Leading in a Pressure Cooker: Women's Health & Sustainable Leadership

On 17th June, we hosted our latest webinar, Leading in a Pressure Cooker: Women's Health & Sustainable Leadership, bringing together experts from across leadership, health and wellbeing to explore the realities women face in the workplace and how organisations can better support sustainable leadership.

Hosted by Julie Tague, the session explored topics including women's health, stress and burnout, leadership resilience, workplace culture and the importance of creating environments where people can thrive as their authentic selves.

Meet the Speakers

Linda Johnstone

Linda shared her personal experience of living and leading with endometriosis and adenomyosis, discussing the challenges many women face in balancing their health with career progression.

She explored the importance of psychological safety in the workplace, finding the confidence to speak openly about women's health, and how understanding cyclical energy patterns can help women lead more sustainably.

One of the key themes from Linda's discussion was the importance of authenticity and recognising that leadership is not an endurance test, but a practice of consistency, self-awareness and setting healthy boundaries.

Hannah O'Leary

Drawing on her work in the women's health and hormone space, Hannah discussed the impact that hormonal health can have on performance, wellbeing and leadership.

She highlighted the importance of managing energy rather than simply managing time, encouraging leaders to prioritise recovery, establish boundaries and create sustainable ways of working that support long-term success.

Hannah also explored how organisations can better support employees experiencing hormonal challenges and why greater awareness can benefit both individuals and businesses alike.

Melina James

Founder of The Breath People, Melina shared her powerful personal journey from military aviation to becoming a specialist in breathwork and nervous system regulation.

Her session focused on the relationship between stress, performance and burnout, explaining how chronic stress impacts the body and why understanding our physiological responses is essential for sustainable leadership.

Melina demonstrated how breath can act as both a reflector and regulator, helping individuals recognise stress earlier and build practical tools for resilience and recovery.

Key Takeaways

Throughout the discussion, several themes emerged:

• Sustainable leadership starts with self-awareness.

• Managing energy is just as important as managing time.

• Psychological safety enables people to bring their authentic selves to work.

• Women's health should be openly discussed rather than hidden.

• Small daily rituals and recovery practices can have a significant impact on wellbeing.

• Prevention and early intervention are often more effective than responding after burnout occurs.

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Most importantly, the panel highlighted the value of creating workplace cultures where people feel supported, understood and empowered to lead in ways that are sustainable for them.

Watch the Recording

If you were unable to join us live, you can still catch the full discussion.

Click here to download the webinar recording - simply fill out the form and you will receive a link to the full webinar.

We'd like to thank Julie, Linda, Hannah and Melina for sharing their expertise and experiences, and everyone who joined us for what was an insightful and thought-provoking conversation.