29 Jul TSLH #030: Take a Break!
Read time: 5 minutes
When I started my career back in 1996, I kept making one crucial mistake.
I postponed my vacation time and again because there was always something in the middle that was more urgent to do, or that would have to be completed during my absence, and I thought “Who will do that task since I am not here?”
Of course, moving my vacation out did not bring anything: That thing that should have happened in that exact same week never happened on time. I ended up sacrificing my plans and instead waiting for something at work that would not materialize.
After a few miserable cancellations, I learned my lesson and decided I needed my time off and I was not irreplaceable anyway.
When I became a manager, I for sure started to fall prey to that same trap again. This time because “Oh, if I am on vacation when this decision must be made, nobody can make it instead of me” or “I can’t take time off now because this thing cannot wait 1 week”.
All this left me frustrated and not rested. And of course, it may at times have affected my team, because they may have perceived me as wanting to micro-manage or not trusting them.
Do you recognize yourself in the above?
If so, you’re not alone, I can guarantee. And you may even ask yourself, like I did several times, “Is it even possible to take time off as a leader?”
Let me reassure you: YES, it is definitely possible to take time off and you should take time off as this is your only opportunity to take a step back, rest, recharge your batteries and come back to work with a refreshed mind, body and spirit.
The problem is that we all live with the models of Bill Gates and Elon Musk in our heads, who work more hours weekly than there are in a week and these guys never seem to be tired or need some respite. Moreover, they keep telling us how they abhor vacation. That’s usually where our impostor syndrome or our hyper-achiever inner voice kicks in: “If I want to be a strong leader, I should follow their example, I can’t take vacation, I will be seen as a guy who can’t go the extra mile, etc.”
Does this sound familiar?
Let me tell you, these guys are the exceptions, not the rule. For one Bill Gates who will not go on vacation, you’ll find dozens of CEOs and very successful leaders who will. Take Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin as a good example of how you can take time off.
What did I learn from all this?
I learned that leaders can’t work efficiently, be at their best, in good mood without taking time off. Period! As a leader, this is even more important so that you can recharge your batteries and come back to support your team and organization even more efficiently.
OK, I get it, you may no longer be able to take a 4-week vacation, or a long sabbatical – although I would also argue that with the right preparation, everything is possible really. In the end, it’s only a question of setting the right expectations with your boss, your team, and the organization.
You may now be wondering “OK, but what can I do to take a break and make sure I don’t end up working during that break or stress about work?”
Here are 3 things I suggest you do to prepare for your time off. I have done this consistently in the past and I have always been able to enjoy a full computer-free/mobile phone-free break, however long it was (up to 3 weeks!)
Prepare your time off well ahead of time. If you know you will be off 1, 2, or 3 weeks or more, make sure that you plan your time accordingly before the time off starts, for instance to complete important project milestones, or to document any case, project, discussion, which some of your direct reports or co-workers may need to deal with during your absence. The easiest way to do this is to block time in your calendar when you won’t be disturbed.
Likewise, if your role requires you to sign documents or approve specific actions within a process, you need to make sure that you have a plan in place for other people to replace you in these roles when this is feasible. In my case for instance, I usually inform the people in my organization that if they need a signature on a contract, they should go to our GM instead of me because he also has a right to sign. In our IT system, I can always delegate any approval tasks to another manager on my team.
Finally, the most efficient way to prepare for your leave and keep business running is to leverage your team and entrust them with decision-making authority for all matters, cases, discussions, challenges that may occur during your absence.
The best way to do this is by telling them clearly that you trust them fully to make the right decisions in your absence. Show your trust! The expression of that trust is that you can count on them to make the best decision for the team and the organization while you’re out of the office.
Also make it clear to the people who cover for you that you do not need to be cc’ed in all emails. They will deal with the emails, will make the decisions. You are not here to read these emails after the fact and decide whether any decision was good or bad. That would be micromanaging. And I guarantee you don’t want to have an inbox swamped with emails that will take you weeks to process!
