a>, shares how burnout in the tech trenches led her to breathwork, Bali, and a whole new philosophy of leadership that\u2019s gaining serious traction: embodied leadership. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Anitta is the Chief Culture Officer at Hoogly and former VP, Global Head of People & Strategy at TikTok and she stopped by the pod to share her refreshing take on modern leadership that\u2019s gaining momentum: embodied leadership<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ve probably heard of emotional intelligence. Anitta introduced me to its grounded, breath-of-fresh-air cousin: embodied leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Anitta, it\u2019s not just what you know as a leader, it\u2019s how you show up. Embodied leadership is all about leading with your full self\u2026 yes body, mind, and nervous system included. (And yes, it\u2019s backed by neuroscience and somatic psychology.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The roots of embodied leadership go back to somatic leadership practices from the 1990s, especially through the work of Richard Strozzi-Heckler and the Strozzi Institute, which combined martial arts, neuroscience, and leadership coaching. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s since been embraced by exec coaches, forward-thinking HR teams, and leaders burned out by the performative grind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Embodied leadership is backed by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As we get into on pod, it starts with self-leadership: better sleep, breathwork, mindfulness, and knowing how to work with your nervous system, not against it. It\u2019s Anitta\u2019s recipe for less burnout and more bandwidth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anitta\u2019s path\u2014scaling TikTok to 50,000 employees before walking away\u2014mirrors what many HR leaders and founders I\u2019ve talked to feel: success that looks great on paper but leaves your nervous system in shambles. \u201cI was keeping tech bros happy,\u201d she jokes. \u201cBut what was I doing for me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Importantly, embodied leadership isn\u2019t just personal wellness repackaged, though we can all benefit from self-care. I now understand it as the difference between \u201creading a room\u201d and actually feeling the energy shift when someone\u2019s disengaged, between saying \u201cI hear you\u201d and actually being present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anitta explains that leaders who are emotionally regulated make clearer decisions, foster deeper team trust, and avoid reactive management styles that alienate talent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Embodied leaders practice things like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Post-pandemic, HR leaders are seeing a massive shift; traditional leadership development isn\u2019t cutting it. In fact, McLean & Company\u2019s 2025 Employee Engagement Trends Report<\/a> points to “emotional regulation and authentic leadership presence” as key engagement drivers, especially for middle managers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So no, embodied leadership isn\u2019t fluff. It\u2019s what high-impact, human-first leadership looks like in the AI age. That\u2019s the message from Anitta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Employee engagement has reached a decade low, according to Gallup<\/a>, and HR professionals are bearing the brunt of it. According to SHRM’s 2025 State of the Workplace Report<\/a>, In 2024, 62% of HR professionals reported that their departments have been operating beyond typical capacity, an increase from 57% in 2023. Similarly, 57% stated that their department lacked sufficient staff for its workload, consistent with 2023\u2019s findings (56%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The challenges don’t stop there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lattice’s 2025 State of People Strategy Report<\/a> reveals a significant disconnect between HR teams and executive leadership. Only 39% of HR teams report that they\u2019re actually able to execute action plans for engagement, leaving 61% of teams without the resources or support to make meaningful progress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sorry, it gets worse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The integration of AI into HR functions is progressing slowly. While 90% of CHROs anticipate AI becoming more prevalent in the workplace, only 35% of HR leaders believe their current HR technology effectively supports business objectives<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This disconnect isn’t about tools; it’s fundamentally about people and, more precisely, how<\/em> we lead them. As we navigate the complexities of modern work environments, there’s clearly a pressing need to reevaluate leadership approaches. Good thing Anitta and Hoogly are on the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Through her work at Hoogly<\/a>, Anitta is building what she calls a \u201cculture operating system,\u201d replacing annual surveys with real-time insights powered by empathetic, conversational AI. It’s very cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Without surveying, Hoogly finds out about employee sentiment, how things are going, and in real time, the managers get coaching around how to act on this feedback. The platform coaches middle managers (the most overwhelmed tier in org charts backed up by Melissa\u2019s research on the impact of first-level managers<\/a>) to act on culture issues before they cause attrition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anitta points out that it\u2019s not just innovation for innovation\u2019s sake, but in direct response to what HR data tells us: speed, coaching, and connection beat bloated, delayed survey cycles every time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Admittedly at first I thought this sounded a bit out there, but now I realize it\u2019s not, it\u2019s timely. It\u2019s grounded in science, and it\u2019s what the best HR teams are already doing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I talk a lot about the \u201cfuture of work\u201d (I have a whole podcast on it \ud83d\ude05). But Anitta calls it something better: the next era of work. Touch\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She challenges us to move beyond the relentless pursuit of speed and instead build workplaces grounded in connection and human-first impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83c\udfa7 Tune in to the full episode here: wordpress.staging.certn.co\/podcast<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n Want more insights like this?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udd17 Browse the full catalogue of What the FTE?<\/em><\/a> episodesWhat’s <\/em>Embodied Leadership (and Why HR Should Care)?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Where Did Embodied Leadership Come From?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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How Does Embodied Leadership Work?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Why Embodied Leadership Matters Now<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The Burnout We Don\u2019t Talk About<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
From Surveys to Real-Time Culture OS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What HR Can Do Now<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nFinal Word on The Future of Work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/em>\ud83d\udce9 Sign up for the weekly newsletter to get the good stuff straight to your inbox<\/p>\n\n\n\n