A few months ago, I had the pleasure of connecting with Lindsay Fuller, Executive Director of The Teaching Well. We got into a juicy conversation on the intersection of wellbeing and leadership. She said, and I quote:

“We cannot afford to have raggedy leaders.”

Her comment made me giggle while simultaneously reminding me of all the moments I’ve been raggedy in my leadership…

Like when I would convince myself to work while I was sick.

Or skip lunch during the work day, and then lash out on my team out of hanger.

Or have a full blown emotional crash out in front of my peers over something trivial.

Or finally taking my PTO once I was pushed beyond exhaustion.

Or… (the list goes on, and I’m sure you can fill in your own examples).

Subscriber First Name, it feels good to be honest and say that I’ve been a raggedy ass leader. Even in recent years as the Founder of Do Good Leadership Collective—an organization that was built on the value of wellbeing in leadership—my shit has gotten raggedy.

But what also feels good to say is that I’ve done (and continue to do) the deep transformational work that is required to be well in my leadership. Especially in the modern day social impact landscape.

So, when I saw this quote from @myleik on Threads the other day, I felt inspired to write about raggedy leadership, or what I like to call “wellbeing virtue signaling.”

The good news is that people development in the social impact sector is trending towards wellbeing. Our bi-weekly tracking of nonprofit wellbeing trends proves this to be true. What is also true is that the more we advocate for wellbeing in workplaces, the more some leaders will perform wellbeing as a way to show that wellbeing is an organizational value… although their individual behavior says otherwise. Here are a few examples:

Your colleague takes a vacation, but continues to email you the entire time she is away

Your boss says compassion is critical to the workplace, but then models a lack of self-compassion when he berates himself for mistakes

The organization claims that inclusion and belonging are values, but gossip and belittling junior employees is the norm

Your HR team sends Slack memes about how important rest is, but culturally people are rewarded for their exhaustion

Many of these espoused wellbeing values are unconscious—we don’t recognize that we’re performing wellbeing rather than truly doing the work to be well. But here’s the thing: Performative wellbeing isn’t going to pass the sniff test in 2026. More employees are lifting the veil… like Elphaba calling out The Wizard for having no powers!!!

There is no more faking it until you make it when it comes to well leadership. And Subscriber First Name, I say this with so much love, but in 2026 many of us (maybe your boss, maybe your board, maybe even you) are going to need to get our raggedy ish together and start taking care of our nervous systems!

Luckily, that’s why Do Good Leadership Collective exists 😇 We help the helpers. We believe that wellbeing is a strategic lever for building more effective and resilient organizations. We know firsthand that cultures of wellbeing are hard to build if the people at the top are deeply unwell…

So, if you or someone you know is ready to go from rags to riches in their wellbeing leadership, then reply to this email, or let’s chat for a few minutes.

The Slow Down is back… but for one Saturday only!

Join me and Mystiika Jae Carter, AMFT for a special Slow Down event. This Saturday morning gathering will include a community Emotional Freedom Tapping (EFT) experience as we enjoy the healing properties of the Salt Sanctuary at Nalu Healing Arts.

This event is inspired by our most recently completed book in our Slow Ready Book Club: What It Takes to Heal. This event is a chance to embody what we've learned about healing, guided by Mystiika's expertise with a community who is dedicated to healing together. You are welcome to join this event, even if you haven’t read the book. The event is donation based (suggested donation of $25), with a portion of donations supporting Spiritual Wellfare.