Healthy leadership is a performance strategy, not a perk.

Most leaders are brilliant at looking after everyone else. A teammate is stressed and you step in. Someone is off sick and you cover. Ask how you are and the answer is usually the same. “I’m fine, just busy”.Two ideas help fix this pattern. Health-oriented leadership gives us the research-backed view of why leader wellbeing matters. Selfish Leadership™ turns that insight into simple, repeatable actions you can use every day.

What Is Health-Oriented Leadership?

Health-oriented leadership is a model that says leaders shape health in two ways:

  1. Self-care – how you protect your own energy, sleep, recovery and boundaries
  2. Staff-care – how you shape work for others with fair expectations, helpful norms and realistic workloads

The simple truth is this. If you burn out, your team feels it. If you set healthy boundaries and look after yourself, your team learns to do the same. Studies consistently show that leaders who practise both self-care and staff-care build teams with better wellbeing and higher job satisfaction.

What Is Selfish Leadership™?

Selfish Leadership™ reframes the word selfish. It means positive self-prioritisation so you can lead at your best. It is about being intentional with your energy and time, not about neglecting others. When you thrive, your team gets a better version of you.

Selfish Leadership is built on the SELF Framework™:

  • S – Set Boundaries to protect your focus and energy
  • E – Elevate Wellbeing with routines that help you recover
  • L – Lead with Intention so you show up present, not reactive
  • F – Foster Growth so your team develops in a healthy way

Think of it as a practical operating system for sustainable leadership performance.

Health-Oriented Leadership vs Selfish Leadership

If health-oriented leadership gives us the science, Selfish Leadership gives us the human story and the daily playbook. Both point to the same result – healthier leaders and higher performing teams.

Aspect Health-Oriented Leadership Selfish Leadership™
Focus Leader self-care + staff-care improve team health and satisfaction Self-prioritisation improves clarity, decisions and culture
Language Research and HR programme friendly Plain English and story-led
How to use Assess, train and build supportive practices Apply the SELF Framework in daily leadership
Outcome Lower burnout and higher job satisfaction Consistent energy and sustainable performance

Why This Matters Right Now

Burnout is not just an employee issue. Leaders are people too. When leaders run on empty, decision quality drops, communication suffers and teams pick up the strain. Health-oriented leadership explains why this happens. Selfish Leadership shows how to prevent it with clear habits and simple rituals.

Imagine a culture where leaders model healthy boundaries, speak openly about energy and normalise recovery. That is not soft. It is strategic.

How To Get Started This Week

  1. Set one boundary you will protect for five working days. Example. No meetings before 10am or a 45 minute lunch break away from your desk.
  2. Pick one recovery habit you can maintain. Ten minute walk after lunch. Phone out of the bedroom. Lights out on time.
  3. Make staff-care visible. Share your boundary and explain why. Invite the team to set one small boundary of their own.
  4. Run a SELF Reset every Monday. Ask. What is my most important boundary this week. What will elevate my wellbeing. Where do I need to lead with intention. Who can I help grow.

Want help to roll this out across your leadership team. Explore my

FAQs

Is health-oriented leadership the same as wellbeing perks?

  • No. Perks help but they do not fix culture. Health-oriented leadership is about daily leadership behaviours that protect energy and shape healthy workloads.

Does Selfish Leadership mean putting myself first at the expense of others?

  • No. It means taking responsibility for your capacity so others get a better version of you. You serve people best when you are not running on empty.

How do I measure progress?

  • Track simple signals. Sleep quality, energy, meeting load, focus time and team pulse on workload fairness. Review weekly during your SELF Reset.

My Final Thought

Healthy teams need healthy leaders. Health-oriented leadership gives us the why. Selfish Leadership gives us the how. Start small this week. Protect one boundary, model it and invite others to do the same. Momentum follows.