amidst challenging leadership moments and an ever-shifting political landscape, it is more important than ever that leaders continue to prioritize their mental and physical wellness.

On July 24, NationSwell convened a virtual conversation designed to surface some of the most effective and compassionate ways leaders are pausing to prioritize their own well-being as they continue to prioritize the wellbeing of their constituents. Below are some of the key takeaways from the discussion:

Insights:

Success needs a new definition – one that includes well-being. Too often, we tie success to output, speed, and sacrifice. But working harder can come at a high cost. Leaders, organizations, and ultimately society must reframe success to include rest, healing, and sustainability. Consider building rest directly into your calendar as you would any strategic priority.

Rest is leadership, not luxury. Pausing isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a signal of trust in your team, your systems, and yourself. Leaders who design their schedules with space to breathe are often the ones who perform more consistently and inspire more deeply.

Well-being must be designed into the system. You can’t expect wellness without infrastructure. That means clear organizational values around self-care, adequate time off, accessible benefits, and consistent tools like anonymous feedback surveys and employee pulse checks – all backed by leadership commitment. Build cross-functional teams to own wellbeing, use data to identify pain points, and report progress transparently. 

Cultures of care require both help-seeking and help-giving. Mental health isn’t just an individual responsibility. Teams need to be trained not just to ask for help, but to proactively offer it by checking in when something seems off and having clear protocols for stepping in and covering for one another.

Vulnerability is a leadership skill. When leaders name their own limits, they give others permission to do the same. Modeling moments like “I’m not okay today” or “I need to step back” signals to your team that care isn’t conditional.

Psychological safety has to be intentional. People won’t take emotional risks in environments that punish uncertainty. Leaders must codify psychological safety into how meetings run, how feedback is given, and how mistakes are handled.

Curiosity is an underused superpower. Real leadership starts with self-inquiry. Asking “What am I not trusting?” or “What story am I telling myself that might no longer serve me?” helps unlock authenticity and opens space for honest team communication. External culture shifts only stick when leaders have done the inner work. That means questioning outdated self-identities, naming your own fears, and leading from alignment.

Manager training is critical, not optional. You can’t build a healthy culture if the people managing day-to-day interactions aren’t equipped to handle hard conversations with care. Invest in developing emotional fluency, conflict navigation, and compassion-based leadership at every level.