And right now? They are struggling.

Manager engagement just hit its lowest point in years — down 9 points since 2022 (Gallup). They’re burned out, caught between executive pressure and exhausted teams, and 43% of them worry that AI will make parts of their own job obsolete.

Yet we keep asking them to lead others through the very change that's destabilizing them.

Here’s what I know from the research and from working inside high-stakes organizations: managers drive 70% of the variance in team engagement. When managers are overwhelmed, disengaged, or left out of the strategy, everything downstream suffers. They are not middle management, they are your competitive edge.

If you’re a C-suite leader building an AI strategy right now, here are 3 ways to support managers to ensure AI readiness and success:

1️⃣ Bring managers into the AI strategy planning early — not just as implementers, but as architects. Their proximity to the work gives you intelligence you cannot get from a boardroom.

2️⃣ Invest in AI fluency. A manager who understands AI will have great confidence to guide their team through the change. One who doesn't will become a barrier to adoption.

3️⃣ Redesign the role, not just the workflow. Asking managers to lead change while only adding to their workload is not optimizing human potential, it’s driving the human risk of burnout.

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The organizations that get this right will design better, move faster, and build cultures people want to be a part of. We are redefining our work and workplace cultures.

The ones that don’t? They’ll have the technology, but none of the traction that is needed for peak performance.

#Leadership #AI #ManagerDevelopment #FutureOfWork #EmployeeExperience #PeopleFirst #ExecutiveLeadership

This was the question Daniel Robbins, host of Founder’s Story, asked me during our recent conversation on workplace culture, wellbeing, and peak performance.

My response….

• Centering on the HUMAN, as well as the MACHINE, will be a requirement to drive the peak performance levels C-suites are aiming for.

• Well-being impacts your workplace culture and employee behavior, ignoring this will work against you.

• Organizational risk and opportunity are driven by humans.

• Leaders need reliable, accurate data to make the right decisions.

• A strategic approach includes accountability.

• Our relationships with one another will define our future success.

Daniel’s mission is to inspire 1 billion people with his incredibly popular podcast. He believes that wisdom doesn’t just come from fame, it comes from doing the hard work – he is my kind of person!!

Shaping our new workplace cultures through AI is the next frontier. Redesigning BETTER workplace cultures is our responsibility– let’s make this happen!

#performance #workplacewellbeing #culture

Women’s Leadership in Healthcare: A Conversation with Emily Adams, Vice President, USI Insurance Services

During the month of March, in celebration of Women’s History Month, I had the pleasure of speaking with Emily Adams, Vice President, USI Insurance Services, Employee Benefits Consultant about how she has turned life’s challenges into a personal and professional mission, Her leadership mantra is to Help Others, Have Humility, and Pay it Forward.

Our conversation highlighted the value of empathy and compassion in leadership, and underscores the impact of our role models. She illustrates how leveraging your own experiences as you develop your unique leadership approach can define a successful career and enable you to achieve your personal mission.

The key take-away – don’t underestimate your own experiences and how impactful they can be on your own success, as well as others around you.

Thank you Emily Adams for a great conversation about what matters most!

#performance #leadership #womenleaders #wellbeing

Women’s Leadership in Healthcare: A Conversation with Nancy Sumberaz, Sr. Director at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine

In my recent conversation with Nancy Sumberaz, Sr. Director of Neuroscience Value, Access and Pricing at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, I was reminded of how much influence our leaders have on our success.

I had the privilege of working alongside Nancy on two different teams at Johnson & Johnson. Her willingness to collaborate, bias for action, and exceptional expertise enabled our team to achieve lofty goals and ensure that our health for humanity mission was fulfilled for patients.

One of my favorite memories of our time working together was when we created a team called GSD (“Get Shit Done”) for a “Shark Tank” Innovation Competition. Our team’s pitch was focused on ensuring efficiency and speed to expand access to life saving medications for patients in need. Our team’s name reflected our commitment to making sure we were successful. Today, Nancy and I still share this passion and drive to advance patient access, care and outcomes!

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Having a successful career defined by multiple leadership roles, Nancy shared some of her key learnings with me during our conversation:

➤ Know yourself, trust yourself

➤ Ensure your personal purpose aligns with the organization’s mission

➤ Keep learning & know your strengths

➤ Establish a diverse network

➤ Don’t be afraid to take risks to learn something new

Our conversation was more than a professional reflection – it was an honest conversation about how self-awareness, understanding your strengths, and embracing new opportunities can define your leadership success.

I hope you enjoy Nancy’s guidance - comment, repost or forward this conversation to help “pay it forward” to others who may benefit.

