Wix AI proved my skepticism wrong — it can, in fact, create a functional website in less than 3 hours.
SUCCESS
People-First Leadership: 10 Ways Modern Leaders Drive Growth
Workplaces today are not the same as they were a few years ago. The way people lead, work, and grow within companies has changed. The leaders driving these changes are not just focused on tasks. They are thinking ahead and building better environments for everyone. These professionals understand that success now means supporting people, not just hitting targets.
Modern workforce leaders are shifting from managing tasks to creating value through people. They care about training, trust, and purpose.
Prioritizing Long-Term People Development
Smart leaders understand that when people grow, the company grows too. They focus on helping employees improve over time, not just perform in the short term. This means offering learning opportunities, career paths, and skill-building. By doing this, businesses keep talent and create strong teams. Long-term development also increases employee confidence and loyalty. These efforts lead to better results and happier workplaces.
Advancing Their Knowledge Through Leadership Education
Today’s challenges require more than experience. Leaders need formal learning to manage culture, change, and people. Many professionals are going back to school to grow their leadership skills and stay current with workforce trends. This helps them lead with confidence in modern environments. A program like an online masters degree in Human Resources Management supports growth. The curriculum covers topics like workplace ethics, conflict resolution, and people strategy. It’s designed to prepare future leaders who want to make a lasting impact in their organizations.
Redefining Success Through Inclusion and Belonging
Diversity alone is no longer enough. Leaders today understand that everyone must feel welcome, respected, and valued. Creating a culture of belonging helps employees be themselves at work. This leads to stronger collaboration and better performance. Strategic leaders make sure their teams are inclusive in both voice and action. They train others to do the same. A culture built on belonging helps retain talent and supports innovation.
Using Data to Drive Talent Decisions
Workforce data is a valuable resource that helps leaders make informed decisions. Strategic thinkers rely on metrics like employee surveys, performance reviews, and hiring trends to understand what’s working and what needs improvement.
By identifying patterns early, they can address issues before they grow. Data also helps promote fairness in hiring, guide personalized training, and boost overall engagement. When used correctly, it leads to smarter planning and better results. A data-driven approach supports long-term success by aligning talent strategies with real business needs and employee feedback.
Promoting a Culture of Ethical Leadership
Ethical leadership creates a work environment where trust, respect, and fairness guide every decision. Leaders who act with integrity set a clear example for others to follow. They communicate openly, follow through on promises, and treat people with fairness.
This builds a culture where employees feel safe, valued, and confident in leadership. Clear rules and ethical behavior reduce conflict and support teamwork. When values are practiced—not just stated—employees are more engaged. A strong ethical culture strengthens the entire organization and leads to better long-term results for everyone involved.
Aligning HR Strategy with Business Goals
Strong leaders understand that people strategies must support the company’s overall goals. They don’t treat HR as a separate task. Instead, they connect workforce plans with what the business wants to achieve. This could include growing into new markets, improving services, or increasing customer satisfaction. Both sides perform better when people’s efforts are linked to business outcomes. Leaders who think this way help their companies succeed in the long run.
Fostering Adaptability in Changing Environments
Today’s workplace is constantly evolving, with remote work, new technologies, and shifting job responsibilities becoming the norm. Strategic leaders recognize that adaptability is essential for success. Instead of resisting change, they embrace it and confidently guide their teams through transitions.
They introduce flexible work practices, invest in continuous learning, and promote creative problem-solving. This proactive mindset prepares employees to handle uncertainty and stay productive. By fostering adaptability, leaders help teams respond to change quickly, reduce stress, and keep the organization moving forward even in unpredictable situations.
Enhancing the Employee Experience at Every Stage
Employee experience begins when someone applies for a job and continues throughout their entire time with a company. Strategic leaders work to improve every part of that journey. This includes smoother onboarding, clear communication, and meaningful career paths. They listen to feedback and make changes when needed. A positive experience helps people feel valued and supported. When employees feel good about where they work, they do better work and stay longer.
Empowering Managers as Culture Carriers
Middle managers play a big role in shaping workplace culture. Strategic leaders know this and give managers the tools they need to lead well. They offer training, encourage open communication, and set clear expectations. When managers understand the company’s values and lead by example, those values spread across teams. Empowered managers help build trust, boost morale, and improve day-to-day operations. This support makes a big difference in how teams perform and feel.
