To sustain modern high-performance demands, executive wellness must pivot from grueling transactions to sustainable self-leadership. By analyzing the iconic character of Miranda Priestly, this reflection reveals that true leadership “function” requires a delicate balance of FUN (creative joy) and UNCTION (deep wisdom and empathy). Real professional success begins when leaders stop trying to fit into outdated, toxic expectations and begin leading themselves with the same excellence they demand of others.
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A Mushy Guru Reflection on Executive Wellness, Self-Leadership, and the Hidden Art of Function
For nearly twenty years, The Devil Wears Prada has remained in my top three favorite films.
Initially, it was because of the couture, the iconic one-liners, and, admittedly, the fantasy of impeccable executive presence. Yet, I continue to return to it because Miranda Priestly may be one of the most compelling executive leaders ever written on screen—and one who invites a surprisingly relevant conversation about wellness and self-leadership.
A Quick Disclaimer: In the spirit of fun, love, and all things Mushy Guru, I am not suggesting that executive leaders are devils. Quite the opposite! I am simply borrowing one of popular culture’s most iconic characters to explore a question that fascinates me both personally and professionally.
The Cinematic Evolution of an Icon
When the long-awaited The Devil Wears Prada 2 arrived in theaters, I did what any serious student of executive leadership, organizational culture, and cinematic excellence would do: I enthusiastically dragged my husband to the theater.
Throughout the film, I proceeded to text one of my best friends as she watched it simultaneously in another state. Yes, we were those people. Two grown women, separated by hundreds of miles, emotionally invested in the professional and personal evolution of a fictional fashion executive who has occupied valuable space in our collective consciousness for nearly two decades.
And perhaps that is exactly the point.
Miranda Priestly’s Prada may have been exquisite, but it was never the reason audiences stayed. We stayed because Miranda represented something far more compelling: the tension between excellence and humanity.
Yes, we admired her precision. But beneath the couture and the confidence, we found ourselves asking a question that leaders across every industry continue to ask today:
Can someone who has mastered the art of leading others also learn the equally important discipline of leading themselves well?
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Redefining the Word “FUNCTION”
In reflecting on this, I found myself returning to a word most professionals understand intimately: function.
Hidden within that word are two qualities that leadership development programs rarely discuss in detail collectively: FUN and UNCTION.
F U N C T I O N
│ │
│ └───► UNCTION (Wisdom, empathy, and depth)
└───────► FUN (Joy, curiosity, and presence)
1. The Power of FUN
FUN is not entertainment or distraction. It is the capacity to remain curious, creative, energized, and fully present in our work and our lives.
Somewhere between our first promotion and our latest strategic initiative, many of us unknowingly surrender one of our greatest leadership assets: our capacity for joy.
Teams instinctively know when a leader has lost their sense of fun long before the leader recognizes it themselves. When joy is missing, meetings become transactions rather than opportunities for connection.
2. The Power of UNCTION
UNCTION is not a standalone attribute like charisma, personality, or authority.
Unction is the cultivated wisdom that allows high-performing individuals to understand people as deeply as they understand performance. It is the ability to lead from the front while also knowing when to quietly stand beside someone who needs guidance. This may just be executive instinct at its finest.
When Fun and Unction Collide
Maybe that is where these two forces ultimately meet: at the highest level of F-UN-CTION.
There is another lesson hidden inside executive leadership that Miranda Priestly, intentionally or not, invites us to consider:
“Sometimes the most expensive thing we own is not hanging in our closet. It is hanging onto a version of ourselves that no longer fits.”
Every great fashion house understands a simple truth: no matter how beautiful the garment is, if it no longer fits, it no longer serves you. Executive wellness operates much the same way.
As leaders continue navigating organizational culture, workforce transformation, employee engagement, and personal well-being, perhaps the most important question is not whether we are leading others effectively.
The question is whether we are leading ourselves well enough to sustain the journey.
The Ultimate Runway Takeaway
This is the lesson Miranda Priestly has been teaching us all along.
- Excellence and humanity are not opposing forces.
- High standards and personal wellness can coexist.
- The most effective leaders are not those who sacrifice themselves for success, but those who become well enough themselves to help others flourish.
In leadership as in fashion, true function begins when we stop trying to fit into what no longer serves us. Sometimes, we discover that a little more FUN and a little more UNCTION may be exactly what executive wellness has been missing.
About Mushy Guru
Mushy Guru is a company that helps bring writers’ stories to life and lends its name to the blog. The name reflects its meaning: Meaningful Useful Stories that Help You and Meaningful Useful Solutions that Heal You. Using coaching as a tool, it guides individuals from thought to paper and from coaching to completion through a clear process and structured support.
About the Author
D’Ericka Stevenson is the Executive Editor of Promena: Set the Standard, leading editorial direction and content strategy with a focus on clarity and impact. She holds a degree in English and Communications from North Carolina State University and is completing a master’s degree in counseling, strengthening her ability to understand the story behind the words. As Founder and CEO of MUSHY Guru, D’Ericka is also a playwright for national stage productions, with experience in film scripts through mentorship with notable media productions.
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