How Célia Zermatten “Turned Pain into Purpose” and Redefined Leadership

Célia Zermatten is a women’s career and empowerment coach on a mission to champion leadership rooted in mind-body alignment. After years of nonstop work at top organizations like McKinsey & Company, UBS, and the United Nations, she faced a chronic pain journey that redefined her view of success.

Here, she shares what it means to reconnect with your body and intuition—and how aligning with your values can elevate your influence.

Shiwon Oh: Célia, you have quite a powerful story that can resonate with many high-achieving women. Can you share your journey with us? 

Célia Zermatten: Absolutely. For years, I followed what looked like a successful path: working in fast-paced, high-pressure environments like McKinsey & Company, UBS, and the United Nations. I constantly pushed for more, proving my worth through performance. But high-achieving women can push with their heads for a long time, and burnout doesn’t always look like being unable to get out of bed. It can show up as chronic pain, digestive issues, or other physical symptoms—signals from the body that something is wrong.

For me, three years of debilitating chronic pain became my wake-up call. It was my body taking over control, forcing me to pause and reevaluate everything: how I worked, what I believed about success, and how deeply disconnected I had become from my own body, needs, intuition, and truth. That turning point was about recreating space, learning to love and honor my body, and allowing it to lead the way forward.

When the traditional medical system couldn’t offer lasting solutions, I embarked on a holistic healing journey, working from the inside out. I explored nervous system regulation, the mind-body connection, neuroplasticity, and more. That journey didn’t just heal me; it transformed me.

Today, I’ve turned my pain into purpose. I’m committed to leveraging my experience, expertise, and passion to help women and their organizations shape a new era of Women’s Careers and Empowerment—one where women don’t just survive, but truly thrive.

SO: Now, as a women’s career and empowerment coach, how would you define human-centered leadership? 

CZ: To me, human-centered leadership starts with self-leadership. It’s about leading from alignment with your values and inner wisdom, not from fear or outdated models of success. It’s grounded in emotional intelligence, relational depth, and the courage to be both strategic and vulnerable.

Each person has different physical, mental, and emotional needs. That’s what makes us human. Too often, workplaces treat people like machines, focusing only on output and ignoring the humanity that drives it. Human-centered leadership flips that script. It means first recognizing this humanity in ourselves—acknowledging our limits, showing vulnerability, and modeling self-care—because how leaders treat themselves profoundly shapes how their teams operate.

It’s about seeing people, not just their output, and creating safe spaces where authenticity, growth, and wellbeing can co-exist with high performance. When leaders do this, they honor humanity without compromising impact. In fact, they strengthen it.

SO: Why is human-centered leadership vital for women talent who may feel directionless and burnt out? 

CZ: Because so many of the systems we operate in are fear-based, they tend to magnify our inner insecurities with thoughts like “I’m not good enough” or “They’ll find out I’m a fraud.” (Hello, impostor syndrome) In response, many women develop coping mechanisms like overworking, people-pleasing, or overthinking just to feel safe or worthy.

This often leads to burnout, not just because of external pressures, but also because of an internal disconnection from our own physical, mental, and emotional needs. When self-leadership is missing, high-achieving women often fall back on old limiting beliefs that trigger emotions and behaviors like saying yes too often, neglecting boundaries, and pushing past exhaustion. This cycle erodes well-being and effectiveness over time.

Human-centered leadership starts with reconnecting to ourselves, aligning with our values, and modeling self-leadership so that we, and those we lead, can thrive. It creates a healthier, safer, and more empowering environment: one where humanity is not just accepted but celebrated. It invites women to redefine success in realistic and meaningful ways, to speak their truth, express their needs, trust their intuition, and lead in ways that feel energizing, not draining.

And this isn’t just intuition. McKinsey’s latest Organizational Health Index (2024) shows that authoritative leadership is now obsolete. The most effective leaders today embody consultative, supportive, and empowering leadership styles, which is the essence of human-centered leadership.

SO: What are some common barriers that women face when trying to step into their best selves at work?

CZ: There are both internal and external barriers that make it hard for women to fully step into their authentic selves at work.

Internally, many women carry deep-rooted conditioning determined by societal expectations. A big one is the fear of being “too much” or “not enough.” We’re taught to be likable, avoid being “difficult,” and prove our worth by being endlessly capable. This often leads to people-pleasing, perfectionism, and the suppression of important parts of ourselves. Many women still believe—consciously or not—that leading with care, empathy, or vulnerability will make them seem weak or unprofessional.

Externally, the systems around us often reinforce those fears. Leadership models in many organizations are still built on outdated, masculine-coded traits—like assertiveness without empathy, or constant availability without boundaries. And there’s a persistent lack of visible role models who lead from a place of human-centered leadership, where empathy, care, and clear boundaries are seen as strengths, not liabilities. Without these examples, many women second-guess their leadership style or feel pressure to conform just to be taken seriously.

Together, these internal and external dynamics create a kind of invisible armor women feel they need to wear in order to succeed, often at the cost of their authenticity, confidence, and even their health.

SO: You mention the importance of accessing your heart and intuition. What steps can the modern woman professional take to reconnect with herself and transform her leadership approach?

CZ: Start by slowing down, even for just five minutes a day, perhaps during your morning commute or while making your coffee. Turn off the noise and check in with your body: How do I feel? What do I need right now? This simple act of presence can start to rebuild the bridge between your mind and body.

Second, unlearn the belief that “thinking” should always override “feeling.” In reality, the most effective leaders are those who can integrate both logic and intuition. Research shows that accessing both systems, rational analysis and gut instinct, leads to better, more balanced decisions.

Third, build a support system. Women often don’t invest enough in mentoring or sponsorship at work even though both can be transformative. Seek mentors of any gender who can guide you and advocate for you, and make mentorship a vital part of how you grow professionally.

But don’t stop there. One of the biggest things I see in high-achieving women is a lack of true belonging and connection outside of work. We need community, not just colleagues, to calm our nervous systems, reconnect to our intuition, and thrive. This might look like joining a local sports team, volunteering, getting to know your neighbors, or finding a hobby group that sparks joy.

While workplace friendships can be valuable, relying solely on work for belonging is risky. True community that’s built around shared interests, support, or purpose offers a deeper kind of connection. It can help women replenish their energy and lead from a grounded, heart-centered place.

Whether it’s a mentor at work or a circle outside of it, we all need safe spaces where we can reconnect with ourselves, explore new tools, and be reminded that our way of leading is powerful.

Looking for more career success stories? Read our full issue here!