Leading With Purpose, Not Just Policy
Policies are important, but they are not enough. Great leaders also lead with purpose. They connect people to the company’s bigger mission and explain why their work matters. This helps employees feel proud of what they do. Purpose-driven leadership improves motivation and focus. It turns daily tasks into meaningful contributions. When people understand how their work fits into something bigger, they are more likely to give their best every day.
Workforce success is no longer only about rules and tasks. It’s about people, purpose, and forward-thinking. Strategic leaders are changing how teams work, grow, and connect. They invest in learning, focus on values, and lead with vision.
Whether you’re already in a leadership role or working toward one, these strategies can help you make a real difference. The future of work is people-first—and it starts with leaders who think ahead, act with purpose, and build workplaces that support success for everyone.
The post People-First Leadership: 10 Ways Modern Leaders Drive Growth appeared first on Addicted 2 Success.
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The Greatest Transformations Often Emerge from Hardship
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” ~Viktor Frankl
Life has moments that completely reshape us, often without our consent or preparation. Trauma, loss, and grief—they don’t wait until we feel ready to handle them. Instead, they arrive unexpectedly, pinning us against the wall and demanding transformation.
What began as a day like most training days, fueled by focus and determination, unraveled into an unimaginable traumatic event, one that shattered the life I had known.
Prior to that moment, as a fitness trainer by profession, my world was defined by movement, strength, and the confidence that my body could carry me anywhere. Being active was a way of life for me, both professionally and recreationally.
In a split second, all of that was gone, leaving me to grapple with an existence that no longer felt like my own. One moment, I was strong, healthy, and in motion. The next thing I would come to know was waking up in a hospital bed—my body broken, my spirit shaken, my heart heavy with grief and fear.
My femoral artery had been severed. My family was prepared for the worst, told that people who sustain these types of injuries don’t typically survive.
“We’re fighting with the clock. We’ll do what we can,” the surgeon had said.
Those words hung in the air, marking the stark reality of how fragile the situation was. “Life over limb“ became the call, and amputation was the response.
I spent the summer in the hospital, unable to see the light of day or breathe fresh air. Placed in a medically induced coma for several days, I underwent hours upon hours of intricate, life-saving surgeries—four of the eight within the first week alone.
My body had been through the unimaginable—cut open, stitched, stapled, poked, and prodded—a battlefield in my fight for life. I had been revascularized, resuscitated, and endured a four-compartment fasciotomy that left my limb filleted open.
Skin grafts eventually covered the damage as machines beeped and buzzed around me, tubes running from my body—feeding tube, catheter, IVs pumping life back into me. I lay in an isolated critical care room under 24/7 watch, caught in a space between survival and uncertainty.
As I lay in the hospital bed, the reality of my new existence settled in. The loss of my leg was more than a physical alteration. It was a profound shift in my sense of self, forcing me to confront who I was beyond the body I had always known.
Peering down at the end of the bed, a reality I was not ready for hit me all at once, with an undeniable, unforgiving force. One foot protruded from beneath the hospital blanket, just as it always had. The other side—my leg stopped short.
The space it once filled was now an absence I could feel as much as see. In that instant, the weight of it all—what had happened, what had been taken, what could never be undone—settled deep within me. There was no waking up from this living nightmare. This was real.
I faced a new reality. My lower left leg had been amputated below the knee. There was no gradual build-up, no illness, no injury to hint at what was coming. The sudden loss was more than physical. It wasn’t just my leg. It felt like I had lost my independence and any semblance of the life I once knew.
The weight of it all pulled me into a darkness that felt impossible to escape. And yet, within that darkness, something began to shift. What had once felt like an ending became an opening for self-discovery—a bridge to deeper understanding of myself and a realization of the strength, courage, and resilience that had always existed within me.
In the weeks that followed, I grappled with despair and uncertainty, only to realize that this darkness held more than pain. It became a catalyst for transformation. Losing my leg forced me to confront truths I had never acknowledged, opening the door to lessons that reshaped my life in ways I never could have imagined.
Pain and adversity, anger and fear were not the enemies I once believed them to be. Instead, they became powerful forces that propelled me toward growth, leading me down an unforeseen path—not one I intentionally sought, yet one that ultimately offered exactly what I needed.
