Despite what the best performer or some overzealous employee would say, burnout is no badge of honor. It is, in every sense of the word, a red flag. Yet, 72% of CEOs admit they’ve pushed through exhaustion, anxiety, or disillusionment to avoid appearing “weak.” Why? Because leadership culture glorifies sacrifice. 

We praise the executive who answers emails at 2 a.m., the founder who skips vacations, the visionary who “never quits.” But what happens when the relentless grind erodes your creativity, relationships, and health? Most Loved Workplaces®—certified for prioritizing employee well-being—use these strategies to reduce burnout company-wide. But for CEOs, the solution starts at the top.

I’ve coached hundreds of leaders through this crisis. And while every story is unique, there’s one truth I share with all of them: Burnout isn’t your fault, but it is your responsibility to fix. Let’s unpack what that means—and how you can reclaim your energy without losing your edge.

What Burnout Looks Like for CEOs (It’s Not Just “Feeling Tired”)

Burnout in leadership often masquerades as “dedication.” You might recognize these signs:

• Decision fatigue: Simple choices, like approving a budget, feel paralyzing.
• Cynicism creeping in: You dismiss new ideas with, “We’ve tried that before.”
• Isolation: You stop confiding in your board or spouse, fearing judgment.
• Physical symptoms: Chronic headaches, insomnia, or unexplained weight shifts.

One Fortune 500 CEO I worked with hid his burnout so well that his team praised his “calm demeanor”—unaware he’d started taking anti-anxiety medication just to get through board meetings. 

Sound familiar?

The World Health Organization classifies burnout as an “occupational phenomenon” tied to chronic workplace stress. SHRM’s 2024 observations reflect that claim, showing that almost half of the workforce is burned out at any given time, yet continues to push through. 

But for CEOs, the stakes are higher: Your burnout doesn’t just harm you—it cascades through your entire organization. Teams mimic your habits, investors sense instability, and innovation stalls.

So, what’s the “one thing” that changes this trajectory?

“Delegate Power, Not Just Tasks”

Most burned-out CEOs try to “fix” burnout by offloading minor tasks. They hire assistants, automate emails, or delegate operational work. But this misses the root issue: You’re clinging to power, not just workload.

True recovery requires delegating authority, not just chores. Here’s why:

The Power Paradox

When you hoard decision-making power, you create bottlenecks. Teams wait for your approval on everything from marketing budgets to IT upgrades. This slows growth and traps you in a cycle of reactive leadership.

Take Sarah (name changed), a tech CEO who came to me after her third burnout episode. She’d delegated tasks but still insisted on approving every hire personally. Result? Her HR team stalled for weeks waiting for her feedback, and Sarah worked 80-hour weeks interviewing interns.

My advice: “Let your VP of Talent own hiring—completely.” Reluctantly, she agreed. Within months, retention improved by 40%, and Sarah reclaimed 15 hours a week. Delegating power freed her to focus on investor relations—her actual strength.

3 Steps to Delegate Power (Without Losing Control)

Step 1: Identify Your “Power Triggers”

Power triggers are tasks or decisions you cling to because of fear, ego, or habit—not because they’re critical to your role. For example, a CEO I coached insisted on personally approving every social media post. Why? “Our brand voice is too important to trust to marketing,” he said. But after tracking his time, he realized he’d spent 12 hours a week editing captions—time he could’ve spent negotiating a partnership that doubled revenue.

How to Spot Them:

• The “I’m the Only One” Trap: Tasks you justify with “No one else can do this right.”
• Bottleneck Alerts: Projects that stall because teams wait for your input (e.g., budget sign-offs, hiring decisions).
• Emotional Attachment: Work tied to your identity (e.g., leading client pitches because you’re the “face” of the company).