#womenshistorymonth #womenleadership #wellbeing

Women’s Leadership in Intelligence: A Conversation with Former CIA Director of Talent Sheronda Dorsey

These were the topics of my recent conversation with Sheronda Dorsey, Former Director of Talent at the Central Intelligence Agency. I had the privilege of working alongside Sheronda when I served as the Agency’s first Chief Wellbeing Officer. With many years of experience within the Agency leadership roles focused on recruitment and talent management, she is an ideal person to discuss how to shape a successful career and navigate your leadership journey.

As I prepared for my conversation with her, I reflected on my own leadership success which has always been dependent on the partnerships I have had with other leaders – without these partnerships the outcomes would have been different.

The Chief Human Resource Officer, Chief People Officer, or Director of Talent of organization is an essential partner to a Chief Wellbeing Officer. This partnership shapes strategic planning, execution, and ultimately the CWO’s success. If the CHRO/CPO/DT is not leveraging well-being data, insights, and guidance within their strategy execution there will be significant limitations to a CWO’s success. As a result, well-being becomes a “program” offered rather than an organizational “strategy” that shapes the organization’s culture. Alternatively, if the CWO is not defining a strategy that aligns to HR priorities the well-being strategy will feel misaligned and disconnected.

My partnership with Sheronda, when she served as the Director of Talent and I served as the Chief Wellbeing Officer, enabled us to not only align strategies, but also empowered us to learn from one another, experiment together, and enable each other to achieve mission. It was wonderful to reconnect and hear her key learnings from her many years of leadership:

• Say “YES” to the opportunities you don’t feel ready for – you’ll grow and fail forward

• Seek to understand how your leadership reflects your own personal experiences – it may enable you to grow into a better leader

• Separate who you are from what you do to prepare for a job transition

Our conversation was more than a professional reflection – it was an honest conversation about how self-awareness, life experiences, and embracing opportunity can define your leadership success to achieve mission performance.

I hope you enjoy Sheronda’s guidance - please comment, repost or forward this conversation to help “pay it forward” to others who may benefit.

My recent conversation with Laurie Whitsel, National VP of Policy, Research, & Translation at the American Heart Association, was a reminder of how important personal connections and values are to our fulfillment and success.

In celebration of Women’s History Month, I sat down with Laurie to hear what three pieces of advice she has for women as they navigate today’s complex environment and drive our future of work. She and I discussed how personal connections and engagements can differentiate you in our digital environments, especially when you are applying for a new job. We discussed the value of advisors outside and within the organization you work. Last, she shared her perspective on the importance of a moral foundation.

As you will see throughout our conversation, Laurie is an exceptional role model for anyone aspiring to have a significant impact in their professional career as a researcher, policy expert, or educator. I am grateful to have had the privilege of collaborating with her and the American Heart Association team for many years.

Feel free to comment, repost or forward this conversation to help “pay it forward” to others who may benefit in hearing Laurie’s guidance.

#womenshistorymonth #womenleadership #wellbeing

“Be authentic, intentional about mentorships, and leverage support when taking on a challenging role” - Kate Fernandez

This is guidance from @KateFernandez, a friend and colleague who I was privileged to work alongside when I served as the first Chief Wellbeing Officer of the CIA. Kate was Director Bill Burn’s Chief of Staff and was critical to our Agency’s mission success. Our conversation is one that reflects truth, vulnerability, and respect – take a listen.

During Women’s History Month, I am sharing conversations I have had with women I have learned from, admire, and who serve as exceptional role models. Kate is one of these women. Kate’s job was incredibly demanding, and she was exceptional in her role - her strong leadership ensured my own success as CWO.

During our conversation, she shares three pieces of advice for women who aspire to be strong, resilient leaders at work and in life. Everyday women leaders, including Kate, are addressing today’s most urgent challenges and shaping the #futureofwork.

If Kate’s comments resonate with you, please comment, repost or forward this conversation to “pay it forward” to others who may benefit.

#WomensHistoryMonth #womenleadership #wellbeing

During my time in the private sector, I excelled working alongside high performers. Both Johnson & Johnson and Mayo Clinic, my employers prior to the CIA role, had impressive missions and were defined by their in-house expertise. Having a sense of purpose in my work was essential to my success and collaborating with experts from around the world was empowering. Equally as impactful was the bias for action I had experienced while working within these two incredible organizations.

A bias for action is a tendency to take action over inaction, particularly when uncertainty exists.

