Over the past few years, I have noticed a meaningful shift in how leaders think about their roles. Conversations today, whether in boardrooms or at industry gatherings, are more reflective and more human.
There is a growing recognition that leadership is not just about delivering outcomes, but about sustaining the clarity and emotional balance needed to guide teams through a fast-changing world.
However, amidst all this, many leaders now quietly acknowledge that prolonged decision-fatigue, constant availability, and the weight of responsibility can take a gradual toll. This often shows up as sleep disturbances, restlessness, or emotional weariness before one even realises it.
Modern workplace culture suggests that a leader is only valuable if they can carry this load without buckling under any strain. As a result, leaders often stop themselves from getting help as they believe it is their moral duty to stand firm in every situation.
They are reluctant to show their vulnerability, as stress, exhaustion, or burnout could indicate professional weakness or inadequacy. This deep-seated fear and shame prevent them from seeking the support they need. This hidden burden, coupled with the expectation to be strong at all times, is causing harm to their well-being.
Corporate leaders, too, need a supportive, professional space to talk their stress out.
Early in one’s career, there is a certain ease that comes from being surrounded by peers who share the same challenges, whom one can lean on. There is a natural safety net built by mentors in these early years that allows one to experiment and learn and thereby commit errors in the process.
But as leaders rise through the organisational hierarchy, that support system naturally narrows. With each step upward, the room for doubt gets smaller, expectations get sharper, and the cost of any misstep feels higher. The higher the visibility, the smaller the space to admit struggle. Along with visibility, success also brings novel challenges: fewer people to confide in, fewer safe spaces for honesty, and an unspoken expectation that leaders must stay composed, even when the weight becomes overwhelming. If reaching the summit is difficult, staying there is even harder.
The hidden cost of the unbreakable executive
The leadership pressure cooker has fundamentally transformed. Today’s stressors are not just about hitting financial targets; they are multi-dimensional, faster, and much more invasive. We see the rise of two main, connected challenges shaping modern executive stress: The Velocity Challenge and The Scrutiny Factor.
The Velocity Challenge involves a shift, which is the erosion of boundaries caused by technology. Pre-digital leadership allowed for a natural recovery period between workdays. Smartphones, instant messaging, and global operations mean a crisis in Tokyo at 3 AM is instantly visible in Bengaluru.
The concept of theweekend or holiday has become a myth, replaced by the expectation of constant availability. This lack of recovery leads directly to chronic mental fatigue and burnout. Rapid digital transformation and market disruption demand decisions faster than ever, often with incomplete or contradictory data. This relentless need for immediate, high-stakes judgment results in chronic decision fatigue and deep anxiety over potential errors.
Amplified Scrutiny Factor involves relentless scrutiny that corporate leaders are put through – the higher one climbs, the more public their life becomes. This scrutiny often extends beyond the professional realm, adding stress to family relationships and personal time, compounding the sense of isolation often referred to as being “lonely at the top”. That kind of loneliness eventually creates a void and disconnect.
Another often-overlooked element is the pressure created by lifestyle escalation. As professionals grow, so do their financial commitments, higher standards of living, social expectations, and the pressure to “keep up” in an increasingly consumer-driven society.
For many leaders, failure does not just threaten their professional identity; it threatens the life they have worked hard to build. This economic anxiety intensifies the emotional weight they carry, making it even harder to step back, slow down, or show vulnerability.
Compounding this is the growing sense of dispensability in modern workplaces. As trust declines and loyalty becomes increasingly transactional, even senior leaders feel the insecurity of being easily replaceable. This erosion of trust amplifies stress because when leaders don’t feel secure, they suppress vulnerability even more. The silent message becomes—stay strong, stay silent, stay indispensable. But this very silence widens the emotional distance within organisations.
Permission to power down
To combat such concerns, leaders should visibly take their designated holidays, disconnect from emails at the end of their day at a reasonable hour, and speak about practices (like mindfulness or exercise) that aid their well-being. When the Chief Executive of a firm publicly talks of indulging in a “digital detox” weekend, it grants permission to the entire organisation to do the same.
Rather than viewing stress disclosure as a weakness, smart organisations could frame it as a badge of courage. A leader who transparently shares that they are responsibly managing a period of high pressure teaches the team that prioritising one’s health is a non-negotiable part of professional life.
Vulnerability is the new strength
The current presupposition that a leader must be an emotionally indestructible superhero at all times is not a foundation for overall success; it is a structural flaw that everyone has quietly accepted. By demanding the impossible, organisations are not forging iron leaders; they are quietly breaking resilient humans.
Sustainable leadership is not about having indestructible strength; it is about building an impeccable support structure. The future of executive health, and by extension, the health of the businesses they lead, depends on replacing the old culture of shame with a new culture of safety. The most crucial decision a senior leader can make is not in boardroom discussions, but in visibly choosing their own well-being, permitting everyone else to do the same. When leaders embrace vulnerability as a form of courage, their well-being becomes a strategic asset, one that fuels clarity, creativity, and long-term organisational strength. It is time organisations retire the culture of shame.
Less armour, more authenticity
Leadership was never meant to be a test of how much strain one can silently endure. It is a collective responsibility shaped by human connection, emotional honesty, and the willingness to recognise that even those at the top need room to breathe. When leaders give themselves permission to pause, reflect, and seek support, they create a culture where everyone feels safer doing the same.
What is worth pondering is that vulnerability is far closer to authenticity than it is to bravado. At a time when we are transitioning from traditional work patterns to modern, rapidly evolving ways of working, shaped by technological acceleration and shifting social expectations, the merits of authentic leadership deserve renewed attention.
The author is Country Head – Brand and Marketing at Narayana Health.
