Breaking Away

As a trusted advisor and strategic confidante, I’m routinely “on call” for my clients. They find tremendous value in reaching out before acting, during a challenging situation, or after something’s gone well – or not.

I encourage them to call. Often, we make tremendous progress in a short time. At other times, it builds confidence in proposed decisions and actions. And, I love having the opportunity for positive impact in my work.

Nevertheless, everyone benefits from periodically shutting down and disconnecting from the work at hand. When leaders take genuine time off, they send a clear signal to staff and customers that this is time well spent.

Europeans are known for taking weeks-long holidays in August, a practice we Americans seldom embrace. It’s nearly the end of September. Nevertheless, I’m following the European lead – and my own advice. I’m taking some time off.

Meanwhile, check out the following three articles. Discover the business impact of failing to pause. And get tips to unlock the value of quality downtime, without dreading a mountain of backlogged work upon your return.

• The Business Impact of Fatigue
• Disconnect to Reconnect
• Why Leaders Must Embrace the Disconnect

Breaking away from clients and colleagues to capture quality downtime can be disconcerting. Yet, in the end, it’s time well spent as I am better equipped to think creatively and provide fresh insights. My clients agree.

Embracing the disconnect requires forethought, discipline, and a leap of faith - three things every leader needs to execute strategy well.

For more on making your strategy work, get my book: Charting the Course: CEO Tools to Align Strategy and Operations, available on Amazon.

The executives I advise routinely make their strategies work better. I can help you too.

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?2024 Tara J Rethore.?All rights reserved.?Permission granted to excerpt or reprint with attribution.