It is the opposite of “analysis paralysis” and a catalyst that drives progress over time. In my 27 years, I had seen how leaning towards action empowers teams to take risks, innovate and experiment. Learning to have a bias for action during times of uncertainty and change was foundational to my own success, as well as the teams I had led in my career.

Fast forward to my role as CWO within the premier intelligence agency of the world. This experience did not disappoint and solidified my understanding of the importance of having a bias for action. I had the opportunity to work alongside exceptional leaders who were responsible for ensuring our national security agenda while challenged daily with uncertainty, adversaries, and changing environments. When a bias for action is coupled with critical thinking and judgement, the mission at hand is achieved.

As an organizational psychologist focused on building cultures that drive peak performance through wellbeing, I was most impressed when leaders shared their decision-making rationale with team members. The impact on their workplace culture was tangible. A bias for action, combined with transparency and confidence enabled leaders to build trust and ensure clarity for all team members. Team members learned their leader’s tolerance for risk.

Throughout my career, I have learned that peak performance is achieved by leaders who have a bias for action and the judgement to ensure the speed accelerates trust, confidence, and clarity. With only speed, this is not the result. A leader’s decision-making approach directly impacts workplace culture and in every competitive environment, innovation is necessary to overcome challenges. Intuitive leaders have a bias for action and the necessary judgement to not only determine the best path forward, but also ensure their teams are on the path with them.

podcast. We talked about many things related to individual and organizational

wellbeing. Take a listen (clip below), and you’ll notice that one of the first things we

talked about was the importance of choice.

Individuals crave choice and autonomy. For many of us, when we define what

wellbeing looks like in our lives, this decision is quite personal. For some of us this

could be a combination of physical activities, spiritual practices, and social

engagements that make us feel fulfilled and satisfied in our lives. For others, this

could be ensuring our schedules allow for mental recovery, budgets enable

financial security, and relationships support emotional connection. Regardless,

wellbeing is personal and our needs change throughout our lives.

In my early twenties, my focus was on physical, social, and occupational wellbeing –

running was my passion, my friends were my epicenter, and I was discovering my

career path.

When I was raising young children, my big areas of focus shifted to emotional,

physical, and financial needs – the bonds with my three children redefined my

purpose, my physical strength was tested as a working mom with long days, and

finances were a priority to support my family.

As my children have grown into adulthood, my areas of focus are now spiritual,

mental, and physical – my faith has been tested as I have experienced loss, my

mental strength has enabled me to juggle priorities, and my physical health will

ensure top functioning later in life as I look ahead.

It is not that each area of wellbeing is not important to me, but rather there are

seasons of life that require a greater focus on some areas vs others to maintain

health, happiness and fulfillment.

Great employers recognize this personal journey and find that employees’ greatest

potential is unleashed when they are:

• Empowered to define their own wellbeing, based on their individual needs

• Provided with evidence-based, high-quality services, and benefits

• Supported by leaders through systems, processes and policies

If you are leader, know that wellbeing is personal for each individual and

empowering choice is critical to ensure workforce wellbeing fuels performance.

If you are an individual going through a new season in life, take the time to consider

which wellbeing area is worth your time and focus – a shift may be just what you

need to continue to reach your greatest potential.

To listen to my full conversation with Michael Obrien – the full episode can be found HERE

These habits define our leadership, legacy and relationships with colleagues, friends, and family.

High performers’ habits often become rituals. These rituals define who we are and can enable us to consistently achieve results. The highest of performers incorporate rituals that build mental, physical, emotional strength. These rituals not only become our lifestyle, but also shape our closest relationships.

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I remember growing up skiing with my father on weekends in the beautiful mountains of Southern Vermont. We would ride the chair lift together, talk about life and build our mental and physical strength as we skied down a challenging trail. For my Dad this was the ultimate recovery from a hard week at work – spending time with his family, skiing, and being in nature. Little did I know he was teaching me the art of impactful recovery to perform at my highest levels.

From an early age, my dad was training me in “performance tradecraft” – the methods and techniques used within our daily practices to build mental, physical and emotional strength. He taught me that our daily habits condition our bodies and minds to have the capacity to manage through uncertainty, disruption, and unexpected challenges.

In today’s environment, it is our consistent rituals that will determine our ability to navigate the changing environments.

• The 2026 SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) State of the Workforce study shows that 32% of workers rated employee experience, defined as a holistic approach to enhancing engagement and satisfaction, as the most critical area for HR departments to prioritize in 2026.

• Gallup reports that employee engagement data has been steadily declining since 2020, with only 31% of employees actively engaged in 2025.

These employee engagement data suggest that more organizations will be adding this new C-suite position to their senior executive team to solve this challenge.