Action Exercise:

1. Track Your Decisions: For one week, log every task you approve or execute.
2. Ask Your Team: “Where am I slowing you down?” One CEO learned her team delayed product launches by 3 weeks waiting for her feedback on minor design tweaks.
3. Pick 3 to Delegate: Start with low-risk areas. A retail CEO handed off inventory management to her COO, freeing her to revamp their e-commerce strategy.

Step 2: Redefine “Success” for Those Roles

Delegating power isn’t about offloading work—it’s about letting others own outcomes. Most CEOs fail here because they dictate how to do the work instead of defining what success looks like.

Example

When Howard Schultz returned as Starbucks’ CEO in 2008, the company was collapsing. Instead of micromanaging store managers, he set one goal: “Make every customer feel seen.” Managers redesigned layouts, added personalized order options, and even created local community boards. Revenue rebounded by $2B in two years.

Your Playbook

• Set North Star Metrics: “Increase customer retention by 15%” instead of “Follow my sales script.”
• Kill the “How”: If you delegate social media, don’t demand daily posts. Say, “Grow engagement by 20% in 6 months—your way.”
• Reward Creativity: When a fintech CEO let his CTO redesign their app without approval, the team invented a feature that reduced user onboarding time by 70%.

Why This Works:

People innovate when trusted. A Gallup study found teams with autonomy show 21% higher profitability.

Step 3: Schedule “Power Checks” (Not Micromanagement)

Delegating authority doesn’t mean going off the grid. It means shifting from “Are you doing it my way?” to “Are we hitting our goals?”

How to Structure Checks:

• Monthly Outcome Reviews: Discuss metrics, not methods. Example: “Did the new hire reduce IT ticket resolution time?”
• Quarterly “Reset” Sessions: Adjust goals if needed. A SaaS CEO may realize his CMO’s “brand awareness” goal to be too vague and thus move to “Increase demo sign-ups by 30%.”
• Public Recognition: Celebrate wins in team meetings. One CEO created a “Delegation Hall of Fame” Slack channel to showcase wins.

For instance, a healthcare CEO may delegate patient satisfaction initiatives to her COO, but may be worried about losing control. Instead of micromanaging, she should consider scheduling biweekly 15-minute calls to review satisfaction scores. When scores dip, she can ask, “What support do you need?” instead of taking over. Within months, results can be quite surprising.

Script for Your First Check-In:

“I want to hear about your progress and challenges. What’s working? What obstacles can I remove? Remember, this is your project—I’m here to support, not steer.”

James (name changed), founder of a SaaS startup, came to me emotionally drained. He hadn’t taken a weekend off in two years, his marriage was crumbling, and his team resented his “helicopter leadership.”

The Turning Point: During a strategy session, James admitted, “I don’t even like this job anymore.”

The Fix:

1. Delegated product development to his CTO, with full authority to hire/fire.
2. Stopped attending sales calls—trusted his VP to close deals.
3. Took a 3-week sabbatical with no phone access.

The Result:

• Revenue grew 200% in six months (the team closed deals faster without James’ perfectionism).
• James launched a new passion project: an AI tool he’d brainstormed for years.
• His relationship with his wife improved after couples therapy.

“Delegating power didn’t just save my company—it saved me,” he told me later.

Like James, you don’t have to handle the brunt of your burnout alone. Consider Louis Carter’s 1:1 Executive Coaching to build a team that thrives under pressure.

Why Most CEOs Resist This (and How to Overcome It)

Fear 1: “They’ll Make Mistakes”

Truth: They will. But so did you. The key is building a culture where mistakes are growth opportunities, not disasters.When Microsoft’s Satya Nadella took over, he shifted the mantra from “Know-it-all” to “Learn-it-all.”

Employees now share “failure stories” in town halls, improving resilience. The model focuses on a build-measure-learn feedback loop, which means that you view every mistake as a learning opportunity, not failure.

Fear 2: “I’ll Lose Relevance”

Burnout often stems from tying self-worth to busyness. Ask: “Do I want to be known for working hard—or for achieving something meaningful?”

