By: Mia Nguyen, Marketing & Communications Manager, Women In Product
This quarter we’re reflecting on leadership and wellness, and how the two go hand in hand. We keep coming back to this question: what does leadership look like when it’s rooted in wellness? Wellness is rooted within ourselves and informs how we make decisions and show up.
As an organization, each of us on the team has reflected on what it means to lead in uncertainty, carving out space to take care of ourselves when it all feels like too much. Building and running an organization centered around product leadership means we’re not immune to the same pressures we see play out in our own community. As a small team, we have our fair share and moments of overwhelm. We constantly remind ourselves slowing down doesn’t mean we’re falling behind and rest is part of the process to delivering quality work. When we take care of ourselves we’re directly shaping what we bring to this community.
“Wellness, to me, is about being at peace. It is feeling calm, clear-minded, aware, and open to what is in front of me. When I am well, I am confident in taking on what comes my way with energy and optimism. At its simplest, wellness is feeling strong, clear, steady, and at peace in my mind, body, and heart.
It’s also about staying active and playing sports I love, nourishing my body with the right fuel, and giving my body time to recover, process, and recharge. I focus on quieting the noise, protecting my energy, and making space for joy, connection, and reflection.”
“For me, wellness is less about optimization and more about consistency. It’s a few simple things that bring me back to myself – long walks with my dog and a podcast, a quick creative break, even an afternoon nap. When I make space for those, everything else tends to fall back into balance.”
“Wellness is balance. Bodies, ecosystems, and Nature at large seek(s) homeostasis: a state of balance. When things are out of balance, and experience too much stress, or too little, we encounter pain, lethargy, discomfort, and lack. All points of my life where I’ve been able to balance work, creativity, rest, and social life, I look back on with joy.”
“Wellness to me is both personal and shared. It’s having a strong sense of community while also giving myself space to reflect, reset, and stay centered. It’s more than just the idea of being well, it’s actually feeling well. It’s checking in with myself and choosing things that feel soft, grounding, and real. It shows up in quiet moments, in the way I take care of myself, and in being around people who make me feel supported and at ease.”
“It took me a while to understand that the body knows things the mind is too busy to admit. One of my favorite quotes is: “If you don’t pick a day to rest, your body will pick it for you and it probably won’t be at a convenient time. Wellness is not only a destination you arrive at once you’ve locked in the right habits: eating well, sleeping well, and moving your body. Those things help, but for me, wellness is rooted in paying attention and being honest about what my body is asking for, and whether the energy I’m giving out is feeding or depleting me.”
We also reached out to our community for their contributions and thoughts on the intersection of these topics. The responses we received have given us insight on what current product leaders are facing, especially as we navigate the current landscape of product and the world at large.
In the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing blogs written by our community members. Here is a brief preview.
Community member Shan Tong about leading in ambiguity; the kind of leadership that doesn’t always have a clear answer, but shows up anyway. We’ll also be sharing Nithya Karthikeyan’s perspective on how carving out time for a creative practice can support better outcomes in work itself, a reminder that what we do outside of work shapes how we show up.
We’re also excited to share the WIP Team’s selection of Favorite Wellness Things (A La Oprah) to share what we lean on and treasure to help us continue to lead this community of product managers as best we can.
Stay connected in WIP Community and join us for weekly discussion threads on wellness and leadership topics as well.
We can’t wait to connect with you all. Stay well.