Why even top-performing CEOs need to disconnect this summer

You didn’t build your business by checking out. You got here by showing up, every day, every hour, on every call, even when everyone else was asleep or on vacation.

But here’s the truth no one tells high performers: you’re not supposed to sprint the entire marathon.

And if you’re constantly available, constantly deciding, constantly reacting, you’re not leading. I’m sorry, but you’re firefighting.

Does Everyone Really Need a Break?

There’s a myth among top performers: “I can handle more than most people.” That may be true, but it doesn’t make you superhuman.

Research from Harvard Business Review shows that decision fatigue and overcommitment lead directly to poor judgment, stalled creativity, and lower-quality leadership. Your brain needs downtime to process complexity. Not just sleep, but intentional detachment.

Summer: The Strategic Season for Stepping Back

Summer is when the world softens. Your clients take time off. Meetings slow. The pressure eases just enough to allow a strategic pause.

Instead of filling that space with more busywork, use it to zoom out.

Time away from the day-to-day creates distance, and distance creates clarity.

Many CEOs report that their best ideas came not from brainstorming sessions, but from moments when they weren’t “working” at all: on a mountain hike, a quiet beach, or while biking through an unfamiliar city.

As Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism, puts it: “If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.”

How to Disconnect Without Losing Control

1. Declare it. Schedule your time off like you would a major product launch. Don’t ask for permission. Lead by example.
2. Prep your team. Identify decision-makers in your absence. Empower them. Make it clear: you’re not micromanaging from the beach.
3. Limit tech tethers. Use email autoresponders, set emergency-only contact protocols, and remove work apps from your phone.
4. Ease back in. Don’t jam your calendar on Day 1 back. Allow white space to recalibrate and bring back insight, not just inbox fatigue.

What’s Really Holding You Back from Disconnecting?

Let’s be honest: for many founders and CEOs, the fear isn’t that the business will fall apart, it’s that you won’t know who you are without it.

But the strongest leaders don’t just build businesses. They build capacity to think deeply, to lead calmly, to return refreshed.

Disconnecting doesn’t make you less dedicated. It makes you durable.

Can Vital: The Space Where Real Reconnection Happens

Can Vital offers the ideal setting for personal retreats and meaningful team offsites, where real reconnection can happen.

Nestled in nature, our environment is designed for calm, clarity, and deep reconnection with yourself, your team, or your purpose. Whether you’re planning a full summer break, a leadership retreat, or a team offsite, Can Vital provides an ideal setting to slow down, recharge, and realign.

Because sometimes, the smartest move isn’t pushing harder, it’s stepping back from the noise, and letting fresh insight emerge from a different place.

So this summer, ask yourself:
What could shift if you disconnected not out of burnout, but out of wisdom?

Ready to plan your next business retreat at Can Vital?

Contact us to learn how we can help you create a purposeful and inspiring company getaway in the heart of Catalonia.