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A CWO’s responsibility is to ensure workforce readiness, resilience and wellbeing to achieve the organization’s goals to achieve peak performance. In short, the CWO serves as every leader’s ally, ensuring leaders have data insights, guidance, and solutions to empower employees to perform at their best physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Responsible for identifying organizational actions and levers that can drive organizational performance and risk, the CWO identifies the organizational processes, systems, policies, environments, and behaviors that impact performance levels. In other words, the CWO is held accountable to ensure the organization effectively safeguards and optimizes workforce well-being to drive individual and organizational performance.

The job is uniquely different from other C-Suite members as the CWO’s area of focus is human performance, talent development, and risk mitigation to ensure workforce readiness, resilience and wellbeing. In most organizations, there is a tremendous opportunity for the CWO to enhance the efforts of a Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) because of the CWO’s focus on prevention and human performance. Serving as a partner to the CHRO and CMO, the CWO enables both the CHRO and CMO to capitalize on workforce wellbeing to ensure successful HR strategy execution and prevent workforce health risks.

Today’s environment is challenging business leaders to think differently, act differently, and solve differently. As an organizational psychologist who was honored to design and execute the workforce wellbeing strategy for the CIA workforce while serving as their inaugural Chief Wellbeing Officer, I can confidently say that when leaders integrate the science of wellbeing into business strategies the result is improved employee engagement, enhanced workplace culture and higher performance levels. It’s a win-win for everyone and one of the greatest opportunities for C-suites in 2026.

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I call this “intuitive leadership” - and it’s a practice worth sharing.

If we think of each leader’s decision as a pebble, the accumulation of these decisions become rolling hills, large mountains, or sharp cliffs. These hills, mountains or cliffs are what employees climb as they work within the environments we create.

Employees navigate the hills, mountains, and cliffs each day to perform, grow and develop into leaders who will contribute their own pebbles in time. Most importantly, it is from us, they are learning how to build hills, mountains, or cliffs.

As leaders, we can create rolling hills that empower employees to explore, grow, develop, and perform with ample space, flexibility, guidance, and support. Alternatively, we can build mountains with rough terrain, limited guidance or aid, and little time for recovery, reflection or solutioning. In the worst-case scenario, we build sharp cliffs that generate fear and stifle creativity, innovation and collaboration because it’s simply about surviving the day.

My experience working within the toughest, most competitive environments, has proven that intuitive leaders build hills through:

• Open & Real Conversations to Identify Barriers & Solutions

• Shared Responsibility & Accountability

• Trust, Respect & Fairness

When we build hills, we build cultures where employees can thrive and ensure we shape intuitive leaders for the future.

I guess there is a reason the Sound of Music was a favorite movie of mine!

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When I meet individuals who are curious about the CWO position, I usually share two questions I ask of employees so they can understand a bit more about the role:

1. What aspects of your work increase your stress levels, prohibit your growth, or prevent you from performing at peak levels?

2. What aspects of your work give you energy, enable you to perform at peak levels?

The conversation can last from 10 minutes to over an hour after I introduce these questions. I usually hear about work processes that are inefficient, governance required to gain approvals, poorly designed technology platforms, and leadership behavior. Regardless of where the conversation goes, the person is intrigued and wants to learn more because human beings are innately interested in performing well at work and in life.

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For most organizations, this conversation can be a first step in identifying what “matters most” to employees and identifying key priorities that the organization should consider if peak performance is the goal. When executed well, it’s a conversation that empowers leaders to think differently about internal risks, establish a baseline for organizational wellbeing, and explore a strategic approach.

There are many aspects of our work that prevent organizations from operating at peak performance. When we understand what drives the negative (stress, anxiety, frustration) and the positive (resilience, connection, and readiness), we will make better decisions. Intuitive leaders design work and cultures that drive business performance AND the wellbeing of employees to sustain peak performance levels.

What if you were the CWO of your organization, what would you address first?

Wellbeing touches every aspect of an organization, and our decisions impact how employees approach their work, relationships with others, when/how they seek support, how they support their colleagues, life decisions, and the list goes on.

These decisions start at the top, cascade to all levels of leadership and impact lives. When a leader learns this, organizational wellbeing becomes their competitive advantage.

When a C-suite prioritizes wellbeing, their decisions define a people-first culture, shape the ethos of leadership, and drive performance. They ignite individual wellbeing and grow workplace communities that thrive.

Think of the BEST leader you have worked for, and their approach to decision making – how did it impact your mindset, performance, and decisions?

