Have you ever walked into a meeting knowing exactly what you wanted to say… only to find yourself reacting instead of responding?
Most of us have, even if we don’t want to admit it or remember.
We tell ourselves we need better communication skills. More confidence. More preparation.
And sometimes that’s true.
But often, something much deeper is happening.
Over the past several months, we’ve explored sustainable leadership, creating intentional systems, and protecting space for clarity. Looking back, I’m reminded that all of those conversations point toward another essential truth:
Leadership isn’t only a mental practice. It’s an embodied one.
Long before we speak, make a decision, or navigate a difficult conversation, our body has already gathered information.
- It notices tension.
- It senses uncertainty.
- It responds to pressure.
Whether we’re aware of it or not, our nervous system influences how we show up as leaders every single day.
This was one of the biggest shifts in my own leadership journey.
Like many high achievers, I spent years believing my greatest leadership asset was my mind.
I invested in education, strategy, and professional development. Those experiences shaped me in meaningful ways, and I’m deeply grateful for them.
What I hadn’t yet learned was how to listen to my body.
It wasn’t until I began studying contemplative practices, yoga, mindfulness, somatic coaching, and Eastern philosophies that I discovered another kind of wisdom.
Not the kind that comes from thinking harder. The kind that comes from becoming more present.
Many wisdom traditions teach that the mind and body are not separate. They are constantly informing one another.
Modern neuroscience is now affirming much of what these traditions have understood for centuries.
When our nervous system feels safe, we think more clearly.
We listen more deeply.
We become less reactive and more discerning.
This doesn’t mean difficult moments disappear. It means we meet them differently.
One of the questions I often ask leaders is this:
What helps you return to yourself?
The answers are rarely complicated.
- A walk outside.
- A few moments of stillness before opening the laptop.
- Time in nature.
- Three slow breaths before an important conversation.
These practices may seem small, but I’ve found they’re anything but insignificant.
They help us return to a grounded place from which wiser leadership becomes possible.
One of the themes we’ve returned to repeatedly this year is resilience.
We often think resilience is about pushing through.
I invite you to view resilience differently, as the ability to return.
- To return to presence.
- To return to clarity.
- To return to yourself.
The leaders who sustain themselves over the long term aren’t necessarily those with the greatest endurance.
They’re the ones who know how to come back to center, even after difficult days.
As we move into the remainder of the calendar year, I wonder what might change if we viewed caring for our body not as something separate from leadership, but as one of its foundations.
Not another task to accomplish.
Not another habit to optimize.
Simply a way of creating the internal conditions for our best leadership to emerge.
Next week, we’ll conclude this Leadership Essentials series by looking ahead: I’ll share what I’m noticing in my work with leaders and why I believe the qualities that make us deeply human will become even more important in the years ahead.
Until then, I’ll leave you with this reflection:
What is one practice that helps you return to yourself… and what might change if you treated that practice as an essential part of your leadership, rather than something you fit in when there’s time?