Let Them Step Up: A Manager’s Summer Survival Guide
Reduce your stress, set the tone, and make your time off a leadership win — not a liability.
With the unofficial start to summer upon us, let’s address an elephant in the room:
Taking vacation can be stressful for managers and leaders.
I’m already hearing things like:
“Too much is going on.”
“I don’t think I can fully unplug.”
“It’s easier to stay connected than try to catch up when I get back.”
If thinking of your summer plans ignites these thoughts, keep reading.
My objective today:
Help you and your team thrive through the summer months by shifting your mindset & giving you tools to succeed.
“Call The Fire Department”
In 2005, became Center Director at SCORE! Educational Centers, managing a full time staff of 4, and part time staff of ~10.
We were the top revenue producing center in the company and were beating company records for student retention.
With a lot on the line, I took a 10-day trip to France and the Czech Republic.
Want to know my parting words before leaving?
“If something’s on fire, call the fire department.”
I said it with a laugh, and the center knew, if something went wrong, to band together, and figure it out, knowing there was little I could truly do to help in real time from 6,000 miles away.
Looking back, that moment set the tone for how I’d approach every single vacation I’ve taken as a manager and leader.
“Let Them” Mindset
Mel Robbins ignited an incredible firestorm in 2024 with her Let Them Theory.
I’d like to propose a small twist for the sake of today’s topic.
Instead of stressing about what will go wrong, who will drop a ball, what will come to a grinding halt, what decision might be mistakenly made, adopt this shift:
Let them try.
Let them fall.
Let them learn.
Let them decide.
Let them experiment.
LET THEM STEP UP.
What would happen if you used your time away as a time to let them shine?
What might they learn? What ways might they surprise you?
Reduce your vacation stress by adopting a Let Them mentality.
“Let Us” Mantra
Before you leave on vacation, and something I’d recommend doing in the next week or so, is pulling the team together to talk about the mantra for the summer.
Ideally everyone on your team is taking time off at some point.
And you want each person to be able to disconnect and fully enjoy.
Here’s how I’d kick off the discussion in a team meeting:
“Summer has unofficially arrived and I want us to take some time to have a group discussion for what we want this summer and our results to say about us.
My goal is for each of us to truly enjoy our time off. The metric of success I want to look at on September 1st is this: we hit our commitments while truly honoring and celebrating everyone’s time off.
For us to do that, what are the things we want to commit to one another? What can we plan for that will enable our success? What is the reputation we want to solidify for ourselves this summer?”
And then I’d invite a lively group discussion.
Can the team band together for a Let Us mantra?
Let us figure things out.
Let us have each other’s back
Let us make our manager proud.
Let us set the tone for the rest of the org.
Let us be the team that keeps the trains on the tracks WHILE celebrating when team members disconnect during PTO.
Getting Your Ducks In A Row
One activity I do ahead of each vacation, particularly when things are extra busy and moving a million miles a minute, is map out my work.
I create a doc where I start to bucket out what’s on my plate:
Urgent
Time Sensitive
Can Wait
This simple activity tends to reveal:
Most things we think are urgent, aren't as urgent as we assume.
Many things can actually wait 1-2 weeks and hell won’t freeze over.
The time sensitive issues get more clearly defined and now can more easily be temporarily delegated.
Do you have a vacation in June?
Will you spend a few minutes on this activity so you can increase your clarity before heading out?
Pro Tip: for the time sensitive items, begin to bring others into the fold now so that they’re semi-looped in before you leave in case they need to jump in for you.
Set The Tone
Leader sets the tone. Be intentional and strengthen trust.
I remember in July 2020, I took more than a week off for our annual family vacation to Lake Almanor.
We were in peak Covid. I’d laid off 75% of my team 3 months prior, and our work was not letting up. We were reeling from George Floyd, the impacts of social isolation, and re-establishing ourselves as a smaller team.
I not only still took my vacation, I fully unplugged.
Leader has to set the tone.
Time off is critical for us all. Recharging does wonders to your creativity, innovation, and commitment to your work.
And when I left, I shared a version of this message:
“Y’all got this. This is your time to shine. Trust yourselves, trust each other.
If something comes up, I trust you to make the call. Best case, you make the decision I would’ve made. Worst case, we revisit the decision when I’m back and you’ll have learned something. So really, there’s no real worst case. We’re not curing cancer here.
Kick some ass and if something is on fire, call the fire department!”
Lastly…
Don’t forget to delete your work apps while you’re on vacation!
Piña coladas sure do taste better without Slack notifications! 🥳
Reflect
Time for the rubber to meet the road.
What’s your core take away?
What commitments do you want to make to yourself and your team in relation to summer vacations?
I’m Katie!
I help leaders drive stronger business results through group training & coaching
I'm also a mom, triathlete, & cowgirl who loves country music and good martinis.
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