Industry Confidential, PUSH Magazine, Volume 3, Issue 6

Do you have a succession plan? No? Take a vacation.

An extended time away will allow you to test your employees for their next role.

Most of us still need a succession plan. If we had to guess how many organizations within sports tourism do not have a succession plan, it would likely come back well over 50 percent. And for a variety of reasons. Usually, the response you hear is that leaders always seem to be too busy with other responsibilities to think about it. Amazingly, there is a way to resolve both problems at once. Take a long vacation.

When asked to write this Industry Confidential article, I thought this suggestion would sound egotistical as if an office cannot survive without me. Ha! But the more I think about it, what process could test our team any better? I certainly cannot think of a better one.

The more you research it, even outside of government looking at for-profit businesses, it becomes evident that taking time away can be an effective way to test your organizational hierarchy and experiment with possible leaders in temporary roles.

It will be hard as those who may test the waters on this idea must not visit the office, call in, or email asking for updates during their time off. Remember watching Seinfeld and J. Peterman? In the last three seasons, Peterman was played by John O’Hurley, as the boss of Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). During the Season 8 opener, we find Peterman having a nervous breakdown. He claims his mind is as “barren as the surface of the moon” and can run the catalog no longer. So, he travels to Burma (“You may know it as Myanmar now, but it will always be Burma to me.”) and leaves Elaine to run the catalog in his absence. We all remember how badly it goes, as Elaine is far from qualified to manage the day-to-day responsibilities, the staff, or the finances of the clothing catalog accordingly.

In the best scenario, you will find that the interim leaders will be more effective and responsible when you return. You may find it valuable to have those interim leaders continue some responsibilities, making your overall relationship more collaborative. Additionally, you may feel more confident in your succession planning since the interim employees could test out the role and determine if they were qualified. Though if not, thoughtfully list out what development opportunities still need work. At a minimum, having staff rotate in and out while you are on vacation allows you to test your team’s overall strength. This activity enables potential future leadership a chance to experience their next career role. It also allows more senior team members to see the outcome when experienced staff are no longer working on the day-to-day operation and mission.

Hopefully, you will get serious about creating a formal succession plan to include developmental goals for future leaders with determined timelines. However, if you do not, allowing yourself and encouraging your employees to take time off will help prepare your team for any sudden departures.

Vacation time off can truly pay off for these and many other reasons.