Did you know that your team celebrates when you go on vacation?

I have lived in the US all of my working life so at this point many of my primal attitudes are 100% American – you can never have too much ice in a soda; beer should never be served at room temperature; you can call yourself a world champion even if you are the only country that plays a sport, etc.?However, one attitude that I have retained is the European approach to vacations.?

I still remember being shocked when I got my first job in the US and was told I would have one week of vacation per year!!?Five whole days!!?Every year I use every one of my vacation days and encourage my team to do the same (even threatening not to sign off un-used vacation roll-overs into future years).?I don’t care whether you go to a family reunion, go camel trekking in the Sahara, go hiking in high mountains or stay home and catch up on house projects or fun day trips…..you don’t have to go away, but taking time off away from work is critical to re-charge yourself physically and mentally as well as maybe helping you to look at problems a little differently.

However, this article is not a lecture on taking your vacation time.?It is hopefully a thought-provoker about how to use the time while you are AWAY from the office to help to continue to develop and lead your team.?This applies whether you lead a small team, a large function or are part of a matrix team….in other words, applies to everyone!!?Does your team breathe a sigh of relief when you are out of the office??Do you create more work for your team, and they are better able to focus while you are out??Couple of suggestions to ensure your team is excited you are going on vacation for the right reasons:

Stretch people beyond their current roles.?In the last few months you have (hopefully) been part of a development discussions with your team members where you probably talked about the opportunity for them to stretch beyond their current roles.?What better time to live into this than during your vacation time??Do you really need to attend that call while on vacation or will Susie be able to cover for you??Does Alan really have to wait for you to return before submitting that proposal or do you trust him enough to move forward with it??Can Louise handle that sensitive issue with the stakeholder and not wait for you to return??This is a great opportunity to send a delegate to some of the meetings you attend….to empower your team to resolve issues while you are out…and to step into the development opportunities many of them are capable of.??

Check in on the level of autonomy.?At each midyear and end of year I discuss with each of my team whether I am giving them the right level of autonomy to do their job.?Too much autonomy and they may be disconnected from the broader organizational strategy, and I am just a span-breaker…..too little autonomy and I am micro-managing them.?This is something that will change over time – someone new in role or struggling with their job or new to a company will obviously need more direction.?However human nature tends to set us in a rut and taking vacation is a perfect time to re-assess whether you have the right balance.?One question I constantly ask my team is ‘what else do you need from me?’?This is usually the beginning of discussion of where I am going to lean in more or where I am going to let them run with a project, an issue or a relationship.?Assuming things did not fall apart while you were on vacation, reflect whether adjusting the level of autonomy to your team members is warranted.?

Force your boss get to know your team.?Hopefully your manager meets with your team occasionally, either 1:1 or in small group meetings.?These skip-level discussions are critical to help leadership get to know a board range of talent and stay close to the details of the work.?However, use the time while you are out of the office to force that interaction more – encourage your team to reach out to your manager….use the time you would usually spend with your manager and schedule time with your team.….let your manager know who to contact on your team for various issues - nothing develops a relationship faster with senior leaders than working through specific issues or initiatives.?

Get feedback on your ways of working.?Do you have a standing team meeting each week??Instead of cancelling it while you are away, tell your team to meet and give them a blank sheet of paper.?When you return, that paper should be left on your desk with the various things you should Start, Stop & Continue doing as you lead your team.?Your team can use the regularly scheduled time to talk through about how you work with them….I have done this several times in my career and it was really helpful to get honest (and anonymous) feedback on how the team interactions were taking place.?Was I spending enough time on sharing business updates??Did people hate the fact that I held 7am meetings every Tuesday???Were my team confused over who I was asking to lead various initiatives??You can spend thousands of dollars hiring a team dynamic consultant, or you can re-use an existing meeting.

Set an example to your team.?If you spend your entire vacation checking on emails, updating people on issues, or dialing into that ‘critical meeting that I could not possibly miss’, what example are you setting to your team??With your actions you are telling them that you value people who work through vacations regardless of what you tell them with your words.?Try not to impose your own way of working onto your broader team.?

So hopefully the next time you go on vacation your team WILL thank you…..and you will return rested, relaxed or maybe just desperate to return to work because you are fed up with the kids arguing with each other.?Or is that just my family?