By Joy King, 2025 President, Women’s Health Leadership TRUST
Health care professionals are often focused on caring for others. We aim to balance caring for patients, employees and family members, which plays out daily in a “rinse and repeat” format until we burn out. Then we take a vacation, only to check email, log in to virtual meetings and take calls when we should be taking in the sights and sounds of our destination.
As women leaders, our health and happiness are not a luxury; they are a strategic operating system for how we lead and sustain impact on multiple fronts. I’ve learned when we protect our energy, we make better decisions and think more creatively. And yes, we model what healthy looks like for our teams, families and communities.
I encourage fellow women leaders to embrace a few practical—and non-negotiable—elements to stay focused on our overall success:
- Boundaries as policy. If everything is urgent, nothing is strategic. Protect your time for diving into the work as well as time for resting. And don’t apologize for focusing on your health.
- Small restful moments. Take just a few minutes to breathe and stretch before jumping into a new meeting. This micro-break can improve your clarity and the quality of your next meeting.
- Delegate work early. Delegation is a sign of trust and a pathway of growth for others. Perfectionists may struggle with delegating work; start small and learn to celebrate the victories of others, not just your own.
Another way to lean into your happiness and leadership growth is with the TRUST Leadership Retreat, November 6-7, at the historic Confluence Hotel in downtown Hastings. Over 1.5 days, the Retreat will offer a variety of opportunities to recharge and ignite your leadership journey with women who understand the weight on your shoulders and the mission that drives you.
At the TRUST Leadership Retreat, you can expect:
- Four powerful sessions led by Minnesota voices who blend empathy and practical tools for leading with steadiness.
- Purposeful connection through small-group conversations, networking and a local service project, because giving back also fills us up.
- Restorative experiences like complimentary Code Lavender mini-sessions, candlelight yoga on night one, and energizing morning movement on day two.
- Real-world takeaways you can bring back to your teams: cadence resets, language for boundaries, and strategies for sustaining momentum without self-sacrifice.
I invite women across the health care ecosystem—clinical and administrative, emerging and executive leaders—to attend the Retreat and invest in their leadership as a shared practice, not a solo project. If you have told yourself you will slow down at the end of the year, consider this your nudge. Your presence matters. Your peace matters. The people you lead will benefit when you return centered, clearer and more yourself.
Joy King serves as the 2025 TRUST President and is the CEO of the Animal Humane Society (AHS), one of the nation’s leading animal welfare organizations. Prior to AHS, Joy spent nine years at NMDP (formerly the National Marrow Donor Program and Be the Match), where she was Chief Advancement Officer and Executive Director of the NMDP Foundation. Joy spent 16 years in leadership roles at the American Cancer Society, ultimately serving as Senior Vice President of Operations for the organization’s Midwest division. Joy has served on the board of Kappa Delta Chi Sorority Inc.’s Emerald Foundation and Jeremiah Program. She has been recognized by the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal as a 2015 Women in Business, Twin Cities Business Magazine’s Best In Class Healthcare Executives, Greenspring’s 500 Most Powerful Business Leaders in Minnesota, and Marquis Who’s Who Top Executives.