What You Eat Is How You Lead

In an age where leaders are being asked to navigate the uncharted, the connection between what nourishes us and how we show up has never been more important - or more overlooked.

Today’s leaders are facing challenges that require courage, not certainty. With systems cracking under pressure, the world is offering fewer maps and more compasses. We’re making decisions with less data, adapting rapidly to unknown unknowns, and leaning heavily on judgment, instinct, and emotional clarity. In that context, the quality of a leader’s presence - how they think, feel, decide, and respond - becomes the most critical lever for effective leadership.

What’s emerging in both science and practice is this: the body is not separate from leadership. And more specifically, what we eat may be influencing not just our physical health, but our cognitive resilience, focus, and decision-making capacity.

The Microbiome and the “Second Brain”

Recent research into the microbiome - the trillions of bacteria that live in our gut - has revealed that this internal ecosystem profoundly shapes our mood, mental clarity, and ability to focus. Often referred to as the second brain, the gut is home to neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which play a key role in emotional regulation and cognitive function.

This isn’t fringe science anymore. A disrupted or poorly nourished microbiome - common among busy, overextended professionals - can contribute to brain fog, low-grade anxiety, poor sleep, and reduced cognitive flexibility. In other words: it makes good leadership harder.

From Desert to Garden

We often use the metaphor of soil when working with leaders. A well-tended internal ecosystem is like fertile soil - rich, alive, and capable of nourishing thoughtful, grounded action. But many leaders are running on depleted reserves. Their internal “soil” resembles a desert - stripped of nutrients, lacking biodiversity, and unable to support sustained attention or deep insight.

If we want to lead well - especially in times of complexity - we must first restore the soil.

And how do we do that? Just like in agriculture, we add what’s missing. We replenish. We reintroduce the building blocks of health: whole foods, fibre, fermented foods, water, rest, and movement. Over time, this creates the conditions for clarity, emotional regulation, and sustained attention to flourish.

A Holistic Approach to Leadership

At the heart of our leadership development work - whether one-to-one or with executive teams - is a recognition that leadership doesn’t start in the boardroom.

It starts in the body.

We don’t separate gut health from strategic clarity. We don’t separate what’s on your plate from what’s on your agenda. When leaders tend to their internal ecology, they make better decisions - not just because they feel better, but because they think better, see more clearly, and respond more creatively.

So next time you’re facing a tough decision, ask yourself:

What am I feeding the system that’s about to make this call?

Because in the end, what you eat is how you lead.