Empowering Leadership to Level Up without Burning Out | Scientific and Research-backed Methods | Healthcare CIO & SaaS CTO at Startups, PE & Fortune 50

I'm a CIO with a passion for helping people never experience burnout again. 

Burnout almost ended my career as a C-Suite executive. Now, I’m on a mission to ensure it doesn’t happen to you.

I’m Dr. Oliver Degnan, and aside from my work as fractional CIO, I empower professionals to reverse burnout in under 20 days with my Never Burnout Again® course, then help them unlock new career heights with my LevelUP System®. These proven systems are your roadmap to sustainable success—powerful, high-impact leadership without exhaustion.

When you’re ready to escape burnout and fast-track your career growth, let’s create your leadership blueprint.

Take action and discover your Burnout Score, and get your FREE PDF Report at burnout.drdegnan.com.

20 Unwritten Codes I Wish I’d Known Earlier:

No one teaches these. 
But they change everything.

A shoemaker in Tuscany once told me,
“I don’t make shoes. 
I make something that walks with someone.”

It reminded me that meaning comes from how we work, not how much we do.

That conversation stayed with me.

Here are 20 lessons I wish I’d learned sooner:

1. Say less. Gain more respect.

2. Sleep fixes more than you think.

3. One small habit can transform your life.

4. People treat you exactly how you allow them.

5. Keep promises— but to yourself first.

6. Focus beats talent. Every time.

7. Most arguments aren’t worth it.

8. Discipline outlasts motivation.

9. Calm is your superpower.

10. Listen more than you speak.

11. Let go. Most things don’t matter.

12. No one’s thinking about you that much.

13. Show up, even when you don’t feel like it.

14. Say “no” without guilt.

15. React less. Respond more often.

16. Buy assets, not stuff.

17. Consistency beats intensity.

18. Confidence is often faked. Do it anyway.

19. Silence builds strength.

20. Time is your real wealth.

The Greeks called it Eudaimonia: human flourishing.
Not pleasure. Not power.
Just living in alignment with your deeper self.

True success is peace.
True wealth is wisdom.
True power is knowing yourself.

♻️ Repost this to inspire others.
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Dr. Oliver Degnan

Your #1 Source for a Burnout-Free Life ☕️ EBITDA-Friendly CIO, Published Author, Multiple Patents ⚡️ Doctor in Business

This will change the way you lead:

I used to think leadership was about commanding respect.

Then I worked for a leader everyone loved collaborating with, 
And I realized I had it completely backward.

"Be the person you want to work with."

The most powerful career strategy isn't networking or self-promotion. 

It's becoming someone others genuinely want to partner with.

Most people focus on being impressive. 
Smart people focus on being irresistible to work with.

Here's what that my experience taught me:

✅ Be Reliable:

→ Show up prepared and on time
→ Follow through without reminders
→ Deliver what you promise when you promise

✅ Be Supportive:

→ Celebrate others' achievements publicly
→ Offer help before being asked
→ Share resources and opportunities

✅ Be Growth-Oriented:

→ Admit mistakes quickly and learn openly
→ Ask for feedback regularly
→ Help others develop their skills

The result? 

Opportunities started finding me instead of me chasing them. 

People began recommending me for roles I hadn't even applied for.

Your career trajectory isn't just about what you can do. 
It's about how people feel when they work with you.

Always strive to be that leader.

♻️ Repost this to help someone become an impactful leader.
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#1 Burnout Coach on LinkedIn ☕️ EBITDA-Friendly CIO, Published Author, Multiple Patents ⚡️ Doctor in Business

Most people think reaching executive leadership takes decades. 

It doesn't.

I've seen professionals make it in 15 months. And I've watched others spin their wheels for 15 years.

The difference? A roadmap.

Here's what I learned from my own climb to CIO and from working with hundreds of executives:

Stage 1: Months 0-6 Master your role. Build visibility.

→ Exceed expectations consistently (not occasionally) 
→ Connect with decision-makers (not just peers) 
→ Find mentors who've already made the climb

Stage 2: Months 6-12 Expand influence. Demonstrate leadership.

→ Lead cross-functional projects nobody else wants 
→ Start developing others (this signals readiness) 
→ Learn the business, not just your function

Stage 3: Months 12-15 Position for executive consideration.

→ Articulate a vision for where the org should go 
→ Quantify your impact with real numbers 
→ Show up like an executive before you have the title

Here's what trips people up:

They skip Stage 1.

They network before they deliver. 
They pitch before they prove. 
They want the title before they've earned the trust.

It doesn't work that way.

Excellence first. 
Visibility second. 
Promotion third.

That's the sequence.

15 months is ambitious. But it's possible if you're intentional about every move.

♻️ Repost if this helps someone stuck in their career.
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Christoph Schmid

Most productivity advice is garbage.

Not because it's wrong.

Because you're using ALL of it at once.

I watched a senior director try to "Eat the Frog," do Pomodoro, AND time block on the same Monday.

