Lauren Henkin Of The Humane Space: Here Are The Things That Happened in My Childhood That Impact How I Lead Today
An Interview With Cynthia Corsetti
Open and Accepting: My sister has Down Syndrome. I am two years younger than her and I have distinct memories of watching people make demeaning gestures to her, look at her in disgust, and taunt her. Those experiences taught me the importance of being open and accepting, while enabling me to build a strong internal compass for how I wanted to live my life and treat others.
In this introspective and reflective series, we would like to explore the intricate web of experiences that form the leaders of today. Childhood, being the foundational stage of our lives, undeniably has a profound impact on our development and the leadership styles we adopt as adults. Be it a lesson learned from a parent, a childhood hobby that cultivated discipline, an early failure that fostered resilience, or even a book that opened their minds to vast possibilities; leaders often have deep-seated childhood experiences that echo in their leadership narratives today. For this interview series, we are talking to seasoned leaders across various industries who share personal anecdotes and lessons from their childhood that have sculpted their leadership philosophies today. As part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Lauren Henkin.
Lauren Henkin is the Founder / CEO of The Humane Space®, a wellness app that helps adults live more meaningful lives through lifelong learning, curiosity, and awe. Prior to founding The Humane Space®, she was Senior Vice President, Brand and Strategic Initiatives, for WTS International, one of the world’s leading wellness amenity management firms. She trained as an architect, graduating from the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, and is an acclaimed sculptor and photographer with numerous museum exhibitions and awards. She is a deeply curious person, always interested in new ideas, methods of learning, and creative channels for innovation.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion about leadership, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
I have a varied background. I studied architecture in school, which was a curiosity-driven education. We were encouraged to problem-solve not by watching and repeating, but by following our innate curiosity to find innovative solutions. I have worked in educational programming for an art museum, as a graphic designer and professional artist, and in marketing and branding for luxury wellness properties. I helped build my family’s company into the country’s largest wellness design and management firm, which led me to my current role as Founder/CEO of The Humane Space® — a wellness app that helps people create a daily practice of lifelong learning, curiosity, and awe.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
We take a completely unique approach to wellness. Having worked in the wellness industry for so long, I saw many approaches to what it means to live well — from physical fitness to body treatments to nutrition to sleep to meditation, and more. What makes The Humane Space® so unique is that it ties well-being to living curiously, building a lifelong journey to knowledge, and embracing the wonders of our world in a way that helps us feel connected to ourselves and our surroundings.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
1. Open and Accepting: My sister has Down Syndrome. I am two years younger than her and I have distinct memories of watching people make demeaning gestures to her, look at her in disgust, and taunt her. Those experiences taught me the importance of being open and accepting, while enabling me to build a strong internal compass for how I wanted to live my life and treat others.
2. Continually Curious: As a kid, my dad took me hiking in the woods, to art museums, and to see science exhibitions — often about topics neither of us knew anything about. These were not only times to bond, but he also encouraged me to be curious and explore at every opportunity. The greatest joys in my life have come from moments of deep exploration into a personal passion or figuring out ways to problem-solve that involve innovating — whether large or small.
3. Perseverance: My parents taped an anonymous quote above my bed that said, “Excellence is achieved. It is not stumbled onto in the course of amusing oneself.” This quote has stayed with me throughout my life as a reminder to persist despite any challenges. It’s hard, especially for younger people, to see that even failures are really successes because any opportunity to persevere gives you the chance to push through obstacles, learn, grow, and achieve.
Leadership often entails making difficult decisions or hard choices between two apparently good paths. Can you share a story with us about a hard decision or choice you had to make as a leader? I’m curious to understand how these challenges have shaped your leadership.
There have been times when I’ve had to abandon or delay good ideas because of timing or the need to shift direction to prioritize other initiatives. There are difficult decisions that need to be made all the time when leading a company. You gather as much information as you can to make the best possible decisions, but there are times when you must rely on a combination of your gut, your inner moral compass, and your own perception of the world to make hard choices. For example, my team is continually brainstorming new features for The Humane Space app, but we’ve had to postpone many of the best ones for a variety of reasons. Being patient and knowing the right time to implement ideas for healthy long-term outcomes is a skill that I’m always trying to hone.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Let’s start with a simple definition. How do you personally define “leadership?”
I think great leaders instinctively know how to keep the company, the team, and the product or service in harmony so that goals can be achieved collectively.
Can you recall an experience from your childhood where you felt truly empowered? How does that moment inform your leadership style today?
In college, I was truly horrible at drawing, which was obviously a necessary skill to convey my designs for buildings. I kept trying, for probably the first two years of school, to conform — to elevate my skills to the level of my peers. Then one day, I decided I wasn’t going to draw to articulate my ideas. Instead, I started building models. From that point forward, everything clicked. It was an empowering realization — to recognize that if something isn’t working, it may not be the idea itself, but the way you’re trying to express it.
Were there any role models in your early years who left a lasting impression on you? How has their influence manifested in your approach to leadership?
There are so many people who have come in and out of my life at particular moments to help me work through a single problem. To go back to college, there was a professor who I admire greatly. I was taking quite a bit of criticism about only building models (and not drawing). During one particular presentation to a number of professors that wasn’t going very well, she intervened, presenting a convincing argument in support of my work. She persuaded them that what I was doing was innovative. It was a moment that helped clarify for me how to stand up for your ideas and in a compelling way.
