For many founder-CEOs, the idea of unplugging feels impossible. What if everything falls apart the moment you step away? The truth is, never taking a break doesn’t make you indispensable; it makes you vulnerable. When you’re always “on,” burnout can cloud your judgment, leading teams and projects to stagnate and innovation to stall.
Here, 20 members of Forbes Coaches Council share reasons why it’s so important for founder-CEOs to truly unplug, take a step back and take a real vacation. Their insights below illustrate how doing so strengthens both a founder-CEO and their business.
1. To Replenish Your Energy
Humans need to replenish their energy, much like a battery that needs recharging. You have to have inputs of energy and enjoyment to refill those spaces when you have given away your energy. It is like the famous analogy—when the oxygen masks drop down, you have to put yours on first so you can help others. – Christine Alvarez, Your Next Next
2. To Build A Legacy
We often think leadership is about always being present. But when a founder-CEO can’t step away, they’re really saying, “This company can’t exist without me.” That’s not leadership—it’s dependency. True leaders design organizations that flourish in their absence. A vacation isn’t stepping back; it’s stepping forward into legacy. – Rahul Karan Sharma, RahulKaranSharma.com
3. To Make Creative Connections
Your brain isn’t a machine; it needs downtime to do its best work. When you unplug, your mind processes, organizes and makes creative connections you miss in grind mode. There’s a reason your best ideas hit in the shower; clarity comes when you rest. Time off isn’t indulgent; it’s a CEO’s strategic advantage. – Lynne Levy, Lynne Levy Coaching
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4. To Create A Healthy Culture
Unplugging prevents burnout and costly mistakes while giving leaders a fresh perspective and clarity. Time away also empowers teams and sets up a healthy culture. Proving true leadership is not about constant presence; it’s about building an organization strong enough to thrive without you. – Andrea Hrusovska, HR4U Solutions LLC
5. To ‘Sharpen The Saw’
Stephen Covey’s “sharpen the saw” concept means taking time to renew yourself—physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually—so you can keep performing at your best. For founder-CEOs, vacations are about sharpening the saw: Step back, recharge and return with the clarity, energy and creativity to lead even better. – Dr. Adil Dalal, Pinnacle Process Solutions, Intl., LLC
6. To Reveal Dependencies
Because running on fumes makes you mistake motion for progress, stepping away forces the system to reveal its real dependencies—if the business stalls without you, that’s intel you can fix. A true break isn’t about beaches; it’s about testing whether you’ve built a company or just an expensive job you can’t clock out from. – Alla Adam, Adam Impact Institute
7. To Unlock Creativity
Unplugging is essential for taking advantage of neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to change and adapt. Founder-CEOs are constantly facing change and risk, and if they don’t allow new neural connections, they can’t see new ways of doing things. They get stuck. Taking a break from the daily barrage of “doing” allows CEOs the ability to tap into their creativity and visionary expertise. – Carrie-Ann Barrow, Scaling Strategies
8. To Set The Right Tone
Skipping vacation doesn’t make you a hero; it sets the tone for burnout across the whole company. When founders never unplug, it quietly tells the team, “Rest isn’t safe.” Taking a real break isn’t just for you; it’s a leadership move. It signals trust and shows the company can thrive without you in every room. Want a sustainable business? Start by normalizing boundaries. – Veronica Angela, CONQUER EDGE, LLC
9. To Test Your Company’s Resilience
Your company’s resilience is tested when you’re away. Stepping back reveals which processes break without you—a crucial organizational diagnosis. Your most innovative solutions often emerge during rest, not grind. Most importantly, the leader who demonstrates sustainable work habits creates the culture that retains top talent long-term. – Jonathan H. Westover, Ph.D., Human Capital Innovations
10. To Regain Space For Big Thinking
