AI and Other Challenges: Why Human-centred Leadership Still Matters in 2025

Ask any business leader what they think are the most important leadership qualities, and they’ll typically say vision and drive, agility and resilience, innovative thinking, problem-solving, empathy, and trust. But what do these qualities look like in action?

What do we need from our leaders in 2025?

The leadership landscape is evolving rapidly. Global economic uncertainty, advances in AI and technology, and shifting workforce expectations are redefining the role of leaders. Success will require balancing these opportunities and threats without losing sight of people.

In 2025, Human-centred leadership will be more important than ever — an approach that strengthens relationships and drives meaningful connection.

Leadership Priorities for 2025

Navigate Economic Pressures

With Trump taking up his second residency in the White House and the UK government grappling with economic stability and the cost of living crisis, we face a volatile global economy. Not only does this bring challenges to business growth, but it also brings personal financial stresses. Leaders should:

• Take a people-first approach: Offer financial wellness programmes, transparent communication about challenges, and flexible benefits to support employees through tough times.

• Reassess business strategies: Build resilience by focusing on cash flow, operational efficiency, and adaptability to market shifts.

• Invest in future growth: Despite challenges, now is the time to innovate and explore emerging opportunities, from AI to green technology.

2. Balance AI with the Human Touch

2025 is the year that AI becomes more mainstream, disrupting business and our working and personal lives. While AI offers opportunities for innovation and efficiency, it also raises challenges around ethics, job security, and trust. In 2025, leaders must:

• Integrate AI thoughtfully: Use AI to enhance decision-making, take on routine tasks and free up teams to focus on creative, strategic work. Blend technical skills with human-centric ones like critical thinking, collaboration, and empathy.

• Address concerns openly: Communicate the role of AI and how it complements, not replaces human contribution. Build resilient teams that can adapt and thrive in the face of change.

• Upskill your workforce: Empower employees with the tools and knowledge they need to thrive in an AI-driven world. Champion a continuous learning culture – allowing the time for people to learn and test and make it accessible to all.

“Good leaders are people who are trusted by followers."

3. Lead with Human-Connection and Empathy

Trust and empathy are the foundation of effective leadership in times of uncertainty. Hybrid and remote work means we spend less time together in person, which makes it harder for leaders to build those relationships. When we are physically together, it’s easier to see if someone is having a bad day or struggling with a task. Now, we have to rely on people to tell us, often over a message or, at best, a video.

This year, leaders need to be proactive and not neglect human skills (or what are often referred to as "soft skills"):

Focus on building trust and connection. This means having individualised relationships with each of your employees, which take account of their needs for flexibility and their well-being, and give each person a voice within the team

• Develop emotional intelligence: Understand and respond to the needs of your team, fostering trust and loyalty.

• Be empathetic: Rationally understanding people’s emotions and where they come from helps build trust, motivate, and engage people in the way that matters to them.

• Genuinely care about your people: Remember everyone is different: different backgrounds, different outlooks and with different ambitions.

• Strengthen team cohesion: Break down silos and encourage cross-functional collaboration to unlock innovation.

• Be authentic: Authenticity over perfection: Leaders who are open about challenges and lead with integrity will foster loyalty and respect and will inspire teams with a clear vision for the future.

• Prioritise well-being: As well as offering flexible work arrangements, ensure mental health and work-life balance are top priorities.

4. Embed Purpose and Values

The UK workforce is undergoing a demographic shift, with younger generations, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, making up a growing proportion of employees. These workers prioritise purpose, values, and ethical practices, seeking employers who align with their desire for meaningful work, social responsibility, and a positive impact on the world.

A shared sense of purpose is the key to resilient, innovative teams, especially in periods of change or pressure.

• Define and live your values: Ensure your organisation’s purpose is embedded in daily operations, not just words on paper.

• Align culture with strategy: Foster an environment where mission and values guide decision-making at every level. Be clear about the culture you want to create and communicate your values.

• Lead by example: When leaders embody the company’s values, they create a ripple effect that enhances engagement and accountability.

6. Adaptability Is the New Superpower

The pace of change is relentless. The speed of adoption of ChatGPT is several magnitudes faster than it was for the internet or PCs, which means there is greater potential to get the use case wrong. For leaders, the risk the potential adoption of the wrong tech or software and hardware, which tends to happen with fast-changing technology.

In a year of disruption, leaders must be forward-looking, innovative, nimble, adaptable and willing to learn from inevitable failures.

• Embrace agility: Be ready to respond to change quickly in response to evolving circumstances and technology. The future of work isn’t just about adapting to change – it’s about shaping it with intention and our incredible imaginations.

• Monitor and review: closely monitoring external factors (political, economic, social or technology) and review, tweak or completely change course if required.