By 2pm? He was fried. Accomplished nothing.

Here's the thing nobody tells you:

These 8 frameworks aren't a buffet. They're tools. You pick ONE that fits your problem.

1️⃣ Avoiding hard stuff? → Eat the Frog

2️⃣ Can't focus for more than 10 minutes? → Pomodoro

3️⃣ Too many "priorities"? → Eisenhower Matrix

4️⃣ Your calendar looks like a war zone? → Time Blocking

5️⃣ Drowning in tasks? → 1-3-9 Rule

6️⃣ Busy but not productive? → 80/20

7️⃣ Crashing by 2pm every day? → Energy Mapping

8️⃣ No idea where to start tomorrow? → Ivy Lee Method

One problem. One framework. Master it. Then add another.

I spent years as a CIO thinking more systems = more output.

Wrong. 

More systems = more cognitive load = faster burnout.

The executives I see thriving? They pick their weapon and get ruthless with it.

Stop collecting productivity hacks like Pokémon cards.

Start using one that actually works for YOUR chaos.

👋 👋 Follow Dr. Oliver Degnan for 100+ tools on productivity without burnout.

Talks about #ai, #business, #leadership, #productivity, and #entrepreneurship

I spent 20 years as a CIO watching talented people stay stuck.

Not because they lacked skills. Not because they weren't smart enough.

Because they were waiting for permission.

Permission to innovate. Permission to grow. Permission to try something new.

Here's what nobody told them:

Your career growth is not your employer's priority. It's yours.

The professionals who rise fastest? They stopped raising their hand and started taking action.

They learned AI tools before their company had a policy. They connected with industry leaders without asking HR first. They built their personal brand even when it made their boss uncomfortable.

Research backs this up. A study of 101,000+ employees found that proactive personalities consistently achieve higher salaries, more promotions, and greater career satisfaction.

The people who wait for the tap on the shoulder? Still waiting.

I've reinvented myself more times than I can count. Technical roles → Executive leadership → Entrepreneurship.

Every pivot required me to stop waiting and start doing.

So here's my challenge to you:

1️⃣ Stop asking for permission to succeed.
2️⃣ Take action. Let the results become your data.

Your employer didn't design your career. You did.
Act like it.

♻️ Repost if someone in your network needs to hear this.
📩 I write about leadership, burnout prevention, and career growth every week. Link in comments to subscribe.

Promotions don't go to the hardest workers:

They go to the most visible ones.

Same hours. Same effort. Same results.

Different visibility.

These 7 tactics make your impact impossible to ignore:

1. Communicate to influence, not just inform 
Lead with conclusions. 
Start with outcomes.

2. Stop hiding behind "we" 
Your specific role. Your measurable result.

3. Master strategic visibility 
Position yourself where decision-makers notice you during high-priority challenges.

4. Implement the RISE framework 
Read priorities → Invest in relationships → Show value → Execute consistently.

5. Demonstrate "next-level" thinking 
Exhibit capabilities of the role you want, not just the one you have.

6. Develop executive presence Clear communication. 
Composure under pressure. 
Gravitas that signals readiness.

7. Volunteer for "unsolvable" pain points 
Transform your career by solving problems nobody else wants to touch.

Most high-performers burn out waiting for recognition.
These tactics make you impossible to overlook.

Level up and start being the leader that you are meant to be. 

I share 100+ level up tactics for professionals in my newsletter. 
Subscribe today: read.drdegnan.com

The top 1% Leaders do one simple thing:

They don't try to be the best at everything. 
They don't do everything themselves. 

They hire people who are the best at different things. 
And they bring them all on the same team. 

As a leader, your work is simple: 

Identifying the right talent that help you amplify your impact. 

You are the multiplier. 

A great leader doesn't master every skill:
They master the art of assembling talent. 

Your value isn't in your output:
It's in the collective output of your team.

Stop trying to fill every gap. 

Trying to be the smartest person in the room is a recipe for burnout and slow growth. 

Instead, focus on finding people who are smarter than you in specific areas.

Think of yourself as a Curator. 

You hand-select the best pieces, arrange them harmoniously, and watch the masterpiece emerge.

Your greatest competitive advantage is the diversity of expertise you assemble. Start building that dream team.

♻️ Repost this to help leaders amplify their leadership advantage. 
🔔 Follow Dr. Oliver Degnan for more insights on Leadership, Burnout and Productivity.

I watched executives hit "success" and fall apart:

Nobody warned them about this.

In my 20 years leading teams, I saw it over and over.

Smart people. Driven people. People who did everything right.

They got the title. The corner office. The compensation package.

Then they crumbled.

Here's what the data actually shows:

→ Early career (0-5 yrs): Medium-high stress 
→ Mid-career (5-20 yrs): High stress 
→ Late career (20-35 yrs): Very high stress

Read that again.

The people at the top are MORE stressed than the people just starting out.

At 25, you stress about deadlines and performance reviews.

At 50, you stress about relevance. Ageism. Health. Whether any of it mattered.

