Thank you Natalie for framing your thoughts so effectively about how we can all move to resourcing organizations in way that center equity, sustainability and wellness for all.
Particularly grateful for your leadership and for your raising this just when so many of us are experiencing burnout and exhaustion nearly 2 years into the pandemic and all it has brought and surfaced.
This is a thoughtful and grounded article, and timely as well. Grameen Foundation, which I started and led for 18 years, created a sabbatical policy and I took two 3-month breaks as a result. I used the first much better than the second (though I messed up re-entry from the first in some ways, and learned from it). I can attest to a lot of the wisdom in this article, though instituting a policy that gives a sabbatical to all employees (which we did for our first 15 years) comes with real costs and if I had to do it over again, I would probably limit it to certain types of positions (though that might be critiicized as inequitable—no easy answers here). In the latter years we required those on sabbaticals to do something to advance the mission of the organization—something that I still have mixed feelings about today. The idea that when the founder leaves the teams that have to pick up the slack can learn and grow is so true. I also support the idea that sabbaticals can’t be the first line of defence against burnout—regular self-care practices are essential. I wrote about some of these experiences and themes in my book "Changing the World Without Losing Your Mind."
Founder Sabbatical! What an innovative process to allow for creativity, restoration, and revitalization of your mission, vision, and forward momentum for your organization. Founders need this to remain vigilant in their pursuits to catalyze change.
This is quite a reflective article which provokes the thinking around the teams potential during the presence of the founder vis-a-vis her/his absence. It’s quite humbling when the founder/leader also takes time out to self-introspect and address their weakness or when they fall short as an individual and within the general framework of a team-set up .
COMMENTS
BY Emily Edwards
ON December 16, 2021 11:53 AM
Thank you Natalie for framing your thoughts so effectively about how we can all move to resourcing organizations in way that center equity, sustainability and wellness for all.
Particularly grateful for your leadership and for your raising this just when so many of us are experiencing burnout and exhaustion nearly 2 years into the pandemic and all it has brought and surfaced.
Thank you!
BY ALEXANDER COUNTS
ON December 16, 2021 11:58 AM
This is a thoughtful and grounded article, and timely as well. Grameen Foundation, which I started and led for 18 years, created a sabbatical policy and I took two 3-month breaks as a result. I used the first much better than the second (though I messed up re-entry from the first in some ways, and learned from it). I can attest to a lot of the wisdom in this article, though instituting a policy that gives a sabbatical to all employees (which we did for our first 15 years) comes with real costs and if I had to do it over again, I would probably limit it to certain types of positions (though that might be critiicized as inequitable—no easy answers here). In the latter years we required those on sabbaticals to do something to advance the mission of the organization—something that I still have mixed feelings about today. The idea that when the founder leaves the teams that have to pick up the slack can learn and grow is so true. I also support the idea that sabbaticals can’t be the first line of defence against burnout—regular self-care practices are essential. I wrote about some of these experiences and themes in my book "Changing the World Without Losing Your Mind."
BY Michellea Millis Rucker
ON December 28, 2021 02:01 PM
Founder Sabbatical! What an innovative process to allow for creativity, restoration, and revitalization of your mission, vision, and forward momentum for your organization. Founders need this to remain vigilant in their pursuits to catalyze change.
BY Nyasha Frank Mpahlo
ON January 6, 2022 03:06 AM
This is quite a reflective article which provokes the thinking around the teams potential during the presence of the founder vis-a-vis her/his absence. It’s quite humbling when the founder/leader also takes time out to self-introspect and address their weakness or when they fall short as an individual and within the general framework of a team-set up .