Arianna Huffington* gets advice on how to prioritise health and wellbeing from senior leaders in academia and at major organisations.
This year’s Fortune Brainstorm Health Conference was filled with incredible leaders who are at the top of their fields.
However, being a successful leader also means learning to put your own oxygen mask on first.
So at the closing question of each session, I asked the panellists what micro-steps they use to prioritise health and wellbeing in their own lives.
Here’s what some of them said.
Chief People, Policy and Purpose Officer at Cisco, Fran Katsoudas:
Walking outside really helps to reset me; it’s something that I just get a lot of energy from.
I can even tell from the start of the walk and the end of the walk that I’m in a different place.
Another micro-step I’ve adopted from someone I work with is to throw away 10 things a day.
She said that at the end of that she feels better — and so do I.
President of Wellesley College, Paula Johnson:
I’ve been so fortunate to have a life of purpose, whether I was an academic, whether I was in medicine, or now.
Sometimes you have to remind yourself of that and take a step back — and just remember why you’re here.
The second micro-step is really nurturing my friendships and relationships in life.
Our Surgeon General has talked about an epidemic of loneliness.
Our friendships take time, so through this pandemic, even with all of the intense work, I’ve really focused on making time for those relationships.
Chief HR Officer at Marriott, Ty Breland:
When I am in town, I turn off my cell phone about a mile from my house.
So when I pull into the garage, I’m never one of those parents that holds up the finger and says give me one more minute to finish this call.
My little girls are waiting. It’s something I do to try to show them that I want to be present when I’m around.
I also try to run as many days as I possibly can. I don’t run with AirPods, I just go by myself.
It’s something that allows me to process. It allows me to get clear.
It stresses out my team and my family a little bit because I’ll come back with 100 different ideas that have come to me on my run.
Chief Executive of Northwell Direct, Nick Stefanizzi:
Everybody that works with me knows that I am useless late at night.
So I am very diligent about trying to get to bed at the same time every night to the extent possible — getting a full night’s sleep and rest and then getting up early.
That’s when I tend to be at my best.”
Chief People Experience Officer of Pfizer, Payal Sahni:
I go for a walk. I don’t run unless somebody’s really chasing me.
So I will walk — for hours if I can with my headphones on.
I love music, and what I find is when I’m out there walking my team is already on standby because I come back with a lot of ideas and it just helps me think creatively.
If I can’t walk I’ll jump on the Peloton for a little bit just to get some space.
The other micro-step I’m really trying to work on is saying no, because someone wise said to me, “if you don’t say no then what does your yes look like?”
It’s something I’ve been reflecting on because I do take on a lot.
Vice President of Health at Apple, Sumbul Desai (pictured):
I love being active with my kids. We take nightly walks and I find this to be an amazing outlet for our wellbeing.
I’m also a big believer in prayer, spirituality and mindfulness, and that has definitely gotten me through some hard times.
Another micro-step is just being honest with yourself that you can’t do everything every day, and what you need every day is going to change.
So some days you may need some more activity, but some days you may need some more just hanging out and just being okay with the fact that you’re not always going to be go-go-go.
*Arianna Huffington is the founder and Chief Executive of Thrive Global; the founder of The Huffington Post, and the author of 15 books, including, most recently, Thrive and The Sleep Revolution.
This article first appeared at LinkedIn.
