How Taking a Sabbatical can boost your career

Career progression is unlikely to be an objective of taking a few months off. However, the examples of sabbaticals having a positive effect on a career are plentiful.

Empowering the team while on sabbatical

As Founder and CEO of his company, one of our travellers was concerned about taking time away. He had grown the business from a one-man band to a sizeable operation with an impressive client list. He’d never stepped away before.

We planned the trip – 3 months through Latin America with his wife and young children – around having excellent internet access. Even in the middle of rainforests and on remote tropical islands. A desk to work at in a separate room from the kids was a must in every accommodation.

However, more often than not as the trip progressed, he found himself logging on less, and the laptop lay increasingly unopened on the desk.

His well-briefed team had stepped up to take responsibility, becoming more self sufficient and referring matters to him only when they needed strategic decisions.

“I thought I’d be constantly on the end of the phone, managing the company as I did back home,” he told us. “But, on reflection, and if I’m honest, I may have overestimated the level I need to be involved to. My colleagues were able to take direction and run with it. Going away freed me up to focus on the bigger picture. I didn’t get involved in the noise any more. It made me a better leader, and it empowered my team.”

Living your Principles on Sabbatical:

Running a company with a strong focus on environmental consciousness… from central London; the day-to-day felt very removed from the ethos of the company our traveller had founded.

While sabbaticals are normally touted as time to switch off, that’s not always realistic. A working sabbatical – being in a different environment with time allocated both to exploring and to logging on – was the format that worked for this traveller.

This CEO took a few weeks in Central America, checking with the office in between spotting sloths and birds of paradise, crossing hanging bridges in rainforests, hiking volcanoes and relaxing on deserted beaches. Being in regions and staying in accommodation that are genuinely dedicated to environmental protection revived this Founder’s own commitment to the cause, galvanising her direction of the company.

Law partners’ career benefits from a sabbatical

A husband and wife, both partners at a law firm, took a sabbatical of six weeks with their teenage children to travel through South America. Their children were happy and thriving at school and university. However, the parental guilt of time allocation between family and a demanding career had been nagging at the couple for a while.

Dedicating six uninterrupted weeks to an adventure together, sharing new experiences and making discoveries as a family, created an anchor of memories in their lives.

While already at the apex of their careers, they were able to return to the office with a clear conscience and a deeper connection with their teenage children. They continued to excel at the top of their professions knowing they’d staved off potential future ‘life vs career’ regrets.

The evidence: Sabbaticals can boost your career

DJ DiDonna, who runs the Sabbatical Project and lectures on sabbaticals at Harvard, has tracked thousands of people who’ve taken extended time away from work. The pattern is remarkably consistent: productivity and clarity on return tend to be higher, not lower.

DiDonna cites cases of employers realising the true value of employee ‘ contributions when they were away, leading to greater recognition. In other examples, work was reprioritised and lower value items were removed from the employee’s scope.

Stepping away can also empower co-workers, presenting the sabbatical taker with a more capable team on their return.

Having time away from the business can also give breathing space to take a wider view, free from the constant volleys of requests and demands. DiDonna quotes a CEO who took a sabbatical: “I realized I’d been […] responding to the urgent needs of the business instead of zooming out. […] My sabbatical allowed me to think about the business from a much broader perspective.”

How to plan a sabbatical

To talk through ideas for your sabbatical, in terms of both the practicalities and the adventures that await, get in touch with me, Steve, at LiNGER Travel. I’ve planned over 70 sabbaticals, each meticulously tailored, seamless and fulfilling.