When I first walked into a hot yoga studio in January, I couldn’t believe how hot it was.

The room was 107 degrees. Fifteen minutes into the yoga class, I had to leave because I honestly thought I was going to pass out.

After that class, I always set my mat close to the door, just in case I needed to escape.

If you had told me then that six months later I would be doing Hot HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) Pilates in that same room, lifting heavy weights and doing cardio for 45 minutes, I would have said: “You’re crazy.” There was simply no way.

It was a warm, sunny day in June when I made my way to the annual general meeting of a private mortgage investment fund I had invested in years ago.

When I got there, the tension was palpable. People weren't just frustrated. They were downright angry.

Since 2022, investors had been unable to access their money. Distributions had fallen, and the fund's net asset value kept declining. Many in the room were retired, deeply worried about their financial future.

I am coaching a leader in one of the most technologically advanced industries in the world. Their company is building products that didn't exist a few years ago, in an environment where the technology is evolving faster than they can learn it.

When we first started our coaching together, he was experiencing overwhelm and stress and was on the verge of burnout.  He was leading a team of young engineers, all freshly out of college, and he was convinced that he was the only one with all the answers.

CEOs often hire me to improve well-being. But what I actually do is improve how leaders and teams work together.

When employee engagement scores fall or people start leaving, organizations often conclude they have a well-being problem.