I came to understand this through small victories, such as lifting myself from the hospital bed, taking that first step, and learning to balance when the world beneath me felt unsteady and my footing was unstable and unfamiliar.
Those moments of discomfort became invitations. When met with willingness rather than resistance, struggles turned into progress. With each step forward, I regained both my footing and my confidence, uncovering a sense of empowerment I hadn’t realized was within me.
The pain, the fear, and the struggle all led me to powerful realizations—lessons that continue to shape how I see myself and how I engage in life.
Limitations Are Often Stories We Tell Ourselves
At first, I believed life had betrayed me, that my body had let me down. I told myself I couldn’t do the things I once loved. I hesitated, afraid of looking weak, of failing. As I started pushing my boundaries, learning to move, to stand, to find new ways forward, I realized the greatest obstacle wasn’t my body; it was the belief that I now had fixed limitations imposed upon me. When I challenged that, I uncovered a world of possibilities.
The mind cleverly builds barriers that seem insurmountable. Once confronted, they reveal themselves as illusions—perceived limits, not actual ones. The only true limitation is the one I place upon myself. I may do things differently now, and in doing so, I’ve discovered the power of adaptability and just how limitless possibilities truly are.
My Body Does Not Define Me
For much of my life, I equated worth with physical appearance and ability. I had built a life and career around movement, pushing my body to perform. Losing my leg felt like losing a core part of myself. I struggled with my reflection, with the visible mark of what had changed. I feared being judged, labeled, seen as broken, defined by what was missing. And over time, I began to see things differently.
My prosthetic leg, once a symbol of loss, became my badge of courage, a testament to all that I had endured and overcome. While the external physical alteration was undeniable, the greater shift was internal.
My sense of self felt unfamiliar, as if it had been stripped away along with my leg. Lost in uncertainty and overwhelm, I found myself called to look deeper. It took time and reflection to recognize that my wholeness remained intact. Strength, persistence, and self-worth weren’t dependent on the physical; they resided within. Even when they felt unrecognizable, they remained, waiting to be reclaimed.
Everything I Needed Was Within Me All Along
It’s easy to believe that what sustains us must be chased, that healing and wholeness come from outside ourselves. I searched for proof of my worth, looking outward for reassurance that I hadn’t lost something essential. But in the quietest moments, when I sat alone in my pain, when there was no one left to convince me but myself, I began to see the truth.
What felt like loss wasn’t an empty void. It was an opening, an invitation to uncover what had always been within me. I didn’t need to rebuild from nothing or become someone new. I only needed to recognize what was already there. And in that recognition, the rebuilding and becoming unfolded naturally.
Losing my leg did not break me. It revealed me. It became the doorway to my greatest discoveries, an invitation to meet myself in ways I never had before, to embrace the unknown, and to uncover the depth of courage, resilience, and inner power that emerges through hardship.
A Final Reflection
We all carry stories about what is possible, stories influenced by conditioning, fear, and experience. But what if our limits are not real? What if they’re just unchallenged? What if everything you need to rise, to heal, to rebuild is already within you, waiting to be realized?
The greatest transformations often emerge from the depths of hardship. Life challenges us in ways we never could have imagined, yet within those challenges lie revelations, truths about ourselves we might never have uncovered otherwise.
Hardship and struggle often go hand in hand, yet within them lies the path to ease. Though they bring pain, they also offer wisdom. They shape us, yet they don’t have to define us. When we stop resisting and lean into what challenges us, we gain clarity, uncover strength, and discover a deeper understanding of ourselves.
What once felt impossible begins to feel natural. Through struggle, we find empowerment. Through trauma, we find self-discovery. Every hardship carries an invitation to redefine, to rebuild, to reclaim. The question is not what life takes from us, but what we choose to uncover in its place.
About Susan Wang
Susan Wang is a mother of two young adult sons and a writer who transforms personal adversity into powerful lessons on resilience, adaptability, and inner strength. She shares her journey of loss and transformation to inspire others to challenge limitations, embrace change, and uncover the power within. Connect with her on Facebook and Instagram.
