Throughout my career, I’ve worn multiple hats—from leading marketing and sales teams to raising my children—and one thing has become increasingly clear to me: you can't separate personal health from professional performance. In fact, as a leader, I've learned that physical and emotional well-being are foundational to a team's success. But somehow, corporate culture is still lagging behind in understanding this.
A Corporate Culture Stuck on Quick Fixes
Let’s talk about the reality of corporate wellness; In many of the companies I’ve worked with, there's a tendency to think that boosting morale is as simple as bringing a box of donuts to the morning meeting; I get it; it feels good, and people love it—for about 20 minutes. You get that dopamine rush, everyone is smiling, and it feels like you’ve "made the day." But what happens when the sugar high crashes? That’s when productivity drops, attention wavers, and the energy just evaporates. It’s a band-aid solution for something that runs much deeper; True well-being is not found in empty calories or a momentary sugar rush. It’s a culture change that prioritizes the entire well-being of employees—not just their ability to crank out work.
Digging Deeper: Understanding the Root of Poor Performance
As a marketing and sales director, I've always focused on improving performance by identifying pain points and providing solutions; and I realized very early on that the solution often lies beyond just targets, numbers, or even skills. It’s about the people; It’s about what’s going on with them emotionally, mentally, and physically.
Why do some team members outperform others? Why does one group fall behind while another excels under the same conditions? It often comes down to their health—physical and mental; The team members who work out, who eat well, who take the time to read and develop themselves—they perform better, they collaborate better, and they innovate better; It’s a simple truth, but somehow, it’s not often spoken about in the boardroom.
Changing the Leadership Mindset: Health is Not an Afterthought
I’ve come to realize that a true leader must go beyond just managing tasks and hitting KPIs; Transformational leadership means being deeply involved in understanding your team members as whole human beings. It's about asking, "Why are you tired?" and not just, "Why didn’t you hit the target?" Maybe it’s because they aren’t sleeping well, or maybe they’re eating junk and feeling sluggish.
The truth is, if you're running a sales team, a marketing group, or any department for that matter, and you’re not actively encouraging physical health as part of your leadership strategy, then you’re missing the point; Productivity, creativity, resilience—all those things are products of a healthy body and mind.
It’s not about becoming a wellness coach, but it is about setting an example and creating an environment that supports good habits. Encouraging morning walks, having healthy snack options available, respecting personal time, supporting mental health days, and yes, perhaps even subsidizing gym memberships or fitness classes—these are all investments into a high-performing team.
The Personal Side: Raising Kids and Building Future Leaders
And as a mom, I’ve found the same principles apply at home; my teenage daughter comes home talking about body image issues, and what her peers are saying about who looks good or who doesn’t. It breaks my heart, but it’s also a reminder that our health journey doesn’t start when we get a job; it starts much earlier—during childhood and adolescence.
The habits we instill in our children today are the ones they will carry into adulthood. This is why I talk to my kids about why processed foods and added sugars aren't good for them, why working out is important, and why sleep is crucial. It's about developing the resilience they’ll need not just to get through school, but to grow into capable, confident adults who can one day lead others.
It’s all connected. The emotional health of our kids today will shape the professional performance of tomorrow's workforce. The values I’m teaching my kids about balance, health, and self-discipline are the same values that make someone a great team player and, eventually, a great leader.
Creating a Culture of Balance
The workplace and the home aren’t as separate as we sometimes think. The more I dive into transformational leadership, the more I understand that leading a sales team is no different from raising a family. Both require understanding the individual, recognizing their struggles, and guiding them towards better habits—whether that’s eating, exercising, or even learning to manage stress.
What I want is for businesses to realize that the secret to improving team performance isn’t in the next motivational seminar or a new productivity app. It starts with health. It starts with understanding the human being behind the job title.
Let’s shift the culture! Let’s focus on creating environments where health is prioritized and where our teams are encouraged to take care of themselves, not just as employees but as people. This is how we move beyond the sugar rushes and quick fixes, this is how we build resilient teams who are equipped to face challenges head-on—not just with their minds, but with the strength of a healthy body and a balanced life.