The stakes get bigger. The pressure compounds. The existential questions multiply.

And nobody talks about it.

So what do you do?

Stop waiting for "someday when things calm down."
They won't.

Build your stress tolerance now. Whatever stage you're at.

Because that hammock at the end? Only worth it if you're healthy enough to enjoy it.

Follow Dr. Oliver Degnan for more tools for leadership mastery without burnout.

Krishna G.

A truth I wish I had known earlier:

I burned out because I couldn't adapt fast enough.

Every change felt like a crisis.
Every pivot felt like failure.
Every disruption drained me completely.

I thought I lacked resilience.
But in truth, I lacked agility.

The best leaders don't just survive change:
They navigate it without burning out.

They have 7 core capabilities:

✅ Contextual Awareness
Read the room before reacting.
Sense shifts early, not after you're overwhelmed.

✅ Adaptive Thinking
Challenge assumptions before they become rigid.
Update mental models as reality changes.

✅ Emotional Flexibility
Stay calm when plans collapse.
Separate facts from panic.

✅ Experimental Mindset
Test small before betting big.
Treat failures as data, not disasters.

✅ Collaborative Agility
Build coalitions quickly.
Leverage diverse perspectives without delay.

✅ Decisive Speed
Move at 70% information.
Accept imperfect action over perfect planning.

✅  Learning Velocity
Extract insights rapidly.
Share lessons across teams in real-time.

When you score low on emotional flexibility and decisive speed, 
Every change feels impossible.

When you build contextual awareness and learning velocity, 
Change becomes manageable.

The capabilities you're missing determine your burnout risk.

Know your burnout risk today: burnout.drdegnan.com

Most people treat their career like a grocery list.

"Get promoted. Make more money. Don't get fired."

That's not a strategy. That's wishful thinking.

After 20+ years leading teams of 1,600+ people, here's what I've learned:

The professionals who survive layoffs, recessions, and restructures all have one thing in common.

👉 They have a Career Playbook.

Not a resume. Not a LinkedIn profile. A living document that answers:

→ What skills make me irreplaceable right now? 
→ Who are my 5 key relationships I'm actively nurturing? 
→ What's my 90-day visibility plan? 
→ Where do I add measurable value?

Think of it like a pilot's pre-flight checklist.

They don't wing it at 30,000 feet. Neither should you at your desk.

Your playbook forces clarity. It exposes gaps before your boss does. It turns "hoping for the best" into "prepared for anything."

Job security isn't about loyalty anymore.

It's about being so strategically valuable that letting you go would hurt.
Your Career Playbook is how you get there.

I put together 100+ tools for building a burnout-free career in my free newsletter.

👋👋 Grab it here → https://read.drdegnan.com

Cynthia Rapson

For all my CIO friends out there! 

This author, Arun Gamidi, is making an excellent point on why we don't trust data. Especially in the age of AI.

I encourage you to subscribe to his LinkedIn newsletter (if you are seeking more guidance on adequate data engineering).

Data, Analytics & AI Strategy Leader | Advancing Decision Intelligence Across the Enterprise

If Dashboards Are So Smart, Why Don't Executives Trust Them?

Here's a pattern I see repeatedly across enterprises: Despite millions invested in data tools, business leaders still turn to Excel and gut instinct.

The uncomfortable truth? It's not because they're tech-averse. It's because they don't trust what they see.

I've witnessed this journey from both sides - as a data leader and trusted C-suite advisor. Here's what most miss:

➊ The Trust Gap We Don't Talk About
↳ Dashboards say revenue is up 12 percent
↳ Finance saw something different last week
↳ Marketing's model conflicts with Sales' pipeline
↳ That sleek UI now amplifies misalignment in high definition

➋ The Deeper Problem: Context Collapse
↳ Dashboards don't fail because of bad design
↳ They fail because we've removed the human context that creates trust
↳ Manual reports carry embedded knowledge
↳ Dashboards strip away the nuance that creates trust

Here's what changes everything:

1. Transparency Over Polish
↳ Show the seams
↳ Let users see source systems, last refresh, and applied logic
↳ Design not just for clarity but for credibility

2. Co-Creation Over Delivery
↳ Build dashboards with the business, not for them
↳ Early skepticism becomes future advocacy

3. Progressive Disclosure
↳ Don't hide complexity
↳ Reveal it in layers
↳ Trust grows when people can explore, not just consume

Remember this truth: The Modern CDO Mandate isn't to make data prettier. It is to make it usable, explainable, and trusted.

Your Strategic Playbook:
✓ The dashboards that drive decisions aren't the sleekest
✓ They are the most explainable
✓ Trust isn't a UX feature. It's a leadership outcome

🔍 Ask yourself: What's one assumption about "user-friendly" design you've had to challenge to rebuild trust?

Because here's what I've learned leading data transformations: The dashboards that drive decisions aren't the prettiest. They're the most trusted.

Follow Arun Gamidi for data, AI, and the leadership decisions behind them.

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