Entrepreneurs often force themselves to work like robots when their unique value contributions are creative problem-solving and ideation–activities that happen best with reduced pressure and noise. It’s hard to think about your business’s bigger future from a place of time scarcity and overwhelm. Nobody wins when you burn out, and teams often get more done when you’re away anyway. – Marissa Brassfield, CTOx
11. To Reinforce Your Trust In Your Team
When an owner-CEO needs to always be engaged with operations, it sends a message to the team that their abilities and the systems in place are not trusted to perform. Getting away from the business allows the owner to realize how the company runs without them needing to be present 24/7. The time off results in appreciating the company’s team and processes more. – Sherre DeMao, BizGrowth Inc
12. To Gain Clarity And Distance
If you can’t step away, you don’t own the business—the business owns you. Surgeons pause to study new techniques—not because they’re tired, but because excellence requires distance. Founder-CEOs need the same: space to reflect, visualize and sharpen focus. Clarity doesn’t come from constant motion. Step back. Breathe. Sleep. If everything breaks without you, that’s the signal—not the excuse. – Julien Fortuit, Julien Fortuit Agency
13. To Support Long-Term Success
Just as athletes need rest to perform, founder-CEOs must unplug to sustain success. Building systems that allow time away is essential. Positive psychology shows well-being thrives when we balance work, socializing, play and true rest—fueling clarity, creativity and long-term impact. – Diana Lowe, Blue Light Leadership
14. To Prevent Burnout And Fuel Growth
Founder-CEOs who never unplug risk burnout, poor decisions and limiting their company’s growth. Taking a real break forces the team to step up, exposes operational gaps and fuels fresh ideas. Time away recharges energy, sharpens perspective and makes both the leader and the business stronger, more resilient and better equipped for long-term success. – Peter Boolkah, The Transition Guy
15. To Maintain Decision-Making Capacity
It’s important to unplug because a constantly “on” brain loses its edge. Stepping away interrupts tunnel vision, restores creativity and models a healthy culture. For founder-CEOs, a real break isn’t indulgence; it’s strategic maintenance of the one asset the company can’t replace: their clarity and decision-making capacity. – Dr. Sunil Kumar, Dr. Sunil Kumar Consulting
16. To Avoid Reinforcing An Unhealthy Culture
We often hear that the next generation is rejecting responsibility. They’re not. They’re rejecting models that drain energy and purpose. Founder-CEOs who never unplug risk reinforcing that kind of culture. Stepping away tests whether your design supports collaboration, clarity and sustainability. If it can’t run without you, that might be a leadership and design problem worth fixing. – Thomas Posey, POSEY ASSOCIATES LLC
17. To Build Team Ownership
If you think your company can’t survive a week without you, that’s exactly why you need to take a vacation. Stepping away exposes gaps, shows who you can trust and reveals what might work differently—or better. It builds team ownership, proves your trust in them and lets you return sharper, ready to lead with renewed clarity and energy. – Stephan Lendi, Newbury Media & Communications GmbH
18. To Restore Your Perspective
If you never step away, you risk leading from a place of depletion instead of vision. Taking a real break restores perspective, energy and creativity—reminding you that your greatest value as a founder isn’t in constant doing, but in clear, inspired seeing. – Rachel Weissman, Congruence
19. To Empower Your Team
Founder-CEOs must unplug not only to recharge, but also to empower their teams to thrive without them. If leaders never step back, teams don’t learn to make decisions, solve problems or grow their confidence. Vacations create space for others to lead, sharpen judgment and take ownership. This builds a stronger, more resilient business—one that is powered by a team capable of driving the vision forward – Robert Gauvreau, Gauvreau | Accounting Tax Law Advisory
20. To Reset Strategically
It’s important to unplug because burnout doesn’t build empires—it quietly burns them down. Founder-CEOs who never unplug risk losing perspective, creativity and decision-making sharpness. A real vacation isn’t laziness; it’s a strategic reset. Step away, recharge, and you’ll return seeing opportunities you’d miss while buried in the grind. – Anastasia Paruntseva, Visionary Partners Ltd.