Health Habits for Unshakable Leadership, Resilience, Energy and Profit
Why small, evidence-based habits matter more than extreme wellness routines for leaders, teams and workplace performance
Culture is not built by slogans, it is built by what people experience every day.
In this new Brave Ideas category, we explore the habits, behaviours and leadership choices that shape stronger teams, better performance and healthier workplace communities. In her first contribution, Vanessa Sturman looks at how small, sustainable health habits can improve resilience, focus and energy, and why that matters not just for people, but for profit too.
When it comes to leadership, energy and resilience matter more than time. Time does not mean much if your brain fogs in the middle of a big meeting or your focus slips because you are running on empty. Many leaders operate at a relentless pace, but few stop to consider how everyday habits quietly drive or drain their ability to perform and lead with clarity.
The good news is, it doesn’t take long‑haul wellness programmes or strict diets to see big results. In fact, those are often unsustainable, not always backed by strong evidence, and can drain mental energy even more.
Health comes from small, smart actions that fit busy working lives and that actually stick.
These habits do not make Instagram headlines, but they make leaders more reliable and help safeguard profit. They build clearer thinking, steadier energy and the ability to show up strong, day after day.
Unhealthy diets make employees 66% more likely to report productivity loss [HERO Study: Mills, P. R., et al. (2012)]
Additionally, employees are thought to lose around 1 day per week of productive time as a result of mental and physical health issues (Vitality Britain’s Healthiest Workplace, 2024). This is the overlooked performance and business profit link when it comes to people management, wellbeing strategies and creating a truly healthy working community.
To add another angle, what we eat has a huge impact on the planet as well as our health, and forms an important part of ESG for businesses. Our food systems contribute to around 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions (EAT–Lancet Commission on healthy, sustainable, and just food systems). We also see that shifting our diets to a more planet-friendly way of eating could prevent approximately 15 million premature deaths per year primarily from reduced heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and certain cancers (Gu, X. et al. (2024)).
These contributions from Vanessa will focus on how you as leaders and teams can make these shifts for better performance, retention, productivity, ESG goals and stronger community.
Why habits are a business issue
Habits are not just a personal choice, they are a business advantage. When people make small, healthy decisions consistently, organisations see fewer sick days, sharper thinking and stronger collaboration. The 2024 Vitality Britain’s Healthiest Workplace report found that poor lifestyle habits cost UK businesses £138 billion annually, mostly from preventable illness and fatigue.
This also builds engagement and stronger workplace culture. Healthy habits stick when teams encourage each other. After a talk I gave for the organisation, GS1 UK, their people kept sharing habit ideas long after, and the session ran even more interactively than usual, letting everyone explore quick wins firsthand.
Research shows that well‑planned workplace health programmes can significantly cut absenteeism and boost productivity (Tarro L et al., 2020, PMC7142489). The trick is making health realistic and relevant to how people actually work. When workplaces make positive choices convenient, they help their teams build energy and focus without extra pressure.
What the data shows
Healthy eating is not fluffy wellbeing talk, it is a performance lever with hard numbers behind it. A large workplace‑health survey of nearly 20,000 employees found that those with unhealthy eating habits were 66% more likely to report a loss in productivity, and those who rarely ate fruits and vegetables at work were about 93% more likely to report a major drop in productivity (HERO Study: Mills, P. R., et al. (2012)).
And it starts with the basics.
Fewer than 1 in 10 UK adults meet the recommended daily fibre intake. Fibre supports gut health, satiety, energy balance, and long-term disease prevention. Small additions like fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, or beans to your meals can help improve concentration, digestion, and stamina.
One key busy team member I worked with is a great example:
She was struggling with cravings, focus and weight management. Evenings often meant raiding the cupboard, and the worry about it would already sap her focus earlier in the working day. She regularly bought one of those recipe kit meals but said she never felt full afterwards. Together we focused on one simple habit. This was adding healthy, gut‑loving, filling foods to her existing, busy routine. Tins of beans are an easy go‑to; they take ages to go out of date and can be added to almost any other convenience food. They are also full of fibre and plant protein, and help lower the risk of many lifestyle diseases. She added a tin of beans and some leek to her recipe kit curry just two hours after our coaching session and said, “That is the first time my partner and I have been full after one of these meals. Honestly.” It did not take an overhaul, it was just a small change she can carry into the rest of her life.
From short-lived ambitions to reliable performance
Forget the all‑or‑nothing approach, which is painful, energy‑draining and ultimately unsustainable. Real energy comes from small, consistent habits that become part of your daily rhythm. Changes have to overcome workplace and personal life barriers, from lack of time and knowledge to stress, mental health and the pressure to be “on” all the time. The most effective shifts are the ones that feel manageable, not overwhelming.
Start simple:
Keep roasted chickpeas, edamame beans or mixed nuts at your desk for steady energy.
Add a piece of fruit in place of one sugary snack (or have them together if the habit swap is too stark).
Sip water throughout the day to support focus and productivity.
Keep the mantra of “progress over perfection”.
Perfection never works, is short-lived and can create more frustration than results. What works is stacking small, repeatable habits that add up. Leaders must enable it and model it themselves. Wellbeing is not just an employee perk. It links people’s health directly to profit. When you visibly prioritise these habits, you signal that performance and energy go hand in hand, and that you’re serious about creating a great workplace culture.
Who is Vanessa Sturman
Vanessa is a multi-award-winning speaker and health and nutrition coach, helping busy professionals, leaders, teams and athletes improve focus, resilience and energy through evidence-based, sustainable nutrition and habits. When it comes to workplace design, business health, finance and community, there is one thing at the centre. People. Business and workspaces do not flourish unless people are energised and well. Her work links personal performance, business success and planetary health. Clients include Fulham FC and Cambridge University, and she is a regular on Sky News, BBC Radio and other media outlets.