Always on: What leaders can do instead of switching off

A 2024 study conducted by TUI revealed more than 90 per cent of UK business owners work while on holiday, and a recent survey conducted by Deloitte revealed that 77 per cent of global CEOs believe their mental health and work-life balance directly impact the effectiveness of strategic decisions.

This summer, instead of wondering how the business will manage without you, try to reframe the question as 'how will the business operate if I am unexpectedly offline and unreachable?'

There are lots of valid reasons for working through this thought process, especially in the world we live in today, where geopolitical events have a tangible impact on all businesses.

We live in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous world (VUCA) where switching off completely is unrealistic.

How can we navigate this unpredictable business landscape when there’s no off switch? And how can we learn to balance the rest we need with the leadership our teams require? 

It starts with leadership absence planning. During my time in the military, I learnt strategies that ensure operational continuity when an unplanned leadership absence occurs.

The focus of this was a clear understanding of the mission statement, delegation of responsibilities and pre-scenario planning to ensure everyone knows their core responsibilities and where gaps or risk can be mitigated.

These are all transferable to business and, as leaders are not infallible, why wouldn’t you plan for your absence?

Here are some tips for leaders to think about, which are valuable for the team to understand and buy into. Not just so you can go on holiday with peace of mind, but critically so the business can function if an unforeseen gap in leadership occurs. 

1 Develop your mission and company values

Arguably the most important aspect of protecting a leader’s time away and one that is often undervalued.

Your company mission statement and values shouldn’t just be a bumper sticker for your company website. They are critical to your company’s success, binding the team together to create a positive team culture within your organisation.

It is the handrail used to guide your team’s decision making when you are unavailable and is a foundational tool for consistent and reputation-conscious decision making across your business.

Do your company values take precedence over short-term profit? What long-term impact on the company’s reputation might this decision have?

Values-driven decision making can prevent your team from making poor choices in your absence when a decision is required quickly.

Do you as a leader know your mission statement and values, if you don’t then the team don’t either…

2 Practice wargaming

Wargaming, which is essentially scenario planning, is planning for events that your team could encounter while you are away and gives them confidence to navigate them successfully.

An example could be a cyber breach that locks down all IT, what would you do if this happened to you right now? Again, if you don’t know, the team won’t know.

During my time in the military, wargaming scenarios with stakeholders were critical to any organisational planning. Having team members from all departments and different levels in the room means potential issues get brought to the surface that you as a leader may not have thought about.

Including your senior team isn't enough, you need your middle management involved too. They're the people that run the day-to-day operations and they'll know potential issues or work arounds that you won't have thought of, because every business leader cannot know it all.

3 Create a playbook to support decision making

Wargaming will allow you to create or tweak your processes and in effect create a playbook which outlines delegated responsibilities in an absence of leadership or when rapid decision making is required.

It is essential that all team members understand what decisions they can make and the parameters of their authority when you are absent from the business.

More often than not, serious issues will happen when you least want them, like a Friday at the end of business when the team is closing down, tired and ready to unwind.

Tiredness leads to poor decision making. Being able to pull out the playbook and follow the processes gives the team an essential handrail during periods of high stress.

4 Feedback and clarity loops

Provide clear guidance to your team before going on holiday. Outline specific responsibilities, delegate tasks and implement a process where team members review and confirm their understanding of these tasks.

In the military, team members repeat back their assigned responsibilities to ensure absolute clarity. This process allows for questions and clarification, ensuring both parties understand expectations and potential issues.

Having a structured feedback loop in place ensures mutual understanding and effective communication.

5 Prioritise digital security when working abroad

Pre-planning your digital access whilst aboard should be non-negotiable. Adopting a Personal Electronic Device (PED) policy including limiting access to shared data and setting parameters around use of public Wi-Fi is routine practice throughout the military and should be no different in business.

This is especially pertinent when travelling to high-risk countries or counties where digital access is a risk.

If you are unsure of the threat of a particular country you are visiting, then a check on the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) website. This is your best first port of call and there will be particular advice on mobile phones, internet access and communication.

Cyber risks, such as phishing and identify theft, are evolving all the time and remain one of the most effective threat paths to business.

Social media is another tool used by cyber criminals in particular to build up a targeted phishing email. For example, posting live updates on where you are, where you are staying and what your plans are can be wrapped into an email targeting your finance team, making the email more plausible.

“Hi, having a great time at my hotel, weather is amazing here, can you do me a favour and approve the below transfer as my access to the server is limited…”

The options are either don’t post until you are back or ensure your privacy settings are in place and locked down.

6 Planned communication

Regular summary updates from your team makes communication easier to manage and reduces the need to check every email.

Implement a rhythm of weekly or bi-weekly summary emails sent to you by one person during your absence.

These updates should cover ongoing issues, potential challenges and any decisions that maybe required from you along with timelines and recommendations.

7 Understanding the risk burnout or leadership fatigue

Burnout or leadership fatigue is one of the biggest risks a leader faces, recognising and addressing it in yourself can be incredibly difficult. The steps above all help towards preventing it, but understanding the risk and identifying the signs is just as important.

John Adair’s Action Centred Leadership model balances task, team and individual.

Part of the individual is prioritising yourself as a leader, be it by creating a pause in the chaos of crisis planning and action - l remember once telling a great leader l worked for that he needed to go sleep because he wasn’t thinking clearly, he looked at me through blurry eyes and said “thanks, l needed that” - to taking proper time off.

The risk is unquantifiable, but fatigue can have a direct impact on the business, from loss of income to loss of confidence by the team. Staff don’t stay in a business when they don’t trust the decisions made by a leader.

How you mitigate against this is really down to the individual, for me its prioritising time for fitness and an early morning paddleboard. For others it may be taking time off on a break and implementing all the above or just the self-discipline to not look at emails past a certain time in the evening.

The re-calibrate, re-connect and re-energise is critical to running the marathon of leadership, not the sprint.