As this blog is posted, I am somewhere in Nepal on a 3-week trip, about halfway through the Annapurna Circuit Trek. Hopefully, I am having a great time. One thing I know I don’t have to worry about is my business. The week after I return from Nepal, I will start travelling to 5 different countries in the Caribbean to facilitate 6 workshops in a span of 2 weeks. A lot has to happen to make those workshops successful. And a lot will happen during my trip … without me. And I am not worried. Why? Because I prepared for this trip with the most meticulous planning.
For the last few weeks I have:
- Documented detailed lists of things to do for each client while I am away, along with timelines and responsibilities;
- Mobilised my team early – they all know that I will be away, and I met with them to agree on exactly what they would be doing to support Free and Laughing Inc. during my absence, and the authority I have given them to make decisions;
- Advised my clients that I would be away. We agreed on what would happen in my absence, which of my team members would be responsible and how they would liaise with my clients;
- Wrote all my newsletters, blogs and social media posts and scheduled their posting;
- Set up my vacation autoresponder;
- Boarded the flight at 6.00 a.m. on Wednesday October 23, full of excitement and joy with nary a worrying thought lurking. Besides, if I am 7,000 miles away, on a Himalayan mountain, what purpose will my worrying serve?
But the most important thing I did was to approach my preparation with trust. I have the greatest trust that my team will do what they have committed to – and more. I know they will get things done. They will make the right decisions – which may not be the ones that I might have made, but will be the right ones. I trust that they will take care of our beloved clients. Frankly, I trust them to do a better job than me! I have this level of trust because this is the relationship we have built over many years of working together. I respect their capabilities (they are the best at what they do), and I am grateful for their support. I do not haggle their fees. I pay them on time – and if I can’t, I humbly ask for their patience. Frankly, I love and trust my team.
Ask yourself:
- Do you feel you can be away from work, with no access to your team, for an extended period? If not, why not?
- Do you trust your team to do their best in your absence? If not, why not?
If you answered in the negative, you have work to do – to start trusting your team and to stop thinking you are indispensable. One way to do this is to go on an offgrid vacation. Here are 3 simple steps:
- Book your trip.
- Advise your team and TOGETHER develop detailed plans, with clear expectations, specific tasks and responsibilities – and contingency plans (just in case of Murphy’s Law).
- Turn on your autoresponder, turn off your phone and go!
You might be very surprised at how well things ran without you around. And if things fell apart, isn’t it important that you learned about it sooner rather than later?