• Encourage experimentation: Create a culture where teams feel safe to innovate and learn from failures.

• Build resilience: Equip teams to weather uncertainty by building psychological safety, strong support systems and clear priorities.

7. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: A Leadership Mandate

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are no longer optional—they are business imperatives:

• Champion inclusive cultures: Ensure diverse voices are heard, valued, and empowered.

• Address biases: Actively confront unconscious biases within yourself and your organization.

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At Growth Space, we believe confident, self-aware leaders are the key to success. Start your growth here.

We deliver bespoke leadership development, management training and leadership coaching to support people at all levels with the skills to inspire, motivate, and create lasting impact.

Whether you want to develop strategic thinking, lead with empathy, be more emotionally intelligent, or build a collaborative culture, our learning and development programmes and coaching solutions are designed to meet your unique challenges.

We help you unlock your full potential and achieve both personal and organisational success.

For more ideas on Leadership visit our website growth-space.co.uk

Or to discuss Leadership Coaching and development programmes contact Polly:

polly@pollyrobinson.co.uk or call 07966 475195.

How does Hospitality improve diversity, inclusion and equality?

Asma Khan, owner of Darjeeling Express and star of Netflix’s Chef’s Table, has written widely about her experience of starting her restaurant. She says she believed it would never be possible to run a business in a world that she described as "an all white, all male club." She said, if she had a daughter, she would seriously discourage her from a career in hospitality, where kitchens are all too often "a toxic testosterone-fuelled environment."

This last point obviously resonated strongly for me after my then 17-year old daughter announced that she wanted to be a chef. We talked seriously about what a tough career choice that was, especially for woman. We talked about how life as a chef almost completely incompatible with being a mother and how the majority of kitchens remain a very male and macho environment. Needless to say, like all good teenagers, she listened to my advice and chose to ignore me!

At the Propel Hospitality Talent and Training Conference in London on Tuesday 3 October, Asma Khan moved me to tears as she spoke, as she has done before when talking about her incredible work establishing a cafe in a refugee camp in northern Iraq employing traumatised Yazidi women.

This time she spoke about how she still feels like an outsider in the world of hospitality, but she’s learned to see it as an advantage. She talked about how food not only has the power to bring us together, but is also a cause of division. She said in India “Food is main way people are divided” by religion and caste. At her restaurant Khan employs women from all backgrounds, religions and ages and abilities. Everyone is welcome and everyone is equal “We put our religion and our caste at the door, we celebrate every festival. We are a team.

A diverse team gives you strength

Asma Khan believes that you strengthen your team by having a diverse team and urged all businesses build a diverse workplace.

Hiring a diverse team is key to inspiring the next generation in hospitality.

Her advice:

• Understand you are a team

• Be empathetic and let people know that they matter

• Offer flexible work and reduce the hours

Darjeeling Express is a model of what a diverse workplace can be.

However, the reality of diversity in the hospitality sector is different as demonstrated by Be Inclusive Hospitality's 2023 Inside Hospitality Report , a comprehensive account of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in hospitality through a race lens and whic includes 3,120 views and experiences captured encompass all backgrounds, genders, ages, jobs, and lengths of service.

The report says 1 in 3 respondents report personal experiences of discrimination at work and that only 16% of hospitality workers believe it’s an inclusive and diverse industry.

I was honoured to host a crucial discussion in The Restaurant Show with:

• Lorraine Copes Be Inclusive Hospitality award-winning social entrepreneur, hospitality consultant and life coach. Lorraine has two decades as an executive director for brands including Gordon Ramsay Restaurants and Corbin & King, but felt compelled to form Be Inclusive Hospitality CIC in 2020 due to the consistent lack of representation of people of colour in positions of influence and the supply chain. This social enterprise now holds the prime position of igniting much-needed conversations and delivering initiatives to advance change within the hospitality, food, and drink sectors.

• Mecca Ibrahim co-founder of Women In The Food Industry, a Community Interest Company for conversation, insight, stories, resources & community support as women in food face obstacles of inequality & inclusion.

• Chris Todd Head of Talent JKS Restaurants a former chef who now oversees all recruitment and talent initiatives across JKS’s portfolio of 22 restaurants including Trishna, Gymkhana, Kitchen Table, Sabor and Lyle’s; Hoppers, BAO, Brigadiers.

We agreed that more needs to be done to change the perception of working in Hospitality. The sector has improved but we need to blow our own trumpet more to shout over the stereotypes portrayed in TV shows like Boiling Point and The Bear. Education is key. We need to get young children interested in food and hospitality and work with parents, schools and colleges to show it’s an amazing career for life, not just a stop-gap.