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Amid an increasingly challenging economic and geopolitical landscape, top executives are finally hitting the wall.
The vast majority (71%) of CEOs at small to mid-size firms report feeling some sort of burnout occasionally, and more than a third (32%) say they have experienced it frequently over the past year, according to executive coaching and advisory firm Vistage’s CEO Confidence Index. Around 7% say they experience the feeling nearly every day.
That’s no surprise, as rapid technology transformation, volatile markets, shifting employee expectations, compounded by a shifting political environment means that it’s only getting lonelier at the top, according to Joe Galvin, chief research officer at Vistage.
“Unlike most roles, CEOs often face these challenges alone, with few trusted peers to lean on,” he tells Fortune. “That isolation makes the weight of leadership even heavier.”
When asked about the current economic state of the U.S., 58% of this cohort say it’s worse than a year ago, and another 44% expect it to continue to decline over the next 12 months. More than a third (38%) of small and mid-size business leaders also say profit margins have decreased, and 52% say they expect prices to increase over the next three months. That may force executives to make some tough decisions, like decreasing headcount, or finding ways to cut costs elsewhere.
It’s not just small to mid-size business executives who are feeling the added stress. Many executives at large firms are also leaving their posts. Average CEO tenure dropped to 6.8 years in the first quarter of 2025, compared to around eight years over the same time period in 2024, according to the CEO Turnover Index, an analysis of global public companies from executive search and advisory firm Russell Reynolds Associates.
“The demands placed on CEOs is more intense than it ever has been,” Brad Pugh, partner and leadership advisor at Russell Reynolds Associates, tells Fortune. He says he’s seen a notable departure in the number of top leaders at an organization who are even interested in the CEO position because of how the pressure of the role has increased.
“You used to put a group of potential CEOs in a room, and everybody would be clamoring for the top job,” he says. “Now we’re hearing more people advocating for the number two or three position, not sure if they have all the accountability and visibility that comes with being in that number one seat.”
Brit Morse
brit.morse@fortune.com
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Watercooler
Everything you need to know from Fortune.
The hustle. Walmart CEO Doug McMillon got his start working at one of the company’s warehouses and moved his way up the corporate ladder. —Sydney Lake
Persistent gender gaps. Female MBA graduates aren’t seeing the same huge compensation gains like their male classmates. —Preston Fore
A rarity. Only 24 CEOs on the 2025 Fortune 500 list are founders or cofounders of the companies they lead. —Lily Mae Lazarus
