Part 1: Inner Voice, Outer Wellness, with LaTanya Langley

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What happens when career success comes at the cost of your health? LaTanya Langley, Chief People and Legal Officer at Edgewell Personal Care, discovered the answer when she "went to sleep fine and woke up paralyzed." Her journey from devastating neurological crisis to passionate wellness advocate offers crucial lessons for today's leaders.

After years of relentless travel and endless meetings, LaTanya's body finally rebelled. The year-long recovery process—relearning to walk and speak—didn't just transform her leadership approach; it revolutionized her entire life philosophy. Now she helps other executives avoid the same painful wake-up call.

Sound familiar? You're not alone. High-achieving professionals everywhere are asking, "Is this all there is?" as they grapple with exhaustion, family disconnection, and the unique stressors of leadership positions.

The solution isn't working less—it's working mindfully. In this episode, you'll discover practical strategies for integrating wellness into your leadership style without sacrificing performance or ambition. Learn how small, intentional shifts in your daily routine can create profound changes in your energy, decision-making, and overall life satisfaction.

Ready to transform your team's approach to leadership and life? Book a custom Mindful in 5 training session and give your employees the tools to thrive professionally without sacrificing their wellbeing. Because sustainable success starts with sustainable leaders.

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Episode Transcript

James@DiscovertheVoice (00:03):
Do you long to feel more joy in work
and life?
Do you want to reduce stressand sleep better?
Are you looking for healthyways to cope?
Join Speedway Jefferson,certified mindfulness
practitioner and lawyer, andlearn to operate from your
peaceful path.
Harness the power ofmindfulness meditation to feel

(00:26):
softer, more clear, supportedand cheerful, starting with just
five minutes a day.

Spiwe Jefferson (00:40):
Well, hello there, thriving leaders.
Today is a very special day atMindful in 5 because we have a
very special guest here tounpack our topic on inner voice,
outer wellness.
Latanya Langley serves as thechief people and legal officer

(01:02):
and corporate secretary atEdgewell Personal Care, where
she leads the human resourcesand legal functions.
In this capacity, she isresponsible for overseeing the
company's compliance program,litigation and disputes,
intellectual propertycontracting, and for providing

(01:23):
legal counsel relating to allregulatory, sales and marketing.
It's a big role.
As the head of the global HRfunction, she leads a strategic
agenda that supports thecompany's global employees by
driving growth, building anddeveloping capabilities leading

(01:44):
through change, nurturingculture and delivering
innovative people solutions.
Latanya earned her JurisDoctorate from the University of
Connecticut School of Law,where she currently serves as an
adjunct professor, and in fact,latanya invited me to teach a

(02:06):
prompt engineering course to herstudents.
And, you know, in anenvironment where schools at all
levels are grappling withwhether to position the use of
AI as a game-changing,supportive tool or dismiss it as
cheating, I consider both herand UConn as cutting-edge

(02:26):
leaders in arming their studentswith inescapable advantages
that will differentiate them asthey go out into the workforce.
Well-being is deeply personalfor LaTanya, because she has
witnessed firsthand thetransformative effects it can

(02:47):
have on individuals andorganizations.
She also knows firsthand howwell-being initiatives enhance
employee satisfaction,productivity and overall company
culture.
Latanya, welcome to Mindful in5.
We have been on a journeytogether for quite some time now

(03:09):
, so I would love for you toshare with the listeners and the
viewers what you would likethem to know about you.

LaTanya Langley (03:18):
Wow, okay.
Well, I am a wife, a mom, alegal and HR professional,
dedicated to wellness andcommitted to empowering others.
My journey is one of resilience, leadership and a deep sense of
purpose.
Through my work and words as awellness advocate, I offer

(03:44):
valuable lessons for anyonelooking to balance the demands
of high stakes careers with theneed for personal well-being,
and I guide others towards amore mindful, balanced and
fulfilling life.

Spiwe Jefferson (03:59):
Okay, that's a lot of hats that you wear.
So you and I have talked aboutwellness and how it's impacted
our work and our busy lives thebusy lives of successful leaders
and busy professionals like us,and many of our friends and
colleagues as well.

