Progress, Not Perfection: The Four Foundations of Sustainable Leadership

Dr. Jennifer Wagner is Chief Health and Performance Officer at Chief partner Canyon Ranch. She leads The Women’s Wellness Collective at Canyon Ranch Austin.

As a young physician, I went into labor in the operating room but was terrified to ask someone to relieve me so I could go to Labor and Delivery. I thought I would be labeled weak or selfish, and I didn’t want to inconvenience any of my colleagues. During maternity leave, I struggled mentally and emotionally with staying home, afraid of “losing my place” when I returned to work.

As an executive, I continue to work on boundaries every day, not responding to the non-urgent 5 AM Sunday email, learning to enjoy and embrace downtime, and making space to actively recover.

What I’ve learned is that self-care is the key to a leader’s vitality and sustainability.

Today’s leaders must redefine self-care around the foundations we know support health: recovery, connection, purpose, and joy. These are the building blocks that allow us to thrive in our careers and in our lives. After all, most of us hope to have rich, joyful lives long after our working years have ended.

So, what are these foundations, and how can women leaders embrace and incorporate them into everyday life?

I hate to tell you, but there are no hacks, shortcuts, or magic supplements. The skills that make you a successful leader are the same skills that will support your journey of self-care: discipline, negotiation, and consistency. However, your toughest adversary may be yourself.

Sleep. Move. Eat. Connect.

Sounds simple, right?

The goal is not perfection, or even optimization, but prioritizing good habits and practicing consistency. For women, another important consideration is understanding your body and how its needs evolve. How you approach these foundations at 30 may look very different from what you need at 55.

Sleep

Sleep is the cornerstone of healthspan, cognition, and resilience, yet it is often the first thing we sacrifice to take care of others.

Sleep is impacted by stress, food, exercise, mood, bed partners, hormones, and more. The first step toward establishing consistent, high-quality sleep is practicing good sleep hygiene.

Regular sleep and wake times help regulate our circadian rhythms, supporting hormonal balance, including melatonin release.

Your environment is also important. Strive for a cool, dark, and quiet bedroom. Try to avoid large meals and intense exercise 2–3 hours before bed. If at all possible, remove bright clocks and PHONES from your room.

Develop a wind-down routine. If 3 AM awakenings with a racing mind are a regular occurrence, experiment with an evening journaling session. Write down your concerns, stressors, or critical issues for the next day to help quiet your mind before bed.

Shifting hormones can also wreak havoc on sleep. Cooling mattresses and evening baths may help with temperature regulation. Saunas may also support relaxation and sleep for some women. If hot flashes, night sweats, or restless legs are interfering with sleep, speak with your healthcare provider. There are both hormonal and non-hormonal treatment options available.

Women also face an increased risk of sleep apnea after menopause, in part due to hormonal changes that can affect upper-airway function. Sleep apnea in women often presents more subtly, sometimes without the classic symptoms of loud snoring or gasping.

Signs and symptoms may include frequent awakenings, daytime sleepiness, or changes in overnight oxygen saturation detected by a wearable sleep tracker. While these devices cannot diagnose sleep apnea, they may provide useful information to discuss with your healthcare provider.

Feel empowered to ask whether a sleep study is appropriate.

Move

All movement is good movement.

There is substantial research supporting the importance of strength training for women, especially as we move through perimenopause and menopause. However, there are days when an hour in the gym is simply not possible, and that is OK!

Short bursts of activity, sometimes called “movement snacks,” can have evidence-backed health benefits. Taking the stairs, changing one meeting a week to a walking meeting, using a walking pad at your desk, or doing 10 air squats between calls all count as movement.

Walking meetings can be particularly valuable for leaders. Movement can support cognitive function, and research suggests that walking may encourage creative thinking. It can also create opportunities for more open, engaged conversations with colleagues.

On days when your calendar doesn’t have room for dedicated exercise, I challenge you to find two or three 10-minute windows to incorporate some form of movement. Then, celebrate your consistency even if it looks different from what you would define as optimal.

Don’t let perfection get in the way of progress.

Eat

Nutrition is another area women often sacrifice while taking care of others.

Grabbing something at your desk, picking food off your child’s plate, skipping meals because you are “too busy,” or restricting food because society continues to reinforce the ideal of thinness.

Many women under-fuel, especially when exercising regularly or trying to build muscle.

And not only is the quality of the food we eat important, but so is ensuring we eat enough and fuel ourselves throughout the day.

Cortisol is naturally higher in the morning, and that is a good thing. It helps us wake up and prepare for the day. When we go too long without eating, blood sugar drops, and the body releases more cortisol to bring it back up, keeping our stress response switched on when it should be winding down. So, when we skip meals or consistently under-fuel, we can add to the physiological stress our bodies are already managing. Over time, inadequate nutrition can negatively affect our energy, mood, recovery, and ability to build and maintain muscle.

Starting the day with a protein-rich breakfast can be one way to support adequate fueling, improve satiety, and help meet the protein needs that are especially important for maintaining muscle as we age.

Keeping high-quality snacks at your desk, such as nuts and seeds, creating a breakfast plan the night before, and packing food from home are all strategies busy leaders can use to stay consistent with nourishing foods.

When we under-fuel, our bodies respond by increasing hunger and driving us toward convenient, energy-dense foods. We may find ourselves in front of the vending machine or grabbing whatever is available simply to get through the afternoon.

The goal is not to eat perfectly. It is to give our bodies the nourishment they need to perform, recover, and thrive.

Connect

Women leaders often find themselves feeling isolated and lonely, even when surrounded by colleagues, teams, and family.

Connection is a powerful driver of professional satisfaction and overall wellbeing.

Schedule time to connect with others, both inside and outside the office.

Dr. Laurie Santos, the happiness researcher at Yale, taught me one phrase that has stayed with me: Say no to protect yes.

Understanding and defining your personal and professional values and then prioritizing those values allows you as a leader to make more intentional decisions about your time, energy, and commitments.

Examine your calendar and the requests coming your way. What can you say no to in order to make room for the things you truly want to say yes to?

Research increasingly recognizes loneliness and social isolation as significant risks to our long-term health, with some studies comparing their impact on well-established risk factors such as smoking.

Connection is not a luxury. It is a critical part of our health. So say yes to the things that truly fill your cup, connect you with other people, and provide a sense of purpose and support.

The Foundation of Sustainable Leadership

The world needs women to lead now more than ever. That means we must support women in staying in the game, continuing to climb, and sustaining their health and vitality along the way.

To do this, our foundations must be rock solid. And that brings us back to the basics: Sleep. Move. Eat. Connect.

Prioritize consistency and progress over perfection and optimization.

When we embody these principles, we don't just feel better. We perform better, lead more sustainably, and inspire those around us to embrace the habits that will help them thrive, too.