Taking Vacations

Do you ever feel like you can’t take a vacation? Do you worry that the business will cease to properly operate if you’re not there to oversee things on a daily basis? If the answer is yes, you may need to reassess how you are managing your business.
I ponder this as I prepare to take a week off to spend some much needed quality time with my girls up in the white mountains. I admit that I have had a couple of moments where I have felt that I can’t comfortably take so much time off. With so much to do and so many people relying on me for guidance how can I possibly be out of the office for any length of time? Then I give myself a reality slap and go back to preparing the staff for my brief absence. Truth is they are going to be just fine while I am out. The work will get done and the issues that arise will be dealt with. Why? Because I believe that if you entrust people to do their jobs and give them enough support and guidance that they will function just fine without you. It is often our own insecurities that lead us to think that we are indispensible. If things don’t go well while we are gone then we must be needed, right? Perhaps it gives us a sense of job security to see things get a little shaky if we aren’t there to lead the way. Its human nature and we can’t escape it totally. What we can do is look at it from another angle; if my office is running smoothly in my absence then I am doing my job right.
So, if you are packing your bag for a bit of rest and relaxation but not feeling relaxed about the idea of leaving the nest unattended, remind yourself why you hired those around you and trust that the world will continue to turn while you are reading that magazine and sipping something cool and refreshing on the beach.