(04:20):
So share with us why thisparticular topic is so important
to you particular topic is soimportant to you.

LaTanya Langley (04:26):
Well, you know, as an executive, you know
wellness is crucial to mebecause it directly impacts my
ability to lead effectively andsustainably.

(04:51):
I have been throughlife-altering physical and
mental challenges that were theresult of me not prioritizing my
wellness, and so I know all toowell what the consequences look
like and feel like.
Maintaining wellness ensuresthat I can perform at my best,
make sound decisions and inspiremy teams.

(05:11):
Furthermore, by prioritizing myown well-being, I can set an
example for others in theorganization and beyond by
promoting a culture of healthand balance that benefits
everyone.
As an executive, wellness iscrucial to me because it
directly impacts my ability tolead effectively and sustainably

(05:33):
.
The demands of a high-stakescareer often comes with
significant stress and longhours, which can take a toll on
both physical and mental health.
I personally have been throughlife-altering physical and
mental health.
I personally have been throughlife altering physical and
mental challenges that were theresult of me not prioritizing my

(05:54):
wellness, and so I know all toowell what the consequences look
like and feel like.
Maintaining wellness ensuresthat I can perform at my best,
make sound decisions and inspiremy teams.
Furthermore, by prioritizing myown well-being, I can set an
example for others in theorganization and beyond, by

(06:17):
promoting a culture of healthand balance that benefits
everyone.

Spiwe Jefferson (06:21):
Okay.
So, since you said that it begsthe question, do you want to
share a little bit about thechallenges that you have
experienced?
Because the thing that you andI know being surrounded by other
people like us is that you arenot alone in this experience,

(06:41):
and I'm guessing there'll bepeople who are watching this
going.
Oh yeah, I can totally relateto that.
So tell us as much as you'recomfortable sharing.
Tell us what that looked likefor you.

LaTanya Langley (06:51):
Yeah.
So, as I mentioned, well-beingis deeply personal for me
because I've witnessed firsthandthe transformative effects that
it can have on individuals.
I personally had a neurologicalcondition that had profound
effects on various aspects of mylife.

(07:12):
You know this was a time whereI was traveling about 95% of the
time internationally.
I lived on planes, I was atevery you know events, on every
panel.
I was at what I thought was thepeak of my professional journey
and then one day it all juststopped and I lost most of my

(07:39):
neurological functions in that Ibecame fully paralyzed.
I woke up, I went to sleep fineand woke up paralyzed, and so I
spent the next year trying toregain my mobility, trying to
learn how to speak.

(08:00):
I had occupational therapy,physical therapy, and that
neurological condition reallyhad profound effects on my life,
including my mental, my social,emotional and physical
well-being.
Fully recovered, that it wouldbecome a mission of mine to

(08:31):
understand these impacts onothers and help provide others
with support and resources andcommunity.
And so you know, living throughthis, this really traumatic,
life-changing experience, wasreally.
You know, life-changingexperience was really.
You know I turned my mess intomy message and was able to

(08:53):
really impact company, cultureand others who may be
experiencing, you know,challenges with trying to
balance, you know, well-beingwith their professional careers.
Wow.

Spiwe Jefferson (09:02):
So this dovetails into the experience
that we had years ago Now it'sover a decade ago, and you and I
founded this essentially a leanin circle for Black Female
General Counsel and they were,all you know, relatively new to
their roles on purpose becausewe wanted to provide that level

(09:26):
of support for new in-house GCsat that level and I was a deputy
general counsel at the time andI felt like quite the imposter
in the room and we did thisvirtual check-in where everybody
just got to talk about how theywere doing and I thought that

(09:47):
what I was going to hear was Ihave arrived, I have reached the
pinnacle of my career.
This is outstanding because,you know, general Counsel Cielo
is about as high as you can goin when you're an in-house
lawyer.
So I'm expecting these you know, amazing women to be just
living their best lives.

