Take a Vacation Already!

You are doing your team a disservice if you don't, here are just two reasons why.

Transcript

Welcome back to my podcast, Scaling Out.

What ever happened to completely disconnecting from work for a week (or even more rarely two)? Why does it seem that no one (at least in the US) feels like they can do this without negatively impacting the business. I mean really, in the scheme of things, business cannot function for the 5 to 10 business days you’re away? Ok maybe you are that important but even if you are, I argue that its CRITICAL that you DO take a fully disconnected vacation. There are huge benefits to giving your brain a break and space from the daily grind in order to recharge and rethink. Getting a break helps reprocess your thoughts in order to come back not just refreshed but more innovate and creative. Still don’t think you can get away – well if its not to benefit you, its to benefit your team! Two main issues come to mind:

First, you are setting a precedent whether you want to or not that it is NOT ok for team members to completely disconnect from work. If you are checking and responding to emails while on leave, everyone sees it. While peers & management might be thankful that youre still available, your team will only see that they are now expected to do the same.

Second, you are not giving your team the space to fill in during your vacation. But this is absolutely THE perfect opportunity to identify & train your successor OR just to provide teammembers with opportunities to learn and showcase their own leadership capabilities. 

As COVID continues, I see many people not taking any vacation because where is there to go/what is there to do? But even if you just take a staycation, you must get off the computer, enjoy the sun, and let the team take over. Its good for everyone.

Thanks for listening today, until next time Stay Safe Everyone!