Set up your team up for success and yourself for actual time off 👇
Continue reading for some tips, process, and expected outcomes.
Two Tips
- Hold meetings - Meet with every single person you are (hoping) to assign as a DRI in your place. Your goal of each meeting is ensure they are set up for success and actually agree to the added responsibility (Agreements > Expectations).
- Hold the boundary - If you say your not going to respond to emails, Slack messages, etc... then don't. You are doing both yourself and your team a disservice by 1) going back on a commitment you made to be offline, 2) modeling poor boundaries and 3) modeling that vacation isn't really vacation 🙅♂️
Process
- 3+ weeks prior to OOO
- Block off your calendar
- Decline meetings
- 2 weeks prior to OOO
- Give an FYI in an appropriate channel, team meeting, or other venue
- 1 week prior to OOO
- Meet will all DRIs taking over your responsibilities - gain agreement
- Post your OOO doc in the most-appropriate channel at least 48 hours before being offline.
- Day of OOO
- Reply to your own previous Slack message that contained your OOO doc announcing your offline-ness
- Set your Slack status to OOO
- Activate email OOO message
Outcomes - OOO done well
- Models that taking time off is accepted and celebrated
- Helps ID new leaders for tasks / meetings / etc…
- Give team members a taste of more leadership / responsibility
- Is “just” another great way to be an actual team
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