As leaders, we are responsible for creating systems and cultures where high performers achieve our organizational goals without compromising their wellbeing in the process.

Over four decades of research pioneered by Dr. Robert Eisenberger proves this truth - when employees believe their organization values and cares about their wellbeing, their efforts and commitment drive every desired business outcome leaders are chasing – performance, productivity, retention, employee satisfaction, etc. It’s a simple and powerful truth that empowers leaders to stop chasing and start intentionally making decisions that focus on wellbeing to achieve performance.

As our environments become increasingly complex, making decisions that build systems and practices that prioritize our wellbeing will be the defining art of leadership. I call this Intuitive Leadership.

One of the most important responsibilities I had as the Chief Wellbeing Officer (CWO) at the CIA was to serve as an ally to exceptional leaders. As CWO, my responsibility was to provide leaders with data-driven insights that empowered a leader in the areas that “mattered most” to their workforce. We called this #performancetradecraft.

In the world of intelligence, tradecraft is the art of mastering the skills needed to successfully achieve mission. It’s a never-ending process because the environment is constantly changing around you. When you focus on mastering the art of #performancetradecraft, you are focusing on the:

— Skills needed to perform at peak levels

— Daily practices that build physical, mental, emotional strength

— Relationships that ignite collaboration, strengths, and innovation

A leader’s responsibility is to integrate #performancetradecraft into business strategy to drive performance. When a leader has data insights on the drivers (“pain points”) to reduce the barriers, mitigate the risks, identify untapped opportunities, and upskill their workforce, they can take the action needed to outperform their adversaries. As a result, leaders, teams and organizations are more successful in achieving their mission.

What C-suite do you know that is integrating #performancetradecraft in their leadership strategy?

• Bridging Organizational Mission & Employee Value – #Purpose is the foundation of individual and organizational success. Ensuring the organization’s mission, priorities and values are clear, guide decision-making, and serve as the foundation for the constantly evolving employer-employee relationship will be critically important for organizations this year. PREDICTION - the “Winners of 2026” will prioritize organizational wellbeing in their 2026 strategy, holding themselves accountable to addressing employee pain points. Executing with clear purpose, priorities and goals that bridge organizational mission and employee value is essential during significant times of change.

• Right-Sizing HR Strategy – An effective #humanresourcestrategy impacts each facet of individual and organizational performance. With AI redefining how we operationalize and execute these strategies, the greatest opportunity will be to ensure our systems and processes drive #humanperformance. PREDICTION - Organizations that leverage the AI revolution to enhance their strategic relationship with employees, addressing the systems and processes that drive human performance risks will be poised for exponential growth. #humanperformance is each and every leader’s responsibility.

• Cultures will Change – The dynamic between #Humans+Machine is evolving daily through leader decisions. These decisions shape strategies, communications, innovation investments, and collaboration relationships. Employees at every level are observing, listening, and most importantly experiencing these decisions in “real time.” Cultures are changing as a result, both within our workplaces and in our personal lives. PREDICTION - Organizations that prioritize the AI-People relationship in strategy development and execution will shape stronger workplace cultures and empower employees with the security they need to master their personal lives.

The climate is ripe for organizations to leverage the disruption – the time is now for leaders to prioritize organizational wellbeing to ensure #peakperformance and to #mitigaterisk. Do you agree or disagree with these predictions? Are there any additional trends that you are watching closely?

If you find this post insightful, please follow me for more tips or drop a like and comment below. I would love to hear from you! Please continue to watch this space and visit www.drjenniferposa.com for more information.

Be well – and thanks for helping me to ignite this conversation!

#performance #organizationalwellbeing #intuitiveleadership #wellbeing

This was the hardest decision I have had to make in my career, best decision I have ever made for my family, and smartest decision I made as a professional. I am stronger and have a greater perspective as a result.

What’s next in 2026? I am launching a new business that will allow me to share insights from my past three decades of work as an organizational psychologist working at the intersection of Psychology, Business Strategy, and Wellbeing – the trifecta of what enables high performing leaders and organizations to sustain growth, resilience and readiness.

2026 will demand growth, resilience and readiness from all of us. My new venture will allow me to bring expertise, learnings, practical insights and personal experiences to high performers, business leaders and forward-thinking organizations. My goal is to increase the number of C-suite leaders prioritizing organizational wellbeing to achieve business results.

Let’s transform workplace dynamics and achieve peak performance together – as individuals, organizations, and communities.

Please DM me if you are interested in learning more or simply sign up for my newsletter HERE

#organizationalpsychology #peakperformance #wellbeing #intuitiveleadership