(10:08):
And what we heard around thattable too often was I'm
exhausted.
I am working 16-hour days, justlike what you just said.
I haven't had a real date withmy husband in forever.
My kids barely know who I amanymore.

(10:28):
Is this all there is?
And I suspect that there are alot of leaders who get to that
brass ring whatever it is forthem and they just assume that
I'm going to be in this placewhere it's going to be so
amazing, and they get there andit's like actually, you know,

(10:50):
it's a lot of responsibility andit's a lot of work.
And so I wonder you'vedescribed your own experience.
So I wonder you've describedyour own experience?
Have you observed this kind ofexperience beyond even our
circle of GCs that we weretalking to?

LaTanya Langley (11:08):
Oh, absolutely.
And I would like to mention,you know, this vision that you
and I came up with to evencreate this lean in circle was
really life changing because ithelped us to really support each
other and to just know andconfirm that.
You know, while on the outsidewe may appear to be super women,

(11:32):
we really needed each other forsupport when we, you know, on
the inside.
So it was really really anamazing circle that was created
and I thank you for your visionand helping to continue the
dream of having a safe space forsisters to come together.

(11:55):
But, you know, being anexecutive, that comes with a
myriad of responsibilities,challenges and expectations, you
know.
And while these positions areaccompanied with prestige and
respect, it's also laden withsignificant stressors that you
mentioned, you know, and thatimpacts one's physical, mental

(12:15):
and emotional well-being.
You know there's high stakes,decision making, long working
hours, high expectations fromfamilies and friends.
Most of us were, you know, thebackbones to our families,
taking care of both our parents,our children.
You know our extended familymembers, so that came obviously

(12:37):
with you know our extendedfamily members, so that came
obviously with, you know.
Accountability, then we'remanaging to organizational
change, maintaining thecompetitive edge, trying to
maintain being at the top,financial pressures, workplace
politics and just personalsacrifices, and so recognizing

(12:58):
and understanding that thesestressors exist is the first
step towards developingeffective strategies to manage
these stressors.
Adopting practices that promotebalance and resilience,
executives can navigate thesechallenges of their roles more

(13:23):
effectively, and then they canlead their organizations to
sustain success.
But you've got to start withfirst recognizing what are these
stressors and then finding outstrategies and how to manage
them.

Spiwe Jefferson (13:37):
That's a really good point, because I sometimes
say you cannot fix what you donot acknowledge.
And just recognizing that thisis where I am right now reminds
me of a time early in my career.
I worked at a big financialservices company and one of our

(13:57):
directors was promoted to a vicepresident and it was a big deal
because he was now going tomanage like a really big, like
the flagship division of theentire company.
And I happened to see him atlunch the day after this
announcement was made and Icongratulated him and I told him

(14:18):
this was well-deserved.
He was a hardworking man.
I mean, nothing was given tothis guy.
And I asked him how it felt tonow be at this level.
And, to your point, latanya, hesaid you know, here's what I did
not expect.
I did not expect to lose myentire support system because
now his peers yesterday were nowhis direct reports.

(14:42):
And he said, all of a sudden,all these people think that I
have all these answers becauseI'm now the VP of this big
division.
And he said but I'm still thesame guy, I still know what I
knew yesterday, but just becauseI have this title, I don't have
anybody to ask now I'm alone inthis role and, gosh, I don't

(15:09):
know how I'm going to do it Now.
I, at this point, a young lawyer.
I'm serving as a researchanalyst in this company.
I didn't know what to say tohim because I was like this is
so not what I was expecting himto say.
And so, as I think about it,our sister circle conversation
was the true catalyst for mewriting and starting the Mindful

(15:31):
in Five series, because you andI do believe that there is a
better way for us to manage andto work in life without being so
overwhelmed.
So, when you think about whatit means to listen to your inner
voice, and, in the context ofwellness, what does that look
like for you?

James@DiscovertheVoice (16:00):
Thank you for listening to Mindful in
5.
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(16:24):
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Until next time, be mindful andbe well.