Be Well to Lead Well: Turning Crisis into a Mission to Empower Others
I need to tell you the story of an incredible woman named Waajida Small.
Her credentials alone are quite impressive. First, she holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy specializing in Human Capital Management—the economics of people and the value they bring to an organization. Second, she serves as the Chief HR Officer of Trinity Church, which you may recognize from the movie National Treasure. While there may not be a massive treasure beneath the church at the corner of Wall Street and Broadway in New York City, there is certainly treasure in its leadership.
But this story isn’t about the church; it’s about growth, perseverance, and change. Dr. Small is a self-described Type A perfectionist—a highly organized leader who rarely revealed her vulnerable side. That all had to change, and it took a crisis to make it happen.
After giving birth to twins, Waajida was already anxious about returning to work as a new mother of two. Then, just one week before her return, she learned her husband had been diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. Her mental health suffered greatly.
Instead of crumbling, Waajida took stock of her situation and realized she needed to adapt. As she explained in our interview:
“In the past, when you got me, you got all of me, my best. But that had to change now.”
She needed a new a mantra to shift her perspective on work and balance. “I spent a lot of time building my career, and I wanted to maintain my position, but I had to rethink how I approached everything.”
Waajida’s growth mindset and habit of collecting insights prepared her for this challenging chapter. She realized she could use her accumulated knowledge not just to survive but to thrive—and to help others do the same. She had always planned to write a book, but the focus of that book evolved.
She authored Be Well to Lead Well: A Self-Coaching Guide to Support Personal Development and Well-being at Work. The book is unique in its format, featuring “coach yourself questions” (CYQs) in each chapter. Waajida emphasized the importance of breaking big goals into smaller, actionable steps. As she put it: “You need a timeline and milestones. If your goal is to ‘conquer the world,’ but you can’t even step out the door, you have to break it down into pieces you can accomplish.”
During this crisis, Waajida realized that work-life balance was unrealistic for her; instead, she aimed for work-life synergy. She couldn’t allocate equal time to all her priorities, so she focused on how the different parts of her life could support one another. Some days, work took 30% of her energy and family 70%; on others, those percentages flipped.
The biggest change she made—and the hardest—was improving her relationships. As an introvert, she needed to lean on others because she couldn’t always give 100%.
She identified three key personal growth areas:
Adaptability: “It’s OK to change your mind, adjust, and pivot.”
Letting Go of Perfectionism: “I thought I had to do everything perfectly to get through this. But I learned to let go, take mental health days, and accept that to care for others, I needed to care for myself first.”
Modeling Vulnerability: “Now my team is more relaxed because they see it’s OK to make mistakes.”
Today, Dr. Waajida Small continues to lead, write, and inspire. She remains the CHRO at Trinity Church, has authored three books, and hosts a podcast called Leading with Purpose. She is a dedicated wife and mother and a multifaceted leader passionate about empowering women to thrive in the workplace, their businesses, and beyond. Her mission is to cultivate purpose-driven leaders who create spaces for women to succeed and make an impact in the world.
Brava! At Aysnd, we share Waajida’s values and mission. We strive to elevate the impact of individuals like Dr. Small through our expertise in software, design, strategy, and e-commerce. We love partnering with clients who are making a difference and prioritize wellness in the workplace while supporting organizations that empower women.