We were on a break!

I can’t take time off. There are too many projects going on. My team needs me. The work won’t happen. I definitely need to lead those meetings. 

Sound familiar?

It’s Leadership Lore that you can’t take a break. I’m here to tell you it’s MORE important that you do. In leadership and in life.

Last week I took a break from the newsletter.

My guess is that less than three people noticed (hi mom and dad 👋).

I didn’t even announce that I was taking a break! I just…took it.

Here’s what happened:

• My newsletter subscription count increased thanks to beehiiv’s recommendation engine.

• I felt free to enjoy the thing I was doing instead of check-in on the thing I hadn’t.

Applying the lesson to leading a team

When leaders don’t take breaks, it’s indicative of two beliefs:

👉️ I am the only person who can do this.
👉️ The work can’t wait.

Both mindsets are inherent in hustle culture: This thing is so urgent that I can’t go somewhere without a tether (my phone or laptop).

But they actually reveal deeper-held truths:

🙁 I don’t trust my team to do this right.
🙁 My worth is tied to my output.

These beliefs generally start in high-achieving individual contributors (ICs) who find themselves needing an entirely different skillset to lead a team.

Here’s the difference:

High-achievers get shit done, anticipate what’s needed and deliver. They stay in their lane and can usually control their outcomes.

Leaders orchestrate a diverse group of individuals at varying levels of achievement and coach them to the outcomes the business needs. They use influence to achieve outcomes they were used to controlling before.

It’s no wonder there’s a generation of leaders struggling.

Give your team permission to step up

👋 No surprise that I am one of those high-achievers turned leaders who had to learn an entirely different skillset to succeed.

When I first became a leader, I struggled to take breaks because I knew that my quality of work was exceptional, and I had a hard time translating what was needed to my team.

Here’s the truth that helped me release control (and be a better leader):

If you never give people the opportunity, they will never be able to step up and learn for themselves.

A framework for taking breaks

Once I understood the stakes, I could set my team up for success, and myself up for more regular breaks.

Here’s how I go about it:

Know what’s coming up

Being aware of the overall business calendar is helpful because it gives me an idea of what handoffs need to occur. Do I need to set someone else up to run a project work stream or give important biz updates? Can those be skipped while I’m gone?

👉️ What big events/releases/launches might require extra support?
👉️ Have I *asked* the team what support they need?
👉️ Does the company require ongoing updates?

Set expectations

Don’t skip clear job descriptions and role clarity, even at a startup. While the deliverables might change, knowing who’s responsible for what and what you expect of others is huge to team success.

👉️ Set team operating procedures.
👉️ Set clear meeting owners (and agendas).
👉️ Rotate ownership of business updates to make sure you’re assigning work equitably.

Give permission to do it their way

As long as milestones and deliverables are hit, it shouldn’t really matter how the work gets done. Be clear about the deliverables and cadence for getting there, but let other people come up with ways that work for them to deliver.

👉️ Use 360 communication to let the team, necessary peers, and your leader know what to expect (and from whom) while you’re away.

Then, go for it!

I promise, you got this.