Strengthening staff and board confidence

Doris Stith, executive of Community Enrichment Organization, which supports students, families, and seniors. Stith used her sabbatical time to spend time with her son and care for an ailing brother. Both she and the organization gained valuable insight from the leave. "The opportunity to take a break and find out that things didn't melt gave me a huge sense of relief. I realized the organization was sustainable."

Like other executives we interviewed, Stith planned her sabbatical around a slower cycle at the organization, returning just as activities kicked into high gear. While her staff had learned more about what it took to run the organization, Stith learned more about the importance of keeping a "sense of balance that I have carried forward into the present."

Gavin Kerr was hired at Inglis Foundation five years ago, when the board of the then 140-year old organization realized it was in need of a turnaround. The organization enables people with disabilities to lead better lives. Kerr has combined planning for a three-month sabbatical next summer with helping the organization begin succession and backup planning. TransitionGuides has helped with some of this work. "Our organization has a team-driven leadership model. One member of our team will step in as chief of staff and work with the board while coordinating the leadership group. The board chair will be the go-to in case of emergency. While I'm out, I'll be blogging once a week for the board and leadership team about what I'm learning."

Kerr is looking forward to the sabbatical and notes that the preparation has already been a stimulus for the organization. "The conversations with board and senior leadership have been very valuable. As the leader of the turnaround, I'd become a center point for the organization, but as we grow in success, it's important to push leadership out and decentralize. Our planning has started that process." Kerr feels the combination of succession and sabbatical planning is helping to show the organization that "it can be just fine without me."

Brian Buzby, Executive Director of the North Carolina Conservation Network, was the organization's first paid staff member in 1999 and built it to include nine full-time staff members who bring together a network of more than 90 North Carolina environmental, community, and environmental justice organizations. He planned his sabbatical around time with his children and his love of music. His sabbatical was funded by the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation.

"The Foundation gave good advice both pre- and post-sabbatical about how to make the organization strong, how to set up a leadership structure during my absence, and how to ask good questions upon reentry." While Buzby was out, members of his team shared his duties, some of which they retained after he returned. As a result, he now can spend more time out of the office meeting with people and enriching the network, which better serves the organization's mission.

Like Stith, Buzby feels the sabbatical helped the organization see that it could go on without the executive. "I can point to how smoothly things ran without me. It shows we are sustainable." Since his return, Buzby has worked with the board to establish a sabbatical policy open to staff who have been with the organization seven years, and several staff have already used the new policy. They must commit to a full year upon return, which helps with retention.

Combining sabbatical planning and succession planning

Robin Hughes is the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Abode Communities, an organization that designs, develops, and operates service-enhanced affordable housing in the Los Angeles region. Hughes' leadership has been running around the clock for 18 years, and she is leveraging her own preparation for her upcoming sabbatical as a catalyst to change how she and the organization work. "If I know the organization is in the right place it will make it easier for me to disconnect during the sabbatical. We've been working with TransitionGuides to get emergency backup plans for the executive team and a succession policy for the CEO position. This has allowed me to think about what responsibilities the acting president must assume." As part of planning, the designated acting president is shadowing Hughes and learning her job, which "has helped the board feel comfortable about the sabbatical."

Backup planning has been extremely helpful. "First of all, I finally have a job description. Unpacking my job and looking at my calendar reaffirmed that I am focusing too much on internal things and not enough on external relations." Hughes expects benefits to ripple throughout the organization. "By breaking our jobs down, we can all think about how to delegate things to allow more leadership and management."

Hughes says she looks forward to "having nothing to do" while on sabbatical. In addition, she has planned a family trip abroad, reading, reconnecting with herself, and learning to think differently about how she will do her job upon returning. "When you are deep in the weeds it is hard to be strategic. I look forward to seeing how I can be a better strategic leader."

Reaching out to constituents to inform them of the coming leave is an important part of the executive's sabbatical planning. Board and constituents have been very supportive of Hughes' planned leave-a sentiment echoed by others interviewed for this article. Most executives told us that constituents supported the sabbatical and (not surprisingly) expressed envy. Some noted that they hoped the sabbatical concept was a model for others in their networks.

Opening new opportunities

Bruce Larowe had been with Children's Theatre of Charlotte for 14 years when he took a sabbatical in 2007. He disengaged completely from the organization for 90 days while he completed a 4,700-mile coast-to-coast bicycle ride-"a lifelong goal realized," he explains. In the meantime, a staff member assumed the role of interim executive director, empowered to make all necessary decisions "so I could be on sabbatical and not manage from afar." Now, six years later, LaRowe has announced his coming retirement from the theater-and the same individual who served earlier will replace him as interim executive while the board conducts a search. "The sabbatical was an opportunity for her to have a new valuable experience, as well. It helped her personal and professional development, and the rest of the staff could see her in the leadership capacity." It's proof of the benefits that sabbaticals have not just for the leave-taker but for those who manage while the sabbatical is underway.

Some fear that the organization will fall apart in their absence, and others worry that they'll be seen as superfluous. But LaRowe notes that his philosophy is that leaders should develop a good team and an organization that can run with the leader gone. "Sabbatical is a valuable tool for continued organization development. I came back energized and ready to go again. It was an unqualified success for me, the organization, and everyone involved."

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