Written by Sakshi Udavant
Beyond The Grind: Leaders Share Sustainable Success Strategies
For years, success looked like rapid promotions, faster growth, and bigger numbers. But a new wave of founders, CEOs, and industry leaders are asking: What if the grind isn’t the path to greatness, but the shortcut to burnout?
Sustainable success, they argue, is not built on constant acceleration that eventually leads to exhaustion.
We brought together a cohort of pros to discuss how they balance ambition with endurance without sacrificing growth.
Redefining what success actually looks like
Lidija Elezovic, international school counsellor and psychology professor at Education World Wide, said that success at work today looks very different from how we defined it a decade ago.
“We are shifting from an achievement-driven mindset to a growth-oriented one, where collaboration and compassion matter as much as competence,” she said. “When people can finish their workday feeling not only productive but also fulfilled, that is the modern definition of success.”
Her perspective highlights a crucial tension that many CEOs face: the need to balance performance-oriented processes with people’s well-being, which is often hampered in the quest to derive maximum output. But research has shown that organisations that prioritise psychological safety consistently outperform those that rely on fear or pressure.
When people feel safe to question, learn, and even challenge leadership, performance improves, she added.
Clarity as a growth strategy
If emotional sustainability is one pillar, cognitive clarity is another. In sectors flooded with jargon and rapid change, simplification has become a competitive advantage.
“For me, success in business has become less about growth for its own sake and more about creating genuine clarity in a noisy environment,” said Ian Wright, who leads PayrollPrices.com.
One way to do this, according to him, is removing friction—translating technical detail into practical insight—which helps organizations make informed decisions without getting lost in unnecessarily complex processes, he added.
In uncertain markets, being the steady voice customers rely on can prove more powerful than chasing the next spike in revenue.
Building adaptive systems, not just fast launches
In the technology sector, speed has long been a badge of honour. Ship fast. Scale faster. With the rise of AI and automation, this is further emphasized. But experts like Alex Kugell, CTO at Trio, say we need a more nuanced definition.
The real challenge, according to him, is building software—and teams—that can adapt intelligently to constant change.
“The focus has shifted to creating systems that combine human intuition with machine efficiency,” he said. “I define success as designing environments where developers can innovate confidently, knowing the infrastructure supports both security and creativity.”
Engineers who understand the value behind what they are building, and who are trusted to solve problems autonomously, tend to produce more consistent innovation, he added.
The idea of progress has now shifted from racing toward a finish line to creating workflows that enable adjusting systems, refining processes, and recalibrating strategy as technology shifts.
Stability as a competitive advantage
In the financial world, volatility is constant. Markets surge and stumble. Headlines swing sentiment in hours. Against that backdrop, the leaders who endure aren’t the ones making the loudest bets—they’re the ones building steady foundations.
For Noam Korbl, CFO of PropFirms, the real measure of achievement isn’t just outperforming the market—it’s guiding a company through turbulence with composure, or helping individuals feel genuinely in control of their money.
In boardrooms across industries, leaders are realising that sustainable growth depends on trust—internally with teams and externally with customers. Trust is built slowly, through consistency. It’s strengthened when decision-making reflects long-term thinking rather than quarterly panic.
“The professionals who are thriving today understand that success comes from clarity and consistency rather than constant risk-taking,” he said.
That discipline is often unglamorous. It means saying no to shiny distractions and resisting the pressure to chase every trend. It’s about trading adrenaline for endurance.
Growth that moves people forward
An important component of success that many revenue-chasing organizations are missing is the influence they have on the world.
When leaders align innovation with impact, success compounds. “It becomes a shared success story between people, technology, and the planet itself,” said LP Maurice, founder and CEO of Busbud.
This reflects a broader shift in executive thinking. Sustainability is no longer relegated to CSR reports. It is operational. It is embedded in product design, supply chains, and user experience. Customers increasingly reward companies that align profit with positive impact.
Technology is central to that mission. Maurice is energised by how innovation is reshaping global transport. His platform is helping millions of travelers discover new places while feeling that their journeys contribute positively to the planet.
“Every time a traveler books a long-distance bus or train through our platform, it represents more than just a ticket sold; it is a step toward more sustainable exploration and inclusive access to the world,” he said.
Sustainable innovation comes from deploying technology with intention. For example, in this case: streamlining route planning, improving pricing transparency, reducing friction for users, and supporting lower-emission travel options.
This way, sustainable success not only carries internal rewards, but benefits the whole world.
Beyond the grind
Taken together, these leaders describe a future where success is less about relentless acceleration and more about intelligent pacing. Sustainable success, as these experts demonstrate, is about building organisations strong enough to thrive without breaking the people who power them.
