On Wednesday (April 10), Prince Harry was in San Francisco for the Uplift Summit, part of his job as Chief Impact Officer with BetterUp. The topic for Harry’s panel discussion was “Beyond Burnout: transforming C-level stress into strength,” basically how to be a more effective manager and how to deal with the stress of being a boss and how to deal with other people and their mental health. The session involved other BetterUp people plus Mindy Kaling. Kaling is a boss as well – perhaps even more of a boss than Harry. Mindy also runs her own production company and she produces and show-runs several shows at once, like a mini-Shonda Rhimes. It sounds like Harry and Mindy’s conversation was pretty cool:
Prince Harry joined forces with Mindy Kaling as he hosted a “Beyond Burnout” session during a summit held by the life coaching app BetterUp. The Duke of Sussex, who has served as the company’s Chief Impact Officer (CIO) since 2021, attended the San Francisco, Calif., panel Wednesday alongside “The Office” actress.
Harry, 39, spoke about “the pressures of today’s world and modern corporate life” as he was joined by Dr. Adam Grant, the company’s Chairman of the Center for Purpose, and Kelly Jones, the Chief People Officer at Cisco.
Harry, who has been open about his struggles with mental health, told a previous BetterUp discussion that he had “experienced burnout.” And during Wednesday’s event — titled “Beyond Burnout: Transforming C-Level Stress Into Strength” — the Duke discussed the “psychological toll of leading through uncertainty.”
He also shared some personal anecdotes and “forward-thinking policies” that workplaces could implement to help their staffers.
“The trio dove into the psychological toll of leading through uncertainty, sharing personal anecdotes, evidence-based practices, and forward-thinking policies aimed at helping leaders thrive amidst the pressures of today’s world and modern corporate life,” a statement on his website read. The event centered on “courageous leadership,” and provided a helpful guide “for C-suite leaders, business executives, and HR professionals and advocates.”
Kaling also spoke at the panel, discussing how best to lead with “levity and creativity” in all aspects of life, especially motherhood. According to Hello! magazine, Kaling was asked a series of rapid quick-fire questions by Dr. Grant, who asked her if she had been rethinking anything lately. “Gentle parenting, I am rethinking,” she responded. “It’s this thing lots of LA and NY and certain progressive cities do, and sometimes you just have to scream at your kids… so I am rethinking it!”
There’s some talk this week about whether Prince Harry’s visa could be revoked, but I’d just like to note that Harry is making a pretty good case for why he could stay here on a work visa, something received through his C-suite position at BetterUp. Of course, he can also stay because he’s married to an American and he has American children. Anyway, Mindy sounds charming and I would love to know more about the summit, but no one is saying much about it. It sounds like a corporate retreat with extra buzzwords about mental health. Which isn’t a bad thing.
Photos courtesy of BetterUp’s Instagram, Mindy’s IG, sussex.com, Backgrid.