Cancer, COVID, and Croissants: A ...
Cancer, COVID, and Croissants: A Leader’s Journey Through Fear and Control (Part 1)

The Executive and The Mystic by Fred LeFranc & Kristina Wiltsee

Episode notes

In this episode of The Executive & The Mystic, Fred LeFranc shares a deeply personal leadership story shaped by cancer, COVID, and prolonged uncertainty—and how fear, control, and identity quietly governed his inner world during that season.

In conversation with Kristina Wiltsee, Fred reflects on receiving a cancer diagnosis during the early days of the pandemic, undergoing surgery in isolation, stepping into a high-pressure leadership role, and later facing recurrence. Rather than focusing on outcomes or resolutions, this episode explores the internal experience of leadership under sustained stress—how the body carries fear, how control becomes a coping mechanism, and where logic alone falls short.

This is an honest conversation about vulnerability, masc ... 

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Keywords
leadershipconscious leadershipexecutive leadershipemotional intelligenceresilienceThe Executive and The MysticKristina WiltseeFred LeFrancLife Alchemistleadership developmentinner workpersonal responsibilitycompassion in leadershipleadership mindsetleadership psychologycancercancer and leadershipleadership under pressurefear and controlleadership identityemotional supressionvulnerabilitynavigating uncertaintyburnout and recoverymasculine leadershipcourage in leadershiptransformation
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