Fear 3: “They’ll Outshine Me”

Insecure leaders create ceilings; confident leaders build floors. When you let others lead, you amplify your impact.

Indra Nooyi, former PepsiCo CEO, credits her success to letting lieutenants like Hugh Johnston handle most of the decisions. “My legacy isn’t me—it’s the leaders I nurtured,” she says.

Fear 4: “The Team Isn’t Ready”

Many CEOs confuse “not ready” with “not trained.” A manufacturing CEO told me, “My team can’t handle supplier negotiations.” Turns out, they’d never been taught.

Fix:

• Invest in Skill-Building: Send leaders to negotiation workshops.
• Pair Them with Mentors: A media CEO had his CFO mentor a junior manager on budget planning.
• Start Small: Delegate a pilot project first. One CEO let his team handle a 50 K client deal—then a 50 K client deal—then a 500 K deal after they succeeded.

At IBM, CEO Arvind Krishna delegates AI strategy to teams AFTER they complete immersive tech training. “You can’t delegate to unprepared minds,” he says.

Fear 5: “It’s Faster to Do It Myself”

Short-term speed vs. long-term scalability. A startup founder coded all night to fix a website bug—until he collapsed from exhaustion. His team later admitted, “We knew how to fix it but waited for you.”

Fix:

• The 2-Hour Rule: If a task takes you 2 hours, spend 4 hours training someone else. You’ll save 100+ hours annually.
• Automate Handoffs: Use tools like Trello or Asana to assign tasks instantly.
• Track Time Saved: A CEO calculated that delegating payroll saved her 60 hours a year—time she used to secure a key investor.

Stat: Leaders who delegate tactical work gain 6+ hours weekly for strategic work.

Fear 6: “I’ll Lose Touch with the Business”

CEOs fear becoming disconnected from daily operations. But you don’t need to approve office snacks to stay informed.

Fix:

• Get “Pulse” Updates: Ask for weekly 3-bullet emails on key metrics (e.g., “Customer complaints down 10%”).
• Shadow Teams Quarterly: Spend a day with frontline employees without intervening. A retail CEO discovered a store layout flaw during a shadow shift—something reports never mentioned.
• Use Dashboards: Tools like Tableau let you monitor real-time data without micromanaging.

For example, Apple’s Tim Cook delegates product details to Jony Ive but stays informed through weekly design briefs. “I see the forest; they manage the trees,” he says.

Fear 7: “I’ll Lose My Value to the Board”

CEOs worry boards will question their role if they’re not “doing it all.” But boards care about results, not your workload.

Fix:

• Showcase Team Wins: In board meetings, highlight how delegated projects drove growth.
• Frame Delegation as Strategy: “I’m focusing on M&A opportunities while my COO optimizes operations.”
• Bring Delegated Leaders to Meetings: Let your CFO present financials—it proves you’ve built a strong bench.

Your First Move: The 7-Day Power Audit

Ready to start? Try this exercise:

1. Track every decision you make for a week (use a notes app).
2. Categorize them: Strategic (growth, vision) vs. Tactical (hiring, budgeting).
3. Identify 3 tactical decisions to delegate with full authority.
4. Schedule a handoff meeting with the chosen leader. Say: “I trust your judgment. Own this.”

One CEO client discovered she was approving office supply orders. Delegating that saved her 5 hours a week—time she invested in mentoring high-potential employees.

Final Word: Burnout Is a Leadership Test

Surviving burnout isn’t about yoga retreats or time management hacks. It’s about redefining what leadership means. You weren’t meant to do everything—you were meant to inspire others to do great things.The CEOs who thrive aren’t the ones who work hardest. They’re the ones who build teams that outthink, outpace, and outperform. So, ask yourself: Will you cling to power—or will you multiply it? Apply for a confidential 1:1 Executive Coaching Consultation with Louis Carter today—and start leading with clarity, energy, and purpose.