Vacation, Tension, and Leadership - Achieving Swing Away From the Office

Vacations require leadership. There is a special intensity to vacations, due to the fact that all involved will reap countless enduring memories, stories, and digital images of this unique slice of life. All of the elements of virtuous leadership - character, LITER virtues, and courage are in play.

‍The Importance of Why and a Legacy-Filled Journey to Yellowstone

For several months, my wife has been enthusiastically planning an epic family trip to Yellowstone. It will be the first time some of our grandchildren will visit the park. There will be an excursion to the family ranch in Montana’s Paradise Valley that was homesteaded five generations ago in 1902 (seen in the picture above). Our family will share one of the most beautiful and unique places on earth. We will show them the places where a real cowboy and a school teacher built a life and a legacy of character, adventure, and sharing that continues today.  The “why” of our vacation is strong and obvious. Making it happen is the obvious challenge. 

‍Leadership on the Road: Roles and Realities

Someone recently wanted to understand the reasons for not “coming back” to an organization where I once held a meaningful leadership role. My answer referenced the admonition by Thomas Paine (and popularized by Ted Turner) that on certain issues people need to lead, follow, or get out of the way. Vacations are one of the times when this dynamic is vitally important. One family leader may have technical competence in preparing and loading the family car and then demonstrating that, fully loaded, it is capable of speeds in excess of 90 mph. Another leader may be technically strong at figuring out and marshalling all the clothing, personal items, food, equipment, en route entertainment, reservations, communication, and after-action reporting. The harmony and joy of a vacation often pivots on a leader’s ability to discern which of Paine’s leadership roles (and the SLG Leadership-Followership flywheel) fits the moment. 

‍Emotional Intelligence in Motion

The needed discernment and flexibility are a function of emotional intelligence. It reflects an understanding of people and context that results in the proper balancing of competing forces. On pages 178 and 179 of “The Virtue Proposition,” Sig Berg describes seven tensions that a leader faces. A vacation can often be a high-RPM kaleidoscope of these tensions. In our case, we have lots of opportunities to practice balancing these:

‍The Expert vs. the Learner: the key here is relational humility and learning that sometimes the price of proving you are right is too high - a lesson that vacation can prove repeatedly

• The Expert vs. the Learner: the key here is relational humility and learning that sometimes the price of proving you are right is too high - a lesson that vacation can prove repeatedly
• ‍The Power Holder vs. The Power Sharer: this requires balancing context and expertise and is often produces the need to decide what hill is worth dying on
• The Intuitionist vs. the Analyst: here is where the idea that there is an ultimate futility in indecision fortifies the need to view the perfect as the enemy of the good - make a decision and move on

A successful vacation happens when the leaders incorporate building and nurturing virtue intelligence. There needs to be dynamic processes for providing feedback, building trust, exploring alternatives, and fostering a team-oriented approach. 

‍When Vision, Virtue, and Vacation Align

A successful vacation is the coming together of technical and organizational competence aligned with emotional and virtue intelligence. It is a situation where the principle that “leadership begins with you but is not about you” is never more applicable. Different team members will contribute at different levels of intensity and competence at different times. It is the leader's job to balance and adjust as needed to continually bring the team together. When this happens, it forms a cohesive unit that achieves the “why,” creates memories that last a lifetime, and perhaps, even for just a moment, touches the divine.

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Sheldon is the Chairman of the Board at the Severn Leadership Group and has been a mentor since 2022. His career was in corporate supply chain leadership and related consulting. Sheldon has a BS from Lehigh University and an MBA from Emory University. He and his wife Janet live in Fort Myers, FL, thriving on service, traveling, and the joy of grandchildren.