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Mortgage Rates Go Down Over the Last Week: Mortgage Interest Rates for April 30, 2025
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Breguet Marks 250 Years with a One-Handed Marvel
In a year rife with all manner of important anniversaries, Breguet distinguishes its 250th birthday offering with the Classique Souscription 2025, which might be the world’s most important wristwatch with just one hand (flame-blued and curved by hand). In fact, there might be more watches out in the wild with no hands than with just one – we can think of no examples of any recent timepiece that only indicated the hours, with just an approximation for the minutes. The word ‘recent’ is key there because Breguet says this model was chosen for the anniversary because it pays tribute to the brand’s past and also looks to the future. The reference here is, of course, Abraham-Louis Breguet’s Souscription watches of 1797.
To backtrack a little, Breguet turns 250 this year and it happens to share this milestone with a number of brands, though not every brand is quite as solid as the house Abraham-Louis built. Think of who created the tourbillon and why some numerals and hands are called Breguet… For the more technically inclined, consider if the watch you are wearing now has a hairspring with a Breguet overcoil. If the list of his accomplishments were limited to his technical innovations, that would suffice for all watch enthusiasts to raise a toast to Abraham-Louis but he was also a pioneer in branding and sales.
That last bit brings us right back to the Souscription watch, which was truly a sales model that the great watchmaker came up with. This story does not have the space to pay proper tribute to all the history but Abraham-Louis had prospective clients pay a deposit to purchase the original Souscription watch, hence the reason for the name (subscription in English).
In this 2025 version, that 60mm pocket watch has been transformed into a 40mm wristwatch in an entirely new and exclusive type of 18k gold, Breguet gold (see the materials special in this issue for more). Briefly, other metals in this alloy include silver, copper and palladium and we must reserve comments on the colour until we have it in our hands.
There is also a new calibre in play, the manual-winding VS00, that brings the aesthetics of the Tradition calibres to the Classiques range while also bringing the aforementioned Breguet overcoil into the picture. Collectors and connoisseurs should take note of the new shot-blast decoration and hand-finishing on the gilded brass parts and the cursive script on the ratchet wheel. The latter might be popular enough to lend itself to an appearance in the Tradition models but only time will tell if that happens.
For now, the apparent magnificence of the movement makes us wish for the standard straight lugs here so the watch can be worn comfortably, movement side up! The Classique Souscription 2025 features a reworked case that eschews the expected fluting on the case middle and curved lugs for an improved fit on the wrist.
Even worn properly, we will venture to say that this watch cannot help but be a talking point because people will stop to gawk, and perhaps seek out the secret signatures on the grand feu enamel dial (with petit feu numerals and minute track)
For more on the latest in luxury watch reads from WOW, click here.
The post Breguet Marks 250 Years with a One-Handed Marvel appeared first on LUXUO.
LUX Launches Digital Tool Empowering Women to Change Their Name
Women in China often have stereotypical names that evoke weakness, or even a parental preference for boys. Women across the region are now rejecting the outdated stigma and leading beauty brand LUX has introduced Reclaim Her Name, a new campaign that inspires women to take control of their identity. Reclaim Her Name is a digital tool for China’s social media channels to help women change their traditional names by offering new versions, inspiring them to break free of the stereotype.
LUX worked with creative agency VML Singapore to create a digital tool that helps women in China to change their names, all with a simple shake of their mobile phone. This pioneering platform both simplifies and beautifies the process of name changing in China.
Reclaim Her Name is a digital tool that works across China’s three biggest social platforms: WeChat, Weibo, and Rednote. Women enter their current name into the app, then simply shake their phone to generate a new name, using similar characters to their original name, but creating a new version that has a more modern and empowering meaning. Repeating the process until they’re inspired by one that truly resonates and reflects their self-identity.
As well as creating new names, LUX created a bespoke typeface, inspired by the ancient script of Nu Shu, the world’s only writing system created by and for women. This modern tool for female empowerment draws on an ancient source of feminist inspiration: Nu Shu, a unique ‘script of the sisterhood’ first created during the Song Dynasty. Unlike traditional Chinese characters, this secret language was exclusively used by women, passed down through generations as a way to express emotions, share stories, and preserve their cultural heritage in a patriarchal society that often sought to silence them.
Inspired by Nu Shu’s flowing, coded strokes, LUX designed New Women’s font — a contemporary typeface that pays homage to this resilient and resourceful spirit. Reclaim Her Name deconstructs oppressive and outdated names, reforming them into powerful new alternatives that install the strength and resilience of their foremothers. Reclaim Her Name not only sheds light on this cultural bias but also empowers women to take action by providing them with the tools to reclaim their identity.
