This is the operational secret that the top CEOs know

Seven years into my leadership journey, I had a big epiphany. 

Most business owners are overwhelmed, unfocused, and on the brink of burnout. I was there, too. 

After losing a few key people who were integral to our bottom line, I moved back into the salesperson role and my team suffered as a result. I prioritised revenue over relationships, which led to a huge disconnect in the team. 

I had neglected my leadership responsibilities, and it showed in our culture and connection. 

This is something every CEO goes through. It’s part of the evolution from technician to visionary, and the journey isn’t always linear.

Through burnout, relationship issues and business stresses, I’ve discovered how the top 1% of leaders create high performance by doing less. 

It’s less about KPIs and actions, and more about results and resonance. 

My whole life up until this point has been validated by action and achievement. This is why it’s hard to break the pattern of overwork. When the business is suffering, so are you. 

The real leverage happens when you can pull yourself away from the daily doing/managing, and free up mental space to solve problems, explore ideas, and innovate. 

This means not layering tasks upon tasks. If I’m walking, I’m walking. If I’m cooking, I’m showering. No podcasts, audiobooks, hacks or distractions. 

The subconscious needs space to kick in and fire up. 

Protecting your health, in all forms, is a business strategy. 

As a society, we tend to idolise the CEOs who have had the most success in their respective industry… over the leaders who have built wonderful businesses and lives but remain unknown. 

We think more is better, bigger is better. But it’s not. 

CEOs and founders need to focus on building leverage. 

And overcoming the internal belief that doing less is lazy. It’s not; it’s leverage. 

Leverage is how you level up as a leader. 

If you’re sharp, energised and at peace, you bring that into your business. Don’t let hustle culture and ‘overnight successes’ skew your perception. It’s your business – you get to make the rules. 

This is the era of slow, smart growth. As we always like to say at Nitschke, ‘be better, before bigger.’ 

If you haven’t yet joined my free 30-day email course, sign up now. 

It’s a mini MBA for ambitious CEOs and individuals. One short, tactical, inspirational email per day, to help you move your business forward.