Tee McConnell is a registered nurse, military veteran, and peak performance coach who helps leaders turn stress into clarity and energy. Drawing on her experience in high-pressure environments, she shows executives and teams how to regulate their nervous systems, boost resilience, and lead with focus. For Tee, wellness isn’t a perk—it’s a strategy for sustainable success, both for leaders and the people they guide.
“Stress isn’t the enemy—managed well, it fuels clarity and strong teams.”
How has your military and nursing background informed the way you guide leaders in wellness?
My background in both the military and nursing taught me very early how stress can shape performance both positively and negatively. When the pressure is high, you see exactly how someone’s mindset, nervous system, and preparation influence their ability to think clearly, stay composed, and act strategically.
That’s why, when I guide leaders now, I focus on helping them develop the right relationship with stress. Stress isn’t the enemy unmanaged stress is.
I teach leaders how to channel stress into clarity, how to stay regulated under pressure, and how to use it as fuel instead of letting it push them into overwhelm.
Those experiences taught me what actually works when the stakes are high, and that’s the lens I bring into every workshop and coaching session.
What trends do you see emerging in corporate wellness and employee performance?
The biggest trend is a shift from wellness as a “perk” to wellness as a performance strategy.
Companies are finally realizing that:
-burnout destroys creativity
-poor health kills productivity
-unregulated leaders create unregulated teams
– mental resilience is becoming a top business metric
There’s also a huge rise in nervous system training and HRV-based performance programs.
Organizations are starting to understand that if the nervous system is dysregulated, nothing else works, not leadership, not creativity, not culture.
The future of corporate wellness is human performance not massages and step challenges.
How do you convince companies to invest in holistic health programs rather than quick fixes?
I show them the cost of doing nothing.
Quick fixes don’t address the root issue: the nervous system.
If a leader can’t regulate stress, their decision-making declines, their communication shifts, and their team absorbs the chaos.
I present wellness as an ROI-driven strategy not a luxury:
-better focus
-sharper thinking
-reduced sick days
-improved retention
– elevated leadership presence
Once companies see how directly health impacts performance and culture, the investment becomes a no-brainer.
What’s the most common misconception about burnout among senior leaders?
That burnout happens because someone is “weak” or “can’t handle pressure.”
But burnout actually happens to the highest performers— the people who push the hardest, hold the most, and carry the emotional weight of entire organizations.
The misconception is that burnout is a mindset issue.
In reality, burnout is a physiological overload.
When leaders understand that, they stop blaming themselves and start addressing the real root cause.
How do leadership decisions impact employee well-being from a nutrition and stress perspective?
Leaders set the emotional and biological tone of the workplace.
If a leader is stressed, skipping meals, rushing, or reactive — the team mirrors that energy.
Stress is contagious, but so is regulation.
When leaders model calm, clear decision-making, proper fueling, and boundaries, teams automatically follow suit. It’s the trickle-down effect of neuroscience.
A regulated leader creates a regulated culture.
In your workshops, what patterns do you notice in high-performing teams struggling with stress?
One thing I notice over and over – even in the most talented, high-performing teams — is that everyone is moving fast, but no one is actually feeling grounded.
I can walk into a room and feel the tension immediately.
People are sharp, capable, and committed… but they’re exhausted. Their nervous systems are running in overdrive. You can see it in the way they breathe, the way they react, and how quickly conversations speed up.
What always strikes me is that these teams aren’t struggling because they lack skill — they’re struggling because they’ve been operating in survival mode for too long.
And the moment I guide them through a simple nervous system reset, you can literally watch everyone’s shoulders drop. Their faces soften. They start listening again instead of defending. Creativity comes back online.
It’s a reminder that even the strongest teams need space to regulate and when they do, the entire dynamic changes.
How do you define sustainable success in both health and professional performance?
Sustainable success is when your ambition and your body can coexist.
It’s not about pushing harder , it’s about having a nervous system that can handle the pressure, recover quickly, and stay mentally sharp.
For me, sustainable success looks like:
-energy that lasts
-clarity under pressure
– regulated emotions
– strong boundaries
-creativity that isn’t crushed by stress
-achieving your goals without losing yourself in the process
Success isn’t powerful if it costs your well-being.
Sustainable success means you can keep winning without burning out.
Can you share an example of a company that transformed its culture through your programs?
One of my favorite examples is a female CEO I worked with who came to me exhausted, overwhelmed, and running on pure adrenaline.
She cared deeply about her company, but her body was paying the price.
We started implementing a few strategic habits — regulating her nervous system, stabilizing her energy, and rebuilding her daily rhythm. And honestly? The shift happened fast.
Her clarity came back.
Her energy returned.
Her presence completely changed.
What was amazing was how quickly her team picked up on it.
People were asking her,
“What are you doing? You seem different… lighter… more focused.”
Her energy became contagious in the best way.
And once the leader shifted, the entire culture began to shift with her.
That experience reminded me of something I say often:
Energy is contagious. If you want a healthy, high-performing team, the leader has to walk the talk.
When she elevated herself, her team naturally followed.
How do you help leaders model wellness for their teams without it seeming like an obligation?
I teach leaders to model wellness through embodiment, not announcements.
You don’t need to preach wellness , you simply need to live it:
-taking meaningful breaks
– fueling your body
– managing stress in real time
-showing emotional intelligence under pressure
– creating boundaries you actually honor
When leaders embody regulation, the culture naturally shifts.
People follow what they feel from their leaders, not what they’re told.
What role does emotional intelligence play in managing stress and performance?
Emotional intelligence is the difference between leading from pressure and leading from power.
What I’ve seen both in nursing and in high-performance coaching is that emotional intelligence isn’t just about being “in tune” with your emotions. It’s about being able to stay regulated enough to actually respond instead of react.
Leaders with strong EQ can pause before they speak.
They can read the room.
They can adjust their tone, their energy, and their communication in real time.
They don’t let stress hijack their ability to think clearly.
That’s all nervous system work.
When your body is calm, your emotional intelligence naturally expands. And when a leader embodies that kind of steadiness, the entire team feels safer, more creative, and more connected.
To me, emotional intelligence is a performance skill not a soft skill.
It’s what allows leaders to handle high-pressure moments with clarity instead of chaos. And in today’s world, that’s one of the strongest advantages a leader can have.
