Belly Fat? Blame your CEO

Is your CEO the reason you have belly fat?

Intriguing question and I’m not talking about stress eating.

Company culture is built by the CEO. That person’s personality and values have a huge impact on how an organization functions and your employee experience.

Recently, I learned that your health is also impacted by your CEO.

Turns out that a CEO with high cortisol levels transmits that stress to others in the company. High cortisol levels lead to a number of serious health challenges including hard to lose belly fat, according to Dr Tara Swart Bieber, a neuroscientist.

Yeah, I’m a brain nerd. Understanding neuroscience made me a better Ombuds and marketer.

Dr. Swart Beiber had a fascinating origin story. Traders were dropping dead from heart attacks on the trading floor and she was tasked to discover why. Listen to the podcast for the answer. I’ll drop the link in the comments.

We are physiologically connected to each other. Whether we believe that our bodies communicate to each other or not, the actually do. We unconsciously communicate and influence each other all the time.

Fun facts!

🧠 Your brain has more influence over your health and happiness than you think. You can imagine stronger muscles and get them!

🔥 Stress leaks through the skin. A stressed CEO in a fast- paced environment can increase cortisol levels in others.

👯‍♀️You tend to grow like the 5 people you spend the most time with. If a friend in your group gets divorced, you’re more likely to divorce in the next year.

✅ Understanding neuroplasticity allows you to retrain your brain to reinterpret your reaction to stress.

I talk a lot about organizational health. Typically, that means creating a healthy, not toxic, environment that’s psychologically safe and trusting.

Now I understand that the concept extends to your physical health far beyond the usual warnings. An unhealthy company can actual lead to your death.

Did you know there’s a Japanese word for ‘sudden death by overwork’-karoshi?

I see this as an opportunity for fast-paced industries like tech and private equity to reconsider their culture and create new ways of working that encourage innovation AND health.

What do you think? Is this too weird or woo-woo? Could work be more zen?