What Is PTO?

Short answer. Paid time off. Sad to say, only 14% of managers will truly get Holiday time off. The remaining 86% will be tethered to their email or cell phone. They do this out of the mistaken belief that they are producing something better for the culture of the company.

How will you use your Holiday time off work? Some will choose to avoid Holiday time off. Others will have the decision made for them. Both groups add unneeded stress to their lives. In a culture where one’s job is the defining characteristic for success, it is no wonder that many managers will return more stressed than before the Holidays.

Five mistakes I made during my 30 years of leadership:

1. I felt guilty about taking Holiday time off
2. My boss made me feel guilty
3. The Holidays are a good time to catch up
4. The mission is more important than my renewal
5. I need to set the example for leading: speed of the leader, speed of the team

What Does Holiday Mean?

Google this question and the first thing you see is: “a day of festivity or recreation when no work is done.” You catch that, no work is done! How can you do that in our culture?

1. Take a nap. The truth is rest is good for the soul. Sometimes the most effective thing you can do for your team is to take a nap. In my last assignment I did this often. The more stress one has the more rest one needs
2. Understand the culture of the company. If rest is not allowed you must choose. In the absence of choice you choose your job over your family. You made need a different job
3. Confront your pushy boss
4. Confront your team. Make no provision for a subordinate who believes they are going to be more productive by their workaholism
5. Think about your legacy. Do you want to be known as a stressed out brute or a collaborative energetic leader?

And finally take a nap

Yes, rest is good. Better yet, start the new year with a morning routine! Here is an article for MORE on how Fortune 500 Leaders do it.