Instead, upon your return, just inquire about what they feel happy about (on what they have done during your absence) or what challenges they had and where they may still need your help.
Believe me, trusting your team and saying it openly is be the most important thing you can do to create trust, engagement, accountability and collaboration on your team. So, use trust!
Set expectations with your colleagues and other stakeholders about your time off. The easiest way to do this is obviously through a written “out of office” email rule that will clearly states the dates you are off. In that email, you should make it make it clear that you have no access to your computer nor phone and that you will start replying to messages only upon your return to the office. Also leave the name of the managers on your team who people can reach out to for urgent matters only.
The key is obviously that you must stick to these rules. If you start checking your emails every other hour, chances are you will get stressed by some emails that you feel must be answered to immediately. This will defeat the purpose of setting expectations that you are off. It’s very hard to do. I cannot tell you that I am 100% compliant myself with this rule myself. But when I really let go of my professional mobile phone – which means I don’t take it with me – I can really enjoy valuable time off.
Of course, there may be special projects or discussions you are privy to and that you cannot delegate to anyone because of confidentiality or similar things. In such cases, one approach you can use is to let your direct manager (and only them) know that should something really urgent come up that they can’t address, they can send you a text so you can reach back at the earliest time possible. I strongly recommend keeping this for only last resort things, that really cannot wait for your return. In my experience though, such things are extremely rare.
Other than that, you should be fully off. It will pay off by giving you some good rest time and helping you to eliminate any stress or shame you may feel about not answering emails. You will likely realize that upon your return, all so-called urgent emails will usually have been successfully addressed, without you!
As to all other emails, I have a simple technique I am giving you: When I return, I only reply to emails from the past 3 days if an answer is expected from me. I don’t reply nor sometimes even read the rest that has accumulated in my inbox. Guess what? I very rarely get a reminder email about something I was supposed to decide, do or reply to. This is because my team – the people I entrusted and empowered – took care of that. And if I do get a reminder, well, it just means it’s time to take care of that specific email.
Plan for what you will do in your time off. Now, if you do the 2 things above, and you start your vacation not really knowing what you want to do, chances are you will slowly revert to bad habits of checking your emails, start answering them, and in no time, you will even step into calls to help make decisions!
STOP THIS!
When you take time off, one key activity is to make at least a very rough plan of what you want to do during your break, what objectives you want to achieve. Start planning bit by bit, making some high-level lists of things you really want to do during your time off. This way, your mind will be focused on these items, not on work.
Anyone will be different, but here are some of the things on my list for my time off this summer:
- Continue writing my book on leadership.
- Read books, a lot!
- Enjoy the time off with my wife and son. Ensure I have quality time with each of them separately too.
- Have fun!
- Cook and bake for my family – Even though this year, we’ll probably hit restaurants most of the time.
- Run, walk, be curious about new places I discover and visit.
- Self-reflection and learning about myself.
Question for you: How will you occupy your time off?
Taking time off is critical to reload your batteries, spend time with the people who matter to you, think and/or reflect about yourself, the year that passed, the time ahead, what you want to do in life or your career maybe.
More important is the fact that when you take time off, you set the example for anyone on your team and maybe your organization that this is OK to take time off. I have read an article recently about the CEO of a company who sends his vacation plan to all his employees and he asks them to reciprocate. This is his way of telling people “I want you to take a pause, take time off, go on vacation.”
This remains our responsibility as leaders to show the example and let people know that they should take vacation, and that this is a sound and healthy thing to do!
I wish you a great read. I’ll see you next Saturday!
TL; DR (Too Long, Did not Read)
Take a break!
- Prepare your time off well ahead of time.
- Set expectations with your colleagues and other stakeholders about your time off.
- Plan for what you will do in your time off.
Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:
1️⃣ Work 1-1 with me to step up as the authentic leader you aspire to be.
2️⃣ Hire me to help you build a high-performing team.
3️⃣ Start with my affordable digital courses on Mastering Difficult Conversations for Leaders and Goal Setting