Beyond Burnout: How Executives Can BOTH Sustain High Performance AND Well-Being

Burnout isn’t just a buzzword - it’s a growing crisis, especially at the executive level. I’ve been coaching senior leaders for almost three decades, and what I’m seeing lately is different. It's not just long hours or high pressure - it’s deeper. It's existential fatigue. It's the erosion of joy. It's leaders quietly wondering, “Is this still worth it?”

Executives are trained to power through. They’re wired to achieve, to take on more, to be the ones others rely on. But even the strongest performers - especially the strongest performers - can hit a wall. And when they do, the fall can be devastating.

The Myth of Limitless Capacity

One of the most persistent lies in leadership culture is that you can simply “optimize” your way out of exhaustion. Better time management, more delegation, another productivity hack - these might help on the surface, but they don’t address the root issue. At the executive level, performance isn’t just about output. In fact, it’s not at all about output! It’s about clarity, resilience, presence, and energy. Judgment. Thoughtfulness. Nuance. All of which require mental and emotional depth and acuity. When those are gone, no amount of scheduling magic will bring them back.

I’ve worked with clients who were operating at the highest levels of success - managing billions in assets, leading global teams - yet feeling increasingly disconnected from their work, their purpose, and their own well-being. They weren’t just tired; they were depleted.

Why It Happens

Executive burnout often hides in plain sight. Leaders get rewarded for pushing through, for being available 24/7, for never showing weakness. That reward system makes it almost impossible to step back - even when the warning signs are flashing.

There’s also a very real isolation that comes with seniority. The higher you go, the fewer people you can confide in. Add to that the pressure to deliver in a rapidly changing world - economic volatility, hybrid work challenges, social expectations around purpose and impact - and it’s no wonder so many leaders are privately falling apart.

What to Do Instead

The goal isn’t just to avoid burnout - it’s to build a sustainable rhythm for leadership. Here’s what I’ve seen work, both in my own life and in the lives of the executives I coach:

1. Redefine High Performance (Hint: It’s NOT productivity!)

High performance isn’t about doing everything. It’s about doing the right things with intention and energy. This means reevaluating what really needs your attention. What are you uniquely positioned to lead? What are you holding onto out of habit or ego? Strategic clarity is an energy-saver. Not to mention delegation.

2. Create Boundaries That Hold

We all say we have boundaries. But how often do we actually enforce them? One of my clients, a CEO of a healthcare system, recently started blocking two hours every Friday afternoon for uninterrupted thinking time. She treats it like a board meeting - non-negotiable. That one shift allows her to process her week and reconnect herself with her strategic brain. It also ensures that she is able to enjoy her down time on the weekend, knowing her Monday priorities are clear.

Boundaries aren’t selfish; they’re essential. They allow you to lead from a place of groundedness, not reactivity.

3. Put Recovery on the Agenda

Elite athletes don’t train constantly. Their performance depends on recovery. The same applies to leadership. Build in true recovery time - away from devices, away from the noise. This might look like a real vacation (not a "working from elsewhere" setup), or it could be smaller moments built into your day: walking meetings, digital detoxes, 10 minutes of stillness between back-to-back calls. And sleep! There’s no prize for functioning on minimal sleep so create the conditions (no devices, total darkness) and let your body repair and rejuvenate the way it knows how.

Recovery is not the reward. It’s the fuel.

4. Revisit Your Why

Burnout often signals a misalignment between your work and your values. When you’re connected to purpose, the hard days still feel worthwhile. When you’re not, every task becomes heavier.

Make space to reflect on what matters now - not what mattered five years ago. Your motivations may have shifted. That’s normal. Leadership is a constantly evolving relationship with yourself.

5. Talk to Someone Who Gets It

Senior leadership can be lonely. That’s why coaching is so powerful. Not because coaches have all the answers, but because they hold space for you to ask better questions. Questions like: What do I want this next chapter to look like? What am I doing or tolerating that I don’t need to? What would it mean to lead with more ease?

And if not a coach, or in addition to a coach - there are CEO roundtables and mastermind groups that create a confidential, non-competitive community that is incredibly valuable for top level executives with no peers or close colleagues.

You don’t have to figure this out alone.

Leading from Here

One of the central ideas I work with is that sustainable leadership starts with presence - more specifically, being present. You can’t lead from some ideal future version of yourself who magically has more time, energy, or certainty. Oh, and newsflash - it’s never “not busy.” You lead from where you are - right here, right now. That means making decisions that honour both your ambition and your humanity.

Burnout doesn’t mean you’re broken. It means your systems - internal and external - need recalibration. That recalibration is possible. And it doesn’t have to mean stepping away from leadership. In fact, it might be what allows you to lead even more effectively.

So if you're feeling the edge of burnout - or already in it - pause. Breathe. Figure out what you need, who you can turn to and what kind of help would serve you best. You’re not alone. You’re not weak. And you’re not stuck.