Mental Health Isn’t a Buzzword. It’s a Leadership Blueprint
We love to talk about innovation, culture, vision, but too many leaders are silent about the one thing that makes it all possible: mental health. May is Mental Health Awareness Month. And let me be real with you, it’s not about vanity metrics or brand-safe statements. It’s about leadership. Because the most important part of your business walks in the door every day with a full mind and a heavy heart. And if you’re not paying attention to that, you’re not leading. You’re just managing.
Culture doesn’t break in one big moment; it erodes when we ignore the everyday cracks.
When It’s Personal, It’s Different
Mental health awareness hits different when it’s not a talking point but part of your daily reality. My family has faced some of the hardest versions of this, severe anxiety, depression, PTSD. These aren’t stories from a distance. I’ve seen what it looks like up close. And I’ve felt the helplessness that comes with it.
Living in Texas, raising two teenagers in 2025, this isn’t a trend. It’s a truth. The pressure they face now, the isolation, the performance anxiety, the quiet battles behind those always-on screens, it’s unlike anything we dealt with growing up. And here’s what keeps me up at night: the systems we build as leaders right now are the ones they’ll inherit.
This is not fine. For us. For our teams. For our kids. From leadership to culture to everyday life, living in a constant state of mental distress should not be normalized. Unfortunately, this is the reality for 1 in 5 adults in the US experiencing mental illness each year. If your company isn’t mentally healthy, it’s not future-ready, no matter how good the numbers look.
The Leadership Blind Spot: You Can’t Automate Empathy, But You Can Lead with It
We’ve glamorized hustle culture. Worshipped perfection. And quietly taught our teams that burnout is just the price of ambition. But let’s be honest: most workplace mental health efforts are surface level. A meditation app here. A Slack channel there. Maybe a once-a-year speaker. That’s not a solution. That’s a Band-Aid.
What we really need is a mindset shift: Mental health is infrastructure. It’s the foundation of trust, communication, creativity, everything that makes teams perform at their best. Mindful leadership is now labeled the ultimate corporate advantage. That’s nice, but it’s more than an “edge.” It’s survival. And your people know it. A Harris poll revealed that nearly 9 in 10 employees report widespread stress and anxiety impacting their industries. Here’s what your team actually needs from you:
🔵 Normalize real conversations. When you’re honest, they feel safe to be.
🔵 Build recovery into the system. People aren’t machines, they need cycles of rest, not just grind.
🔵 Train your managers on emotional intelligence. It’s not optional. It’s core leadership.
🔵 Check your incentives. If the only people rewarded are the ones who never stop working, you’re promoting dysfunction.
🔵 Make mental health part of onboarding. Set the tone from day one. This is who we are.
You can’t build a high-performing, happy company on the backs of a stressed-out workforce. It’s like building a house on sand; the cracks will show. The same is true at home for the next generation of leaders. If today’s leaders lack emotional intelligence, what future are we even building?
The Next Generation is Watching
My kids are watching me. Your team is watching you. And whether you realize it or not, they’re learning what leadership means by how you respond to pressure, vulnerability, and failure. Mental health isn’t just an individual issue, it’s generational. And we’ve got to ask ourselves:
Are we building a culture that helps our kids, and our teams thrive, or just one that teaches them to survive?
Because the next wave of leaders isn’t just looking for strategy. They’re looking for spaces where it’s okay to be human. The workplace of the future is being modeled at your dinner table right now.
My Personal Struggle: When Everything Looked Right, But Felt Wrong
I spent years building businesses that looked like success on paper: High revenue, big impact, massive ad spend numbers that made people say “wow”. But I was empty, and I was the guy behind the curtain pushing billions of impressions for companies like MySpace and Google and yet I didn’t even feel seen in my own life.
That’s the lie no one warns you about in entrepreneurship. The more you chase external validation, the more disconnected you become from your internal reality. I kept pushing. Building. Scaling. Until my first marriage collapsed. Until my body started showing signs of burnout I couldn’t ignore. Until I realized that balance wasn’t just hard, it was a lie.
2015 Josh thought he knew better, and now 2025 Josh just wants to hug him and say, we made it out buddy.
That’s why I wrote Balance is Bullsh*t, because I needed to tell the truth, I wish someone had told me: That mental health is the foundation of everything, that being on 24/7 is the fastest way to break something that actually matters, that your worth isn’t tied to your calendar or cash flow. And that your people, your team, your family, your future self, need you present, not perfect.
“I used to think balance was about managing time. What I learned the hard way is that it’s about managing energy, your relationships, your boundaries, and your truth.” — Balance is Bullsh*t, Joshua B. Lee
It’s easy to succeed by the world’s standards and still be silently drowning. That’s why I lead with humanity first.
Where to Start: A Personal Challenge
I’m asking you to move beyond awareness and into action. Not someday. Now. Start by looking in the mirror. What kind of leader are you really?
Here’s how to make mental health a part of your leadership DNA:
🔵 Don’t just say “my door is open.” Walk through theirs.
🔵 Ask, “What’s something you’re carrying that I don’t see?”
🔵 Be okay not having the answers. Sometimes presence is the most powerful solution.
🔵 Share your own story when appropriate. Vulnerability from the top creates space for everyone else.
🔵 Audit your calendar. Are you scheduling burnout or building space for breath?
Your team doesn’t need a superhero. They need a human who gives a damn. Mental health isn’t a marketing message. It’s a leadership imperative. If we want to build businesses that last and leave legacies we’re proud of, we have to get serious about this, not once a year, but every day. Because the culture we create isn’t just a reflection of our values. It’s a roadmap for the people who come next.
* I am not a doctor or a therapist, but if you are suicidal or in emotional distress, consider using the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Call or text 988 or start a chat online to connect with a trained crisis counselor. The Lifeline provides 24-hour, confidential support to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.
ICYMI 🎙️🎧
One year later and this conversation with ✨ Charles Cormier on the CEO Wisdom Podcast still lands heavier than ever. Back in 2024, we peeled back the layers on burnout, the illusion of balance, and the mental health realities behind the scenes of building businesses.
That episode still matters today, especially during Mental Health Awareness Month. The hustle hasn’t slowed. Burnout is still real. And the lessons we shared then are more urgent than ever for leaders in 2025.
Key takeaway that still resonates:
“We glorify the grind until it grinds us down. Leadership isn’t about being everywhere at once, it’s about being present where it matters most.”
A huge thank you to Charles Cormier for holding space and leading with candor. One year later, the impact continues and it’s changing the way leaders think and act.