Managers aren't always strong and fulfilled by what they've achieved - success at the top can come at a cost. For many executives, the higher they climb, the lonelier it gets. With few people they can truly confide in, feelings of isolation can become overwhelming - and in some cases, devastating. To counter this, both individuals and organisations must develop strategies to deal with the "lonely at the top" problem.
Mick Jagger sang about it. So did Randy Newman. More recently, the Nigerian artist Asake: picked up the theme. "Lonely at the top" may be an affliction suffered by musicians, but it can also resonate just as strongly in the boardroom. Behind the titles and bonuses, many CEOs and senior executives suffer in silence - isolated, under pressure, and at times, depressed.
In business, as in the seemingly always glamourous world of music, reaching the top can be a solitary experience. The prestige of becoming CEO of a major company goes hand in hand with immense responsibility, scrutiny and often a lack of honest feedback. The burden of constant decision-making coupled with social isolation due to corporate hierarchies can take a huge toll.
The numbers are sobering. According to a 2024 survey 55 % of CEOs stated that they had experienced mental health issues in the previous year - a jump of 24 percentage points from 2023. The conditions cited range from anxiety and depression to loneliness, obsessive-compulsive disorder and burnout. Yet comprehensive data on loneliness among managers remains scarce. And that's hardly surprising - understandably, very few top managers are eager to reveal their vulnerabilities.
The consequences, however, can be severe. In the late 2000s and 2010s, a number of high-profile suicides shook the corporate world from the CEO of Swisscom and the CFO of Zurich Insurance, to the CFO of US-backed mortgage provider Freddie Mac, the founder of the Merckle Group and the head of Swiss private bank Julius Baer.
Senior leaders carry a lot of responsibility, and are often tasked with making difficult and unpopular decisions that can have far-reaching consequences. They are also under the scrutiny of boards, shareholders and the media. The higher they rise within the company, the fewer peers they have - and the more difficult it becomes to get honest feedback. At the same time, political manoeuvring and strategic power struggles tend to intensify at the top.
As an article by McKinsey points out, loneliness is an inherent part of an executive's life. The question is not whether that loneliness exists, but how it's managed. Norina Peier, a Zurich-based coach and organisational development expert, sees this regularly in her work. "When someone steps into a management role, their relationships often change abruptly", she explains. "Colleagues start to behave differently, are more reserved and think twice about providing critical feedback."
Peier stresses that many managers navigate the "lonely at the top" phenomenon very well - provided they've built strong, trusting relationships with their teams, peers and, above all, their own superiors. However, if those relationships fray or start to be marked by resentment or strongly diverging agendas, trust can begin to crumble and loneliness can become a burden.
According to Peier, managers should therefore work on building sustainable relationships from the outset. "This takes time and a willingness to prioritise a culture of collaboration", she says. The higher up a person is in the hierarchy, the more important self-management and relationship management become.
To support executives, many companies are increasingly investing in coaching, mental health programmes and mindfulness and resilience training for their managers. "Taking care of yourself and nurturing constructive relationships at work and in your private life is something that can be learned and cultivated", says Peier. This is crucial, she adds, because: "building genuine, trusting and sustainable relationships at C-level is not always easy."
Equally important is the ability to talking about feelings - something that should no longer be taboo for managers. Simply acknowledging feelings of loneliness or isolation can be a great relief, says Thomas J. Saporito from the leadership consultancy RHR International. "CEOs should form a group of trusted advisors from day one, specifically for getting honest, unvarnished feedback", he says. Saporito also advises executives to actively stay in contact with the team and make space for emotions. It is time to "Recognise feelings and work proactively through them", he says.
One high-profile leader who is already putting this into practice is Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, outgoing CEO of the Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk.
Jørgensen recently spoke publicly about his own self-doubt and how, for a long time, he had feelings of inadequacy. But he has done more than just talk about this issue - he has also taken action, calling on his company to reduce stress levels among employees.
"I don't think you can run a company if more than 10 % of employees are suffering from stress", Jørgensen said last year, adding, "We make sure to educate leaders on what does it mean to mitigate stress."
Erin Meyer, professor and author of The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business, sees significant differences in management styles around the world. She categorises these styles along two axes: from top-down to consensus-based, and from authoritarian to egalitarian:
Executives in different regions therefore face different challenges - from share price expectations in the US and pressure from stakeholders in Europe, to hierarchies and social expectations in Asia.
1. Foster strong executive networks:
2. Provide professional mental health support:
Example: Companies such as Google and SAP offer mindfulness programmes for managers.
3. Promote a realistic work-life balance:
Example: LinkedIn offers multiple-month sabbaticals for managers to prevent burnout.
4. Shift away from "hero" culture:
5. Conduct surveys and introduce warning mechanisms:
Example: Microsoft analyses work patterns to identify signs of overload.
Sabina has many years of experience working in journalism. She has worked for the Neue Zuercher Zeitung, Sonntagsblick and the Aargauer Zeitung's business section, as well as for Watson, where she was a news editor and a digital advertising specialist. She is now the founder and owner of Panda&Pinguin and works as a freelance author, among other things.
