Why Leaders Burn Out Around Difficult People

Brenda Neckvatal

Published on: 10/04/2026

Burnout is often blamed on workload. Too many meetings. Too many priorities. Not enough time. That explanation sounds reasonable, but it misses the real source of exhaustion for many leaders. Burnout is rarely about the volume of work. It is about the weight of unresolved people problems that never seem to move forward.