When was the last time you went on vacation thinking this is going to be great, I can’t wait to see what happens when I’m gone. Half past never? No, of course not. Because forecasts are due, board meetings are happening, workforce planning is underway, you are short-staffed because people are quitting and others are too new to be completely independent, plus everyone is scrambling because you just acquired a new customer that requires changes to the way things work, and then there is that threat of a re-organization that’s been looming overhead for weeks. There are a multitude of reasons why your team is just a hair short of excellence and you are the person who always fills in the gap. And that’s why you likely haven’t had a vacation completely unplugged in years.
Even more interesting, it’s easy to convince yourself that all of these conditions are causing your inability to fully unplug. The interesting thing is, it’s not what is happening outside of you that prevents you from a vacation free of the mental turmoil related to work. It’s your own thoughts about what that will mean.
My team might screw up.
Poor decisions might be made.
Someone will overlook important details.
They won’t know how to handle certain things.
This is what leaders do, they have to be accessible at all times.
Have you ever gone on a cruise or to a remote area where people couldn’t reach you? I have. Do you know what happens? They always figure it out. No, it might not be the way it would be handled if you weren’t around, but things that need to, keep moving forward. Yes, sometimes you have to sweep up some messes or deal with insecurities around what people think of you as a result of your team screwing up, but business does not stop.
So instead of forcing it by venturing off to a deserted island, why not model self-control and boundaries by putting away your laptop and work phone on your own? The only thing standing in your way is you and the ultimate destructive thought that you didn’t even know you had shows up.
I could get fired.
For what? You don’t really know. It’s just your brain’s way of catastrophizing what could go wrong if it was discovered you or the people around you are anything less than perfect. You know, like “human”.
But knowing all of this, you are on to the mind games your brain is playing on you, so now you get to choose.
What would a leader do in this scenario?
Leaders establish a purpose for their organization and consistently remind people of how that feeds the greater organization. They delegate work and trust that it will be done through the people on their teams. They set very clear expectations and aren’t afraid to practice accountability if those don’t get met. They communicate clearly and directly. And the piece that is most often forgotten, they believe one hundred percent in the capabilities of their team, giving them the tools and information to succeed. Leaders don’t control their teams’ actions, they give people the clarity they need and the space to choose whether they will show up.
It’s no different than the great sports coaches of the world. They instruct in training and then when it comes to game time, it’s up to the players to perform. Vacation is game time for leaders. It doesn’t mean your team always wins, but don’t rob them of the chance to try.