Recharging your brain with a sabbatical

After 10 years of managing my investment firm’s substantial growth, I needed a break. I wanted a time-out from my sharply focused daily slog to do anything that wasn’t that. It was time to recharge and see what the rest of the world was doing while I had been so busily achieving.

I considered how I might solve the problem by altering my hours or other factors and discovered I needed three changes:
1. A renewed focus on client needs.
2. Reshaping the leadership structure, including a succession plan, to help me and other team members maintain close client relationships.
3. A break for me to accomplish all that — and having the right staff in place while I took my break.

What I needed was a sabbatical, an exodus from the professional grind that would provide some rest, time for fresh thinking, and even fulfilling pursuits that had nothing to do with my work.

In spirited business environments, employers are seeing the value of addressing employee burnout (and boosting employee retention) with more time off.

The disciplines of my trade had led me to a tunnel vision that blocked out the kinds of things that make me a healthy, productive, well-rounded human being. Quitting was out of the question, and a sabbatical turned out to be a great solution.

The process of designing the sabbatical led to much self-talk about leadership skills and which of them I lacked. Collaboration was the biggie. I was wearing too many hats. I needed to build more collaboration into the firm to let the team connect more closely with clients rather than relying on me. I decided to restructure our firm’s leadership for growth, including consideration of a succession plan. I made new hires to shift some of my management responsibilities.

The hires reduced my workload and made it easier to envision the sabbatical. When I announced it, the clients were generally positive. A few thought I had sold the firm or was retiring. But most knew I needed a break.

THE ‘HOW-TO’

It was important to set up some guardrails to get the most out of the experience. Here are some tips I picked up in my research that were helpful:
• Delegate responsibilities to people capable of making your management decisions and communicating well with you. Then allow yourself to trust them, even if you are a micro-manager.
• Take enough time off, including time for healing and pushing ahead with new interests and activities.
• Have some idea of what you may want to pursue, whether related to the job, recreational, spiritual or public service.
• Protect your time. Eliminate obligations and keep distractions at bay.
• Ignore those who think you are crazy, lazy, mysterious or having a midlife crisis.
• Stay flexible: You are in charge of your own sabbatical.

WHAT IT’S LIKE

What do sabbaticalistas do all day? If they’re doing it right, they aren’t wondering whether anyone misses them or whether they’re expendable.

Better to view it as a chance to shed your work identity and get out of your comfort zone. Lavish time on yourself. Sip your coffee, don’t chug it.

Welcome change. Being an experienced downhill skier, I challenged myself with rugged backcountry ski trips in Montana. Later I managed to schedule a long-postponed trip to London to see a former colleague.

I have returned to the office by now, recharged and renewed. I’ve returned to a better-run company and find that the system I put together worked well in my absence and served as a dry run for succession. My refreshed eyes have a new perspective on how our firm operates. By simply having the time to think, I have gained a sharper understanding of our clients’ priorities, needs and expectations. I also found a major shift in perspective on my role: The sabbatical has taken me from being an operational manager to a strategic leader.

Sure, thanks to the market pullback in 2022, I was on the phone or in conference calls several times a week during my break. Yet I had nearly five months off, and it did me a world of good. This is how it worked for me. I urge others to try it.

C. Angus Schaal is senior managing director of Tandem Wealth Advisors, headquartered in Phoenix.