Leading with Care: The quiet revolution of aligned leadership

Reflections for International Self-Care Day…

I used to think of self-care as something I earned at the end of a long week travelling for business, pushing through, showing up, a reward for holding it all together.

But the more I’ve coached leaders and walked the leadership path myself, the more I’ve come to see self-care not as something you retreat to, but something you lead with.

Because when self-care is truly embedded in how we lead, it becomes a quiet kind of power. A presence. A steady, intentional rhythm that influences how we decide, how we connect, and how we build cultures around us that feel motivated through appreciation.

A resilient leader isn’t one who bounces back when they’re already depleted, they're the one who builds in care as a core operating principle.

Here’s what that can look like, not as a checklist, but as a lived practice:

• Pacing leadership like you would a healthy supply chain, not just racing forward, but allowing space to breathe, reflect, and realign with what truly matters.

• Knowing your internal signals as well as you know your data by tuning into your head, heart, and gut to make aligned decisions that don’t cost your wellbeing.

• Bringing care into your team culture, because when care is part of how we lead, not just something we talk about, everyone feels it.

When we design self-care into how we lead, we reduce the need to escape. We become more resourceful, more present, more grounded, more impactful.

Today, on International Self-Care Day I’m inviting you to pause and ask:

✨ How would you feel leading from a place of care rather than exhaustion?

✨ What would you change if your wellbeing was non-negotiable?

Because being in alignment with caring for yourself isn't a side note to leadership, it’s the very heart of it 💜

Mandy Deakin-Snell

Executive Coach | Supply Chain Advisor | Alignment Advocate |Speaker

thealignmentcoach.com