The Rooted Leadership Resource Guide
Building Well-Being From The Roots Up
January 2026 | The AG Effect
Strong leaders grow from deep roots.
This guide is designed to help you build habits that actually stick—not through willpower or hustle, but by strengthening the foundation beneath your leadership.
Well-being is not self-care fluff.
It is the substrate that determines whether you lead from depletion or from fullness.
Use these tools slowly. Revisit them often. There is no “right” pace.
How to Use This Guide
You do not need to complete everything at once.
Start where you feel the most resistance—or the most relief.
These tools are meant to support awareness, regulation, and sustainability, not self-judgment.
Think of this guide as root work:
Quiet. Essential. Transformative over time.
Tool 1: The AG Effect Energy Audit
Understanding the System You’re Asking to Change
Before building new habits, it’s essential to understand the current state of your energy. Habits don’t fail because leaders don’t care—they fail because the system doesn’t have the capacity to support them.
This audit helps you notice where your energy is being spent, leaked, restored, or protected.
Step 1: Scan the Core Domains
Reflect honestly on each area. There is no “ideal” answer.
Body
Where do I feel tension most often?
How does fatigue show up for me?
What physical signals do I tend to ignore?
Mind
What thoughts loop when I’m under pressure?
Where do I feel mentally overloaded or scattered?
When do I feel most clear?
Emotions
What emotions show up most frequently at work?
Which emotions feel hardest to express or regulate?
Where do I feel emotionally drained?
Environment
Which spaces support me?
Which environments exhaust me?
How does my calendar feel—crowded, spacious, chaotic?
Relationships
Which interactions energize me?
Which ones consistently deplete me?
Where am I over-giving or under-asking?
Step 2: Notice the Patterns
Ask yourself:
Where is my energy most constrained?
Where is it quietly sustained?
What surprises me?
Key Insight:
Awareness is not passive—it’s the first habit that matters.
Tool 2: What Drains Me / What Restores Me
Mapping Your Energy Architecture
Leadership effectiveness is constrained more by energy than by time. This tool helps you design habits and decisions that work with your system instead of against it.
Create Two Lists
What Drains Me
Tasks
Meetings
People
Environments
Internal states (pressure, perfectionism, urgency)
What Restores Me
Activities
Interactions
Places
Rhythms
Moments of ease or meaning
Don’t censor yourself. Something meaningful can still be draining—and that’s important data.
Reflect
Which drains are negotiable?
Which restores are currently missing?
Where could I protect or expand restoration?
Leadership Reframe:
This is not about avoiding responsibility.
It’s about designing sustainability.
Tool 3: Your Personal Regulation Menu
Habits That Stabilize You Under Pressure
Regulation is the habit beneath all others. It creates the pause where choice lives—and it’s what others experience as your leadership presence.
This menu gives you options, not prescriptions.
Build Your Menu
Choose a few practices in each category. Keep them simple.
Fast Resets (30–90 seconds)
Use these in the moment.
Slow exhale through the mouth
Feet on the floor, name five things you see
Drop your shoulders and jaw
Stabilizers (5–10 minutes)
Use these during transitions.
Brief walk
Quiet breathing
Writing one honest sentence
Recovery Practices
Use these to replenish capacity.
Time in nature
Music
Movement
Connection without agenda
Make It Yours
Ask:
Which practices feel accessible?
Which ones actually help me come back to myself?
Which do I resist—and why?
Important:
Regulation is not about being calm all the time.
It’s about increasing your capacity to stay present.
Bringing It Together: Rooted Habits
Before adding any new habit this January, ask:
Does this support my body?
Does this respect my energy?
Does this increase my capacity—or drain it?
Strong leaders don’t build habits by pushing harder.
They build them by stabilizing their roots.
Closing Reflection
What is one small, grounding practice you could repeat—not to improve yourself, but to support the leader you already are?
Return to this guide as often as you need.
Root work is never wasted.
The AG Effect
Well-Being as Leadership Strategy
Strong leaders grow from deep roots.
Want More Support?
You don’t have to do this alone. Let’s talk. I offer a free intro session to help you reconnect with what matters most, and sliding scale pricing is available (just ask).
