Leading the Charge in Mental Wellness and Leadership

In this interview, Jen Knox Shanahan sat down with Steve Lee, CEO of Aura, a mental health and wellness app that features personalized guided meditations, coaching, and more. Steve shared insights on his leadership philosophy, the evolving role of AI in the workplace, and how Aura balances innovation with a deep commitment to mental wellness.

Jen Knox Shanahan (JKS): To begin, can you walk me through your leadership philosophy and how you apply it in your current role as CEO of Aura?

Steve Lee (SL): My primary leadership philosophy is to make love the foundation. It is not about being “nice” – it’s about empowering and challenging people to become their best, authentic selves. When you truly put them first, you can help them grow, and the whole team will thrive.

This requires deep self-awareness - understanding who I am so I understand my thought patterns and my weaknesses that may impact others. I learn from many different leadership principles, such as servant leadership, situational leadership, and even top soccer coaches, and experiment with making them my own. Your leadership style should feel authentic to you so that it energizes you and others while also being effective. I like to lead with strong vision and strategic discipline, but also with ample flexibility to adapt.

Each organization has unique challenges. We’re a mission-driven, high-growth startup in a competitive space with financial constraints. This requires us to be nimble, push for innovation, and strive for high velocity in improving our product. However, as a mental wellness company, we also prioritize rest – we made it one of our five core values, and we might be the one of the only companies among tech startups to do so.

I don’t believe there is one right approach to leadership. Each approach has pros and cons, and my goal is to become more aware so that I can adapt to the ever-changing dynamics of reality. As we experiment, we have a strong discipline for gathering both quantitative and qualitative data on company performance/Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) and culture/employee sentiment.

JKS: In your opinion, which leadership competencies are becoming more important with the increase in automation/AI in the workplace?

SL: With AI, general efficiency will increase greatly, which means even more room to advocate for customer empathy and quality.

JKS: How do you go about establishing trust and respect when you are navigating unfamiliar ground?

SL: It’s about having the humility to admit you don’t know much and approaching with listening – listening to people closest to the problem. You also want to find experts and get their perspectives to jumpstart the learning process.

JKS: Can you share any advice you have for new leaders or those navigating difficulty?

SL: You will make mistakes along the way – and if so, be vulnerable and own up to them. I certainly make a lot of mistakes. But if you play it safe and don’t challenge people, you’re not helping them grow.