Leading Well: Centering Wellness in Executive Development
In an era defined by accelerated change, expanding responsibilities, and constant decision pressure, executives are facing unprecedented demands on their time, energy, and attention. While leadership capability, AI strategy, and organizational culture remain core priorities, one theme has emerged with particular urgency across our community: executive wellness is now inseparable from organizational performance.
At the Leavey Executive Center, we are entering 2026 with a renewed commitment to supporting leaders not only in what they do, but in how they sustain themselves while doing it.
The Growing Executive Wellness Gap
Across industries, senior leaders are navigating higher levels of cognitive load and emotional strain than at any time in the last decade. Burnout remains elevated; hybrid work has blurred boundaries; and executives increasingly shoulder parallel pressures - advancing innovation, responding to geopolitical shifts, managing culture, and supporting the well-being of their teams.
Yet amid these demands, leaders often place their own wellness last. This gap has real consequences: impaired decision-making, diminished creativity, slower strategic processing, and reduced capacity for empathy - all capabilities essential to modern leadership.
Forward-looking organizations are embracing a new mindset: a resilient leader is a strategic asset, and investing in wellness is investing in effectiveness.
A More Holistic Model of Executive Development
Traditional executive education has focused on functional capabilities - strategy, finance, innovation, governance. These remain critical. But we now understand that technical mastery alone cannot sustain leaders through prolonged volatility.
The next era of leadership development requires a multidimensional approach centered on:
- Cognitive resilience
- Emotional well-being
- Physical vitality
- Purpose and meaning
Wellness is no longer a “perk” or a restorative retreat - it’s an organizational strategy for long-term leadership sustainability.
How the Leavey Executive Center Is Responding
As we look ahead to 2026, the Leavey Executive Center is exploring ways to more intentionally support executive wellness within our community. Our approach emphasizes grounding wellness in leadership practice, drawing on the insights and needs we hear from the executives we serve.
1. Integrating Wellness Themes into Executive Conversations
Across roundtables, peer groups, and leadership discussions, topics like resilience, focus, and sustainable performance continue to surface. We are intentionally creating space for these themes within our existing sessions - meeting leaders where they are, and encouraging candid conversation about the human realities of leadership.
2. Exploring Opportunities for Deeper Wellness-Focused Learning
We are assessing opportunities to deepen our focus on wellness within future programming - whether through facilitated discussions, curated workshops, or collaborative sessions that connect leaders with best practices in mindful leadership and energy management. These explorations are ongoing and informed directly by executive interest and feedback.
3. Highlighting Research and Insights from the Leavey Community
As part of our role as conveners, we will continue uplifting research and perspectives from Santa Clara faculty and practitioners on topics such as decision fatigue, burnout, ethical leadership, and the neuroscience of focus. Our aim is to ground wellness in evidence-based insight.
Wellness as Community Practice
Above all, we believe wellness is strengthened through community. Executives consistently tell us that having protected time to reflect, reset, and engage with peers - free from daily urgency - is one of the most valuable aspects of the LEC experience.
As we continue evolving our approach to executive wellness, this sense of community support and shared reflection will remain foundational.
Looking Ahead
The Leavey Executive Center is committed to serving as a partner in the full arc of executive development: building capability, cultivating clarity, and supporting sustainable leadership. Our focus on executive wellness reflects both the needs we hear from the leaders we serve and our belief in the humanity behind every decision-maker.
When executives thrive, organizations thrive. As we look toward 2026, we are energized by the opportunity to deepen this work - and to support leaders in sustaining the clarity, resilience, and well-being needed to shape the future.