Why switching off this summer makes you a better founder and business leader

As an Executive Coach and Strategic Adviser, I’ve found myself repeating the same message to clients as the summer holidays approach. It’s a simple phrase, but one that often makes leaders pause… “Switching off as a leader is the responsible thing to do.”

Not because they disagree, but because it challenges a deeply embedded belief that being constantly available is a measure of commitment, ambition, and success.

Through my work with a broad variety of UK organisations, I have been encouraging leaders to view time away from work differently. Taking a break, creating space to think, and properly switching off is not a selfish act; rather, it is a clear leadership responsibility that allows them to return with greater clarity, energy and perspective.

Leaders can often feel that stepping away means they are letting people down, or that they are not doing enough… but actually, the opposite is true. If you want to lead well, build well, grow well, drive results, make good decisions and support others in the process, you have to create the space to recharge and think clearly.

With many founders and leaders finding it harder than ever to disconnect, we need to rethink how we enable consistent high performance in environments with relentless demands. Sustainable leadership performance isn’t just an individual choice, it’s a business necessity to be facilitated through culture and systems.

The businesses that thrive in the months ahead will be those that recognise the connection between leadership effectiveness, resilience and wellbeing.

Resilience isn’t about simply coping with more pressure, it’s about creating the conditions where leaders and organisations can perform consistently over the long term.

My perspective is shaped by more than two decades spent in senior banking leadership roles, where I led teams, transformation programmes and complex operations in demanding environments.

My own experience of leadership pressure became the catalyst for a different approach. I was ambitious and driven, and I genuinely loved the work, but I also pushed myself hard for a long time without recognising the impact it was having.

In 2012, after years of sustained pressure, I experienced severe burnout. The experience forced me to stop and reassess what I wanted from my career and life.

Burnout was one of the hardest experiences I’ve been through, but it also gave me the opportunity to question assumptions I’d never challenged before – including the belief that professional success only came in one form: climbing the corporate ladder, overworking, achieving recognition and reaching the next level.

As I recovered, I realised I didn’t need to walk away from everything I had learned, achieved and worked for. Instead, I could combine my leadership experience with my passion for helping people and create something new.

That journey led me to train as a Nutritional Therapist, extend my coaching accreditations, become a two-time author, and ultimately startup my coaching and advisory practice.

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Rather than leading within one organisation, I now support leaders across multiple sectors to deliver exceptional results, build high-performing teams and create healthier, more sustainable ways of working.

Eight years after I founded Deborah Bulcock Coaching, the business has grown substantially supported by multiple referrals and repeat engagements, as we support leaders from organisations such as; Barclays Bank, Aldermore Bank, the University of Leeds, the University of Manchester, Durham University, Hill Dickinson and Fletchers Solicitors.

Today, my work focuses on helping leaders navigate career transitions, reset after challenging periods and act as strategic partners within their organisations.

This isn’t textbook coaching, it’s a side-by-side partnership. Sometimes I’m coaching, sometimes I’m challenging, sometimes I’m advising – but always with the aim of helping leaders think clearly, act decisively, and perform sustainably.

As summer approaches, my message to leaders is clear: switching off is not stepping back from leadership – it’s at the heart of the responsibility to do it well.