To amplify the Reclaim Her Name campaign message of self-transformation, LUX is collaborating with influential ambassadors throughout China to lead by example and to encourage other women to try out the digital tool.
Judy Zu, Global Brand Director for LUX, says “Each Chinese character is an alchemy of sound and symbol: the same strokes, rearranged, weave blessings or critiques. At LUX, we believe every woman deserves a name that becomes a mirror to her strength and a compass for her journey. Yet, even today, profound bias still lurks behind many women’s names. That’s why we created Reclaim Her Name: not just to rename, but to reignite. Because every woman can – and should – sculpt her identity unapologetically, just as characters transform with every stroke, so can we”.
Women are now speaking out and using #ShakeForChange to advocate for strength in female empowerment, while encouraging others to take to the digital tool for their own enlightenment.
For more on the latest in lifestyle and culture reads, click here.
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Mastering The Art Of Culture At The Roku Kyoto Hotel In Japan
As spring approaches, Kyoto readies itself for another onslaught of tourists who will come in their rented kimonos to gawk at the cherry blossoms at the Kiyomizu-dera and cram the streets of Gion.
In touristy places, the experiences are often kitschy, and tourists feel disconnected from local life. It is ironic that while they have come to learn about Japanese culture in historic Kyoto, they often leave feeling that they have barely scratched the surface.
This is especially so if Kyoto’s cultural heart, Takagamine, is not on their radar. While this area is rather residential, there are famous historic sites and temples like the Koetsu-ji, although these are better known among locals than tourists. Therefore, they are devoid of the hustle and bustle that plagues temples like the Kiyomizu-dera. The tempo here is slow, befitting for a cultural area, and for a country known for being the birthplace of zen.
In the 17th century, Tokugawa Ieyasu gifted the land around Takagamine to Hon’anmi Koetsu, a famous artist and the founder of the Rinpa school of Japanese painting. Here, Koetsu established an artist colony with friends which dissolved over time. In the 1950s, Nishino kimono maker Shozan bought the land and built the 11.6 ha Shozan Kyoto Resort on it.
In 2021, Roku Kyoto opened amidst this landscaped property as the first Asia-Pacific property of Hilton’s LXR Hotels & Resorts. Conceptualised by Singapore-headquartered Blink Design, the 114-key hotel which also has a spa, an outdoor thermal pool, and a restaurant, pays homage to the site’s artistic legacy by embracing craftsmanship and the landscape that inspired it.
A palette of earthy tones, and light woods blend the outdoors with the interiors which are anchored by large windows. They frame views of the lush Takagamine mountains which form the hotel’s backdrop, and change colours with the seasons.
The feature wall in the lobby is finished with Japanese urushi lacquer—a technique dating back 7,000 years. Rooms feature wall coverings with woodblock patterns on washi paper, a nod to the paper factory here during the Heian period, before Koetsu’s time.
To immerse guests in Kyoto’s culture, washi paper making workshops and classes with shokunins (artisans or craftspeople in Japanese) in generations-old ateliers specialising in traditional crafts like pottery, gold leaf art, Nishijin textiles and kintsugi are available. For those who are more food-inclined, a yuba-making experience is available. After all, Kyoto is known for its silky tofu skin.
In a place that is steeped in artistic legacy, Tenjin, the only restaurant at Roku Kyoto, dishes out beautifully plated cuisine. In “Vegetable Garden” a fixture in the multi-course dinner, executive chef Akira Taniguchi dressed seasonal herbs and kyoyasai—heirloom vegetables that originate in Kyoto—in a creamy mentaiko sauce. The karami daikon added a bitter and spicy kick to the salad.
In all my past trips, I had kept to the touristy parts of Kyoto where no one, even in Michelin-starred restaurants, mentioned “kyoyasai” to me. It was only on this trip—my fifth to Kyoto—that I would learn about Kyoto’s heirloom vegetables, which are grown only in the prefecture and have unique flavours and textures. Having kept to the touristy areas previously, it had not occurred to me that Kyoto beyond the city centre is rich in endemic produce. They are the products of a food culture that dates back 1,000 years, which Tenjin tries to use as much as possible. Needless to say, my dining experience here was revelatory.
This story first appeared in the April 2025 issue of GRAZIA Singapore and Grazia.SG.
For more on the latest in property and hotel reads, click here.
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