Be Well Lead Well® Newsletter

A few months ago, I had a conversation that stayed with me far longer than I expected. I was connecting with Jess Price, founder and Chief Vision Officer at Paradigm Makers, based in Australia. We live on opposite sides of the world, with different contexts, accents, and daily realities. Yet, within minutes, I felt a sense of deep familiarity. Jess was naming the very same questions I hear from leaders every day. Jess is devoted to reimagining how work works. Not through small tweaks or surface-level fixes, but by questioning the assumptions we’ve inherited about productivity, systems, and success. As we spoke, I realized she was giving voice to many questions leaders are quietly holding—questions they sense deeply, but don’t always feel permission to ask out loud. When Toxicity Became a Turning Point What struck me wasn’t just the clarity of Jess’s aspiration, but how personally grounded it is. The focus of her career today emerged from lived experience. When a job left her anxious, depressed, and unable to work for months, she didn’t decide she was the problem. Instead, she listened more deeply and recognized something essential: it wasn’t the people who were failing, it was the systems and…

Here’s a statistic that recently stunned me: 70–80% of people in management roles aren’t adding real value to their organizations.  That isn’t a moral critique. It’s the sobering conclusion of Dr. Richard Boyatzis, professor at Case Western Reserve University, whose decades of leadership effectiveness research span hundreds of organizations around the world. And it speaks to something I see every day in our work at Wisdom Works. Most managers aren’t bad people. They aren’t lacking intellect, commitment, or care. They’re overextended, under-resourced, and operating within leadership models that were never designed for the complexities, speed, and emotional demands of today’s world. This isn’t about blame. It’s about possibility. As we step into 2026, this statistic is a wake-up call. It’s also an invitation—to rethink how we’re living, leading, and relating, and to imagine what becomes possible when we shift from surviving to thriving, as human beings and stewards of others. When Leadership Became a Selfie In my discussion with Richard, he posed a fascinating question: “When did the selfie become the most popular form of photography?” He wasn’t commenting on social trends; he was diagnosing a deeper cultural mindset—what he calls rampant narcissism—which has quietly seeped into how many people lead….

Authentic Leadership Rooted in Values Creates Abundance for All Recently, I spoke with Jen Coyne, CEO of The Peak Fleet and host of the Authenticity Matters radio show on KXRW in Vancouver, Canada, to explore how thriving as leaders ripples outward into our organizations, communities, and beyond. In a world where complexity and interconnection are our everyday reality, Jen’s insights offer a refreshing reminder: Leadership grounded in authenticity, purpose, and values is leadership that enables everyone to thrive. What Does It Mean to Thrive? For Jen, thriving has very little to do with accumulation or traditional markers of success. She defines thriving as”…being able to connect in meaningful ways with other people, creating community… I don’t think that as a human I can thrive unless others thrive—it’s not a zero-sum game.” Her notion of “right-sized abundance” challenges the common belief that more is automatically better. Real thriving means having enough—enough resources, time, energy, and vitality to live a fulfilling life and sustain a healthy organization while ensuring others have access to the same. This perspective asks us to broaden our view: How is the whole ecosystem doing—not just the individual leader, team, or organization? Jen names compensation as one example…

The Revolution Happening Right in Your Neighborhood While we scroll past headlines about what Fortune 500 companies are doing to save the world, a quiet revolution is happening right in our neighborhoods. These organizations—from solopreneurs to small teams—are embracing what Wisdom Works calls “thriving leadership”: a way of leading that considers not just profit, but people and planet in every decision. Recently, I spoke with Tom Hering, Co-Founder of Benefit Corporations for Good, about this growing movement. “I get to work with these really incredible people that know the world’s hurting in so many different ways, and they’re doing everything as small business owners to help change that course,” says Tom. Over the past seven years, he’s certified more than 100 small organizations across 11 states and one Canadian province in the eight key standards of benefit corporations—for-profit entities that commit to fostering positive impact on society and the environment alongside financial goals. The Questions that Redefine Business Success For the leaders Tom works with, thriving goes beyond how success is often defined. Thriving is about an inspiring purpose built into the organization. Driven by purpose, these leaders ask themselves critical questions with every decision: How will this affect our…