Executive leadership, particularly in the healthcare sector, isn’t for the faint of heart. The pace is relentless, the demands are high, and the stakes, both personal and professional, can feel unrelenting. 

But sustainable leadership is possible, and it starts with how you lead yourself. 

The silent crisis in leadership:

Between February and April 2022, McKinsey surveyed 15,000 employees across 15 countries. One in four reported symptoms of burnout. Burned-out employees are six times more likely to plan an exit in the next 3–6 months.

That’s not just a human crisis, it’s a business one. Burnout drives turnover, absenteeism, disengagement, and diminished innovation. It costs your organization, and it costs you, too.

What burnout really is:

As physician and former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy wisely said, “Burnout manifests in individuals, but it’s fundamentally rooted in systems.”

Burnout isn’t just about an overflowing calendar or too many late nights. It’s about the deeper structures that shape how we work: culture, leadership, design, and support. And one often-overlooked systemic factor? Disconnection.

In his 2023 advisory, Dr. Murthy named loneliness and social isolation a public health crisis, with physical effects comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. That kind of disconnection, whether at work or at home, deepens exhaustion and erodes resilience.

After all, burnout doesn’t begin at the edge of capacity. It begins where purpose and connection fray.

Thankfully, restoring both is within reach.

In my work with senior leaders across industries, I’ve seen this truth time and again: when leaders are clear on their unique purpose (i.e. the work they find meaningful, energizing, and fulfilling) they can begin to give themselves strategic adjacency to it. Even amid a sea of draining tasks, small doses of purpose-filled work can be profoundly restorative.

That’s not indulgence. That’s sustainability.

Here are three practical ways to start leading in burnout-proof ways:

→ Reconnect with what fills you up
Leadership will always include tasks that drain you. But you can still seek out slivers of purpose in your week.
Try this: Ask yourself: What work fills me back up, and how can I make room for even 15 minutes of it this week?

→ Lead with psychological safety
A 2024 BCG study showed that psychological safety with a direct manager is one of the four most critical drivers of employee inclusion—and a powerful burnout buffer.
Try this: At your next 1:1, ask: What’s something I can do to better support you right now?

→ Model boundaries and rest
One in four professionals say they rarely or never take all their vacation days. But restoration is a leadership competency.
Try this: Take time off and share why. Let your team see you value rest as much as results.

Ready to lead with strength, without burning out?

My course, Resilience in Leadership, equips you with evidence-based tools to lead with strength, prevent burnout, and build well-being into your leadership practice.

Enroll now to develop the mindset and habits to thrive, no matter the challenge.

You don’t have to lose yourself to lead well. You’re not alone in the hard things. And you can lead with strength and sustainability.

I'm rooting for you!

CURATED PROFESSIONAL RESOURCES

for the leader who wants to dig a little deeper

 

The Burnout Epidemic - a book by Jennifer Moss

 

Unlocking Us by Brené Brown – a podcast episode from Brené with Emily and Amelia Nagoski on Burnout and How to Complete the Stress Cycle

“Rather than bouncing back, which implies going back to the way things were, I like to think of resilience as the ability to bounce up. There is a Latin phrase for this: Per ardua surgo. It means, essentially, ’I rise through adversity.’”

Julie Freischlag, MD, FACS