Many of us had a favorite book or story as a child. Is there a narrative that you were drawn to, and do you see its themes reflecting in your leadership journey?
My favorite book as a child was Bullfrog Builds a House by Rosamond Dauer. I haven’t thought about that book in quite a while, so thank you for prompting the memory! It’s ironic talking about how much my architecture background impacted my life because that book is all about what it means to build something — the process of construction, the ups and downs of making mistakes, and eventually experiencing pride and joy in the final product. It probably had a bigger influence on me than I realized.
Many leaders find that their greatest strengths arise from overcoming adversity. Can you share an experience from your early life that was difficult at the time, but you find still lingers in your thoughts and informs your actions today?
My parents built a highly successful 50-year-old company from scratch. Every night at the dinner table, we would talk about what happened at the business that day — sometimes good, sometimes not so good. I could always tell how the day went by the energy my parents had at dinner. If they were talkative and energized, it was a good day; if they were quiet and worn out, the day had been tough. Some of those dinners were hard, seeing how hard they worked and not always seeing a reward for them at the end of the day. When I look back on it though, I recognize how important it is to measure success from how many long-term goals are achieved rather than focus on the day-to-day challenges.
Looking back at your childhood, are there particular ‘first-time’ experiences — like your first triumph, your initial setback, or your inaugural leadership responsibility — that you believe were pivotal in molding your leadership ethos?”
An early job out of college was working in the public programming department of a major art museum. I started as an intern, mostly taking reservations for upcoming programming events. The head of the department left soon thereafter, and I was quickly promoted to her position. I was both surprised by the opportunity and overwhelmed that I wouldn’t have much time to learn all of the aspects of the job before being expected to lead the team. The experience taught me how to quickly build trust, that being given a leadership position is a gift that shouldn’t be taken for granted, and that making mistakes is necessary in order to grow.
From your personal experiences and reflections, what are the ‘5 Pillars of Effective Leadership’ you believe in?
1 . Build a culture of collaboration. It’s incredibly important to build a collaborative environment, where every team member feels that their voice is heard and matters. Building that sense of collaboration is critical not just for meeting company goals, but for building a culture of engagement and innovation.
2 . Celebrate curiosity and creativity. The most challenging problems that we tackle day-to-day are often solved by following our curiosity about alternative solutions and thinking creatively about how to solve them. I love hiring people with an arts background because I find them to be incredibly creative thinkers — always looking for new ways to solve difficult problems.
3 . Encourage questions. I think a great measure of a healthy company is how comfortable staff feel in asking questions. It’s important because it helps team members feel engaged and able to participate in solving problems — at all levels, from small organizational issues to complex technical challenges.
4 . Share the successes and the failures. I don’t just share our successes with our team. I find that employees are better able to relate to the challenges of running the company, are more eager to help find solutions, and feel more invested when they know that everything isn’t always rosy. Building trust within a team is key and one way to do that is to be real in sharing both the successes and failures.
5 . Recognize personal passions. Learning about individual team member’s personal passions is very important to me. First, it helps me better understand where they are coming from and who they are as people. It also helps me understand talents they have that I didn’t know about. I have incorporated some of those skills into their work for The Humane Space® which has made our company stronger, made them feel that their full scope of talents are valued, and that I personally care about who they are as a person. We even have a Slack channel dedicated to celebrating personal passions.
In your role as a leader, what thoughts or concerns keep you awake at night? How do these reflections guide your decisions and leadership?
Probably like so many others, I worry about the general direction of our business and how quickly we’ll be able to reach our targeted goals. I think about whether I’m doing enough to support our team to help them succeed (and, in turn, help us succeed). Much of my working day is spent in meetings answering questions, strategizing, and problem-solving. I relish the evenings, even if I’m awake in the middle of the night, because it’s time when I can reflect, plan, and dream about where we can take this company.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I believe that encouraging people to be more curious in daily life would be that movement. Living curiously isn’t just about improved mental and physical well-being. Curiosity has also been tied to greater empathy, closer relationships, and general openness to new ideas. I believe that the more open we are to understanding one another, the better able we are to empathize rather than succumb to the divisiveness that we see in our culture today.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
If you are interested in living a more curious life, you can certainly download The Humane Space app for iOS or Android or learn more about us at www.thehumane.space. I am extremely vocal about the importance of curiosity in our lives, at all ages. If you’re interested in following my personal journey, you can do so on LinkedIn.
Thank you!
Thank you for the time you spent sharing these fantastic insights. It’s been an honor to delve into the roots of your leadership journey, and we are grateful for the wisdom you’ve shared.
About the Interviewer: Cynthia Corsetti is an esteemed executive coach with over two decades in corporate leadership and 11 years in executive coaching. Author of the upcoming book, “Dark Drivers,” she guides high-performing professionals and Fortune 500 firms to recognize and manage underlying influences affecting their leadership. Beyond individual coaching, Cynthia offers a 6-month executive transition program and partners with organizations to nurture the next wave of leadership excellence.
Lauren Henkin Of The Humane Space: Here Are The Things That Happened in My Childhood That Impact… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.