You have to be well to lead well
New research confirms what we’ve long said: You have to be well to lead well.
A recent study from WorkWell Leaders in partnership with the National University of Singapore has delivered findings that validate what forward-thinking workplace wellbeing practitioners have been advocating for years: leader wellbeing is 11 times more effective at driving organisational performance than employee participation in stress management or resilience programs.
Let that sink in for a moment.
While organisations continue to pour resources into employee wellness apps, EAPs, workshops, and resilience training (all valuable initiatives), the research reveals another story: the wellbeing of leaders themselves is the single most powerful lever for organisational transformation.
The research
The WorkWell Leaders Impact Measure study analysed over 200 factors across organisations to understand what truly drives workplace wellbeing and performance. What emerged was a clear hierarchy of influence that challenges conventional thinking about where to invest our wellbeing resources.
The findings reveal leader wellbeing is:
- 56 times more effective in shaping organisational wellbeing than stress management programs
- The third most important factor influencing overall organisational performance
- 11 times more impactful than employee stress management programs
- 4 times more effective than employee wellbeing apps
Dr Reuben Ng, principal researcher on the study, sums up these findings perfectly: “Ignoring these factors isn’t just a missed opportunity; it’s a significant business risk.”
What leader wellbeing really means
The research defines leader wellbeing as the overall mental, emotional, physical, and social health of CEOs and leaders. But here’s where it gets interesting… and where many organisations miss the mark.
It’s not enough for leaders to simply talk about values like compassion, courage, commitment, and clarity. The study found that it’s how these values are demonstrated through daily actions that creates real impact. For example, practising compassion has six times the impact on organisational wellbeing compared to just talking about it.
The ripple effect
These findings arrive at a critical time. Gallup’s 2025 State of the Global Workplace Report reveals that global employee engagement has declined to just 21 per cent, with managers experiencing the largest drop in engagement levels. The global cost of disengagement? It’s $438 billion.
This confirms what we’ve long seen at the coalface – when leaders aren’t well, it affects the entire organisation. Disengaged leaders create disengaged teams, perpetuating a cycle that undermines performance, innovation, and workplace culture.
But here’s the flip side, the research suggests that fully engaging leaders and improving their wellbeing could unlock better productivity gains across the global workforce.
The investment paradox
Many organisations find themselves willing to spend significant resources on employee wellbeing programs, but they’re overlooking the multiplier effect of investing in their leaders’ wellbeing first.
Consider the maths: if leader wellbeing is 11 times more effective than traditional employee programs, shouldn’t resource allocation reflect this reality? Yet most organisations continue to approach wellbeing as an employee-focused initiative rather than a leadership-driven transformation.
The research also revealed that organisational wellbeing itself is the top factor for performance – suggesting that when we get leader wellbeing right, we create the conditions for broader organisational health that drives sustainable results.
Authentic leadership
The study’s emphasis on authentic leadership behaviours resonates deeply with current workplace trends. While some leaders may balk at being more vulnerable, we’re in an era where people (particularly younger workers) increasingly value transparency and purpose. Authentic leaders who demonstrate genuine commitment to wellbeing in turn create psychological safety and trust that enables teams to thrive.
This isn’t about perfection or having all the answers. It’s about leaders who recognise that their own wellbeing is not an afterthought, but a strategy that influences every decision, interaction, and outcome within their circle of influence.
Role design and clarity
The research also found wellbeing it is not only about how much people work; it is about whether the work works for them. Reducing workload or time pressure alone is not enough. To foster organisational wellbeing, work must be intentionally designed to be empowering.
For example, providing clarity around roles and responsibilities is 120 times more impactful for organisational wellbeing than simply managing workload or time pressure. Likewise, ensuring that employees have a chance to use a variety of skills is 119 times more effective than just keeping workloads manageable.
Where to now?
Instead of starting with employee programs and hoping the benefits trickle up, what if we began with leader wellbeing and allowed the positive effects to cascade down? Instead of treating leader wellbeing as an add-on to existing programs, what if we recognised it as the foundation upon which all other wellbeing initiatives are built?
This isn’t about abandoning employee-focused wellbeing initiatives, they are, of course, valuable and necessary. It’s about creating a more strategic, evidence-based approach that recognises where we can achieve the greatest impact with what is often limited resources.
The question isn’t whether you can afford to invest in leader wellbeing. The question is whether you can afford not to.
See how we support the leaders in your organisation
The WorkWell Leaders Impact Measure study was conducted in partnership with the National University of Singapore. The study analysed over 200 factors across multiple organisations to understand the drivers of workplace wellbeing and performance. You can view the research here.
