Our members are some of the most innovative leaders, owners, and founders running companies today. This series shines a spotlight on their unique approaches to leadership and well-being.
Q: What, from your perspective, are the most pressing challenges facing executives today in terms of well-being?
Sunny: Busy executives can easily get caught up in work with the day extending into evenings and weekends. Lack of sleep and stress are an outgrowth of taking ownership as a leader, increasing the chance of C-suite burn out—especially when an unexpected personal or family issue arises. It is crucial for CEOs, especially those scaling their companies, to prioritize self-care. I have always believed that a person is only as good as the five closest people around them. This notion of having a true sustainable circle of support applies to multiple facets of life.
For business, I have advisors such as my ExecuThrive Thrive Guide, an emotional intelligence coach, peer mentors, and an advisory board representing every aspect of my client base. The same goes for personal life. To find true joy, CEOs must maintain friendships with people who can serve as confidants, cheerleaders, and truth tellers when they see you burning out. Finally, we need a circle of support for our health that could include a concierge doctor, nutritionist, fitness expert, counselor or psychologist, and subject matter experts or instructors for continuous learning.
Q: What is your personal philosophy about the intersection between wellbeing and leadership performance?
Sunny: When it comes to wellbeing, I focus my efforts to allow for a mind-body-spirit connection. I make it part of my world as a leader like any other strategic goal. That means putting healthy eating, working out, and fueling my mind on my calendar. It is important to be realistic about what type of wellness routine is sustainable (instead of taking on too much or agreeing to wellness fads that can be easily ditched like a new year’s resolution).
In support of this, I have built wellness into company culture so that it aligns with the Xavier Creative value proposition. If you want to build a healthy brand, hire a healthy agency.
Finally, as an achiever, I measure wellness as a contributor to my performance—from my service to customers to the example I set for the team. This means I have to be as strategic about doing what works for me as I would in identifying what generates performance in my life at work. This is what led me to join ExecuThrive, which uses my own self- learning data to keep optimizing and providing more innovative wellness solutions to meet my needs.
Q: What evolution is needed to ensure our c-suite leaders are equipped for the future (this can include either personal growth and evolution, training/up-skilling, or a broader system change).
Sunny: Incorporating wellbeing into the agency culture has allowed me to put a systematic sustainable process around myself that fills a lot of the gaps and makes sense. I have learned that it must be personalized so each member of my leadership team has the flexibility to create their own system that is purposeful and built in to their day-to-day routine. [SM2]
Part of prioritizing wellness is funding the objectives like any other business line—with a dedicated budget to create the means that empower our leaders to do the work and figure out how to take care of their mind-body-spirit health. Our role as leaders is to allow the flexibility for each person to choose a system that is manageable so it will be sustainable. When we set the leadership team up for success, they have a model to repeat that process for their staff.
Q: What advice would you give to other leaders that are looking to improve the well-being of their teams?
Sunny: I believe when people are well in mind, body and spirit, they show up as the best version of themselves. To really understand how wellness manifests for the team, consider the needs of employees as individuals instead of assuming a one-size-fits all mentality. At Xavier Creative, we brought in a Director of Wellness in 2020 to ensure that every member of the team could discover their own path to well-being. While we used to offer weekly 45-minute virtual workouts, feedback showed that shorter more frequent 15–20-minute pop-ups were better received. We also offer a quarterly wellness stipend and annually survey the team to update the benefits package. Based on what our employees need, we have significantly enhanced the diversity of the benefits we offer.
About Sunny White
At the helm of Xavier Creative House (XCH), Sunny Beth White enlists a positive, candid, and empathetic style, to develop enduring relationships that lay the foundation for long-term success and mutual growth with clients. XCH is an agile healthcare marketing agency specializing in pharmaceutical, biotech, med tech and medical device. The talented team of brand builders, healthcare marketers, tech-savvy go-getters, and innovative dream-vetters relentlessly explore solutions for clients with the expertise, agility, and critical eye required to make a meaningful impression on patients and healthcare providers. XCH brand strategies influence the behaviors of patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals (HCPs).
About Xavier Creative
For over a decade, Xavier Creative House (XCH) has been a dedicated player in the healthcare marketing industry. We have always stood out as a women-owned B-Corp agency with sharp insights, exceptional work, and high client satisfaction. Our experience has taught us that what we have is special – and something our clients notice. While others may boast about their “out-of-the-box ideas” and “purpose-driven teams,” we believe those are the basic requirements to be here. What makes XCH unique is our relentless pursuit of possibility, powered by unmatched energy, expertise across therapeutic areas, creativity, and a genuine desire to make a real difference in the world. We specialize in uncovering hidden, ground-breaking strategic marketing opportunities, constantly challenging the status quo by asking ourselves, “What else is possible?” Our 100% virtual business model gives us a competitive advantage, allowing us to quickly assemble superior teams with broad and deep experience to address the specific needs of each project. These teams are formed from both internal experts and experts from our Talent Intelligence Network™, ensuring that we never suffer from the “staleness” that our competitors often exhibit over time. We are experts at balancing creative vision with data-driven decisions, and our work is always measurable, analyzable, refinable, and adaptable. At Xavier Creative House, we understand that people depend on us to make informed, accurate, and safe decisions. Our commitment to transparency and trust makes us the perfect partner for those looking to make their greatest impact.
