Have you ever noticed how many books are available on leadership? A 2015 estimate found over 57,136 leadership books on Amazon alone. That is 10 years ago. I could not find a new statistic yet. Can you imagine how much information we have on leadership, and yet, many organizations struggle with leadership?

Leadership is so much more than a title. We see it as a tone the leaders set for every team, meeting, organization, or room they walk into. It’s the energy, clarity, and presence you bring every day. Across all the sectors in the marketplace, from social care to business, we see a constant: 

Teams usually do not grow above the health of their leaders.

When leaders are stretched, reactive, or disconnected, teams feel it and follow suit. People react not to what the leader says, but to how they say it. Let me give you an example you might relate to: Do you remember those conversations with your spouse, where you hear the words coming out of their mouth, but the body language and tone are tense, disrespectful, with superiority, or masked anger? It doesn’t matter what they say anymore, because you “hear” the message in the way they show up and communicate beyond words, isn’t it? The same thing happens with leaders and their teams.

When leaders lead from clarity, conviction, and care, teams flourish. Because, as John Maxwell says, “People will forget what you say, but they will always remember the way you made them feel.” As leaders, we do not have the luxury of not being healthy in every area of life. Mentally, physically, emotionally, relational, and our relationship with work. As the leader of your people, you must prioritize your overall health at all times, so that your team can flourish and grow alongside you.

The challenge of leading today

Leadership has never been more complex than it is today. Whether you’re managing a social team that supports families struggling with tough teenagers, domestic abuse, or homelessness. Or a business team that drives results in every department, the expectations are high, pressure is constant, and time for rest is limited. Yet while leaders focus on others, they often neglect the most important person: themselves.

Leadership health is not a luxury reserved for some people only. It is the foundation of an organization’s culture. And it starts with self-leadership. You must be able to make healthy and smart decisions for yourself before leading your teams in that direction. 

David’s journey

David, a department lead for six years, came to us frustrated and exhausted. Projects stalled. Team tension grew. People were disengaged.

“I’ve tried everything. More meetings, structure, and motivation speeches… yet nothing worked.”, he told me during one of our meetings.

When we slowed down and focused on David instead of the team, we noticed a shift in his view of his team. He realized he was leading from a state of emptiness. He was exhausted! Tired, overloaded, and disconnected, he needed a new rhythm that also includes rest and self-care, not new tools.

Once David prioritized his own clarity and mindset, his leadership changed, and so did his team. Often, we see leaders thinking that leadership means being perfect. What we know is that leadership is actually about awareness, pausing, and asking:

“Is it the problem in the team, or in myself? “

“What in me makes me do this?”

Healthy leadership starts from the inside out

At Centered People, we help leaders build from the inside out through our ALTERNATIVs Method. A method that approaches people, strategy, and business consulting from every angle. We build a healthy body through nourishing routines, a strong mind through mental hygiene, emotional resilience through co-active coaching, a strong identity, and healthy relationships with work and loved ones. 

With our method, we guide teams and leaders to:

• Strengthen emotional intelligence and resilience

• Create psychological safety and trust to share what is going on with them

• Navigate stress, change, and conflict with clarity and confidence that each team can be a healthy and pleasant place..

• Restore balance between performance and well-being by addressing people as individuals, not in batches.

We believe that healthy leaders build healthy teams and healthy teams build thriving organizations. And our job is to build healthy leaders while they build their teams.

You don’t have to lead alone

Leadership is not a solo journey, even if our society somehow expects it to be. This is also one of the many reasons leaders burn out, but they don’t ask for help until it’s sometimes too late. They are expected to hold it together, forgetting they are also humans. 

People who can help are typically strong individuals, and HR partners or coaches assist leaders in recognizing what they cannot accomplish alone, resulting in the transformation of intention into sustainable systems and a healthy culture.

Whether you’re a young leader finding your way or a seasoned leader seeking growth, it is essential to know that there is always help, guidance, and a path to lead with strength while staying whole.

For more on the crucial role of inner work for leaders, read here.

Leadership transformation starts with you. What is one thing you will do today to own your leadership?

Written by Co-founder Stephany Bernabela