Rest and Recharging – What leaders sometimes forget for themselves and their teams

 

“Now this relaxation of the mind from work consists on playful words or deeds. Therefore it becomes a wise and virtuous man to have recourse to such things at times.” Thomas Aquinas

In the constant hustle and bustle of our ever-connected world, it is easy to stand on the lie that we need to be continually working. The thought of vacation is just a distraction, or worse an aggravation, to the primary goal, which is to work harder to do better. This thought process is a result of a Puritan mindset in our country that said hard work leads to prosperity and self fulfillment, so vacation would be useless to reaching this goal.

This has lead directly into the leadership and executive suite where leaders feel that they cannot afford to go on vacation.  Their belief that with them being gone, the organization will fall apart because they are not there to keep it together.  This philosophy filters down to those employees underneath them and can cause an environment of burnout.

I would suggest that a work environment that leaders looks negatively on vacation deal with lack of innovation and burnout within their company more than organizations where vacation is valued. Leaders especially need to reenergize. Michael Hyatt found that rebooting for a leader is essential to the success of the person and the organization. Andy O’Connell of the Wall Street Journal wrote about a company, FullContact, whose philosophy of vacation involved providing financial assistance to employees to plan a vacation.

I just returned from a long weekend vacation and I realized that the reboot was exactly what I needed as a leader. During the time away, I experienced four important pieces to an ideal reboot:

1. Spend time with special people – I was able to spend the time with my incredible wife and our two close friends.  These individuals allow me to unwind and be myself. For you, it can be immediate family, extended family, and friends.
2. Participate in enjoyable activities – I enjoy cooking and do not cook as often as I want because of busy schedules. During our time away, I was able to cook and enjoy the time in the kitchen creating some delicious dishes. (I will tell you about lamb pops some other time)
3. Be flexible with your schedule – As someone that operates with a full schedule daily, the opportunity to plan very little and to be flexible is refreshing. During this time away, the only plans were lying around the pool and cooking.
4. Find time to exercise – This might seem contradictory to vacation, but I find it a necessary part of refreshment. For me, it could be a run with a friend or just taking a long walk to a local eatery or coffeehouse. 

These are areas that I will continue to focus on when it comes to time to reboot as a leader. These items are not only important for a leader but for an entire organization that values vacation and refreshing. The leader that can instill this value into the ethos of the organization is one that has the opportunity for success.

A healthy organization understands the need for their teams to be relaxed, focused, and creative. An ethos of rest and recharging brings about the greatest opportunity for innovation and success for an organization.

If this is what you desire as a leader for your organization, then take time off! Go, relax and recharge! Then let your teams do the same without them feeling guilty!

"Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen." Leonardo Da Vinci