Archives for Uncategorized
The Single Best Practice for a Company Sabbatical Policy that Rocks
Let’s say the company announces a new program to allow time out from work – a sabbatical program. Immediately after a shock and awe moment, employees have a few questions. Do you know what they are? They want to know: Do I get to go? For how long? Will I be paid? Can I do […]
You Want Me to Do Your Work AND Mine?: Guiding Questions for Pre-Sabbatical Work Transfer
Let’s face it. When you are away from the workplace on your sabbatical, people will talk about you. It’s nice to think they are wishing you well on your extraordinary experience and smiling as they tackle their job and part of yours. But in the preparation for leaving your work behind, a myriad of details […]
Suck in Air and Be Forever Thankful
“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual. It is surprising how contented one can be with nothing definite - only a sense of existence.” Henry David Thoreau, In a letter to Harrison Gray Otis Blake (December 6, 2020) My subscription to Real Simple Magazine expires next month and bored […]
Where the Spirit Leads, Feet Follow: Walk, Baby, Walk
While extreme sports fuel many, the rest of us are not, nor do we aspire, to be in the club. For a lot of different reasons, we don’t want to go “peak bagging.” We’re not fit enough, strong enough or brave enough. Still we’d like to “live bold” and “dare to do more.” The urge […]
Three Common Approaches to Asking for a Sabbatical - and Why They Don’t Work
What is it about springtime that prompts individuals to want to act on the idea of asking their boss for a sabbatical? While sabbatical programs in companies are a growing trend, individuals at work in companies without them are taking the initiative and negotiating their own. With more and more people contacting yourSABBATICAL for help, […]
Just What We Need. Ego-Driven CEO on Run-Away Sabbatical
It’s not as if Jared Heyman isn’t a nice guy. He does look likeable. And, as a driven businessman and entrepreneur, his success deserves celebration in ways he chooses. But, his idea of a sabbatical as “running away,” curls my brain. Taking into consideration that INC. needs to sell buckets of magazines, perhaps he did have a better message […]
The iRelaunch Return to Work Conference: Strategies and Employer Networking for Professionals Seeking to Return to the Workforce
Returning to work after a long sabbatical or hiatus that wasn’t employer-sponsored? The iRelaunch Return to Work Conference is produced throughout the US and abroad by the career reentry programming company, iRelaunch, whose founders are Harvard Business School alumnae Carol Fishman Cohen and Vivian Steir Rabin, authors of Back on the Career Track. The next […]
The Coolest Email Signature Line Ever
I received an email from Brendan McGovern, CFO of Meetup, and here’s what was below his name: **SABBATICAL NOTICE** — From Feb 4 - May 16, I will be out of the office enjoying Meetup’s sabbatical program. I will be traveling around the world, and per Meetup sabbatical policy, will not be checking email & not […]
When Love for Your Career is Dying
Often the best outcome of the sabbatical experience is returning to your job uplifted, energized and recommitted. At the core of this payoff is re-discovering true passion. For it is passion that fuels creativity and energy, propelling us forward with a sense of purpose and self-identity. Admitting we have lost passion for our work isn’t […]
The Purpose of a Sabbatical is…
goofing off. NOT. I had an interesting conversation with an amazing entrepreneur this week. Let’s call him Jim. He has founded and sold several business, has a not for profit enterprise to raise money for microloans to people in disadvantaged countries, and has a new internet based natural soap business. After an amazingly intense and […]
Susan Boyle Gives a Dream Some Welly and Your Pathetic Life Comes into View
Whether the frumpy, middle-aged Susan Boyle who stepped onto the “Britain’s Got Talent” stage is a “plant” or “for real” is hotly debated on the internet. It’s immaterial. Will she win the Idol competition? It doesn’t matter. She’s already changed her life …. and thrown down the gauntlet of possibility for us to change ours. This […]
No More Straight Lines for Company Careerists
This is an unpredictable world. Duh – no kidding – you say. I begin this blog with a statement of the painfully obvious. We all know and experience the unpredictability of these times everyday single day in the news and as change manifests in our own lives. I have a friend who has worked for a […]
The "Super-size Me" Reset Button
We all go through periods of chaos, crazy busyness, and being stuck in our lives. And we all need a way to come back to equilibrium, health, and sanity. Luckily we all have reset buttons and they come in small, medium, and large. You can read about examples of these three sizes in my recent […]
Sabbatical Resistance-Your Internal Negative Voice
My last post dealt with resistance you might expect from others. There’s another kind of resistance that’s more powerful and sinister. It can rear its ugly head when we least expect it and it lives and breathes inside all of us. I’ve heard it referred to as our internal saboteur or gremlin by The Coach’s […]
A Journey of Refinement (in a recession)
Have you ever met someone that the word – impressive, comes to mind? And although this person has a great resume, is authentic, credible, a real problem owner, and an expert talent in their field – none of this is what impresses you. What impresses you is their extraordinary grace and giving of their spirit. […]
Working Less Doesn't Provide Work-Life Balance. Sabbaticals Do.
The sabbatical trend keeps growing. We know that because at yourSABBATICAL our list of organizations offering sabbaticals (see Companies on a Quest) keeps growing. But if you don’t work for one of those companies, you may be on your own with the work-life balance problem. Perhaps you can make it happen by participating every year […]
The Driving Gears of the Connected Leader
“Indeed, as I look back at the adventurous young woman who left banking to pursue a life focused on a more global, connected vision, I see someone with guts, education, and skills, but also someone who had to learn time and again that those factors alone don’t always lead to success.” - Jacqueline Novogratz, author […]
Following the Footsteps of Wise Leaders is better than Dancing with the Stars
In the last two blogs we set the stage for two big ideas, pursuing a sabbatical strategy and establishing the Connected Leader in yourself through life’s learnings – and how these two ideas pair up nicely – like Dancing with the Stars. Sorry. I couldn’t resist. This is the TV show swirling and glittering on […]
What is your Career Brand as a Connected Leader?
In one of my recent coaching sessions, I had the opportunity to facilitate one of those “breakthrough” moments where my client pulled together a cohesive Career Brand Statement: a specific milestone I establish for my coaching clients for career navigation work. The shift in thinking is this – moving from identifying yourself from resume bullets […]
Taking a Stand for Standing Still
Picture a hamster on a wheel, running in place as fast as she can. That’s exactly how I felt before I made the decision to take a sabbatical. I am a small business owner and had been the project manager for building a new house, packing and moving from the old house, and moving into the […]
The Future of Your Career Brand in Exponential Times
I just posted a new video on my Facebook page that was produced by Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, and Jeff Bronman - a provocative YouTube video called, “Did You Know? ” proving the obvious, that we live in exponential times; the video highlights the shifting of educational leadership to China and India, the blinding speed of the technical […]
Put a Longevity Hot Spot in Your Sabbatical
.A team of demographers recently discovered that a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea is home to more people who reach a healthy age of 90 than any other place known. In September I was in Crete, the largest of the Greek Islands, hiking the Samarian Gorge, the longest gorge in Europe. In the […]
Autodesk's Lynn Allen Has Her THIRD Sabbatical
Google, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Qualcomm, EMC, Autodesk…. If you work for any of these companies, you’re involved in a highly innovative culture. And if you’re double-lucky, you look forward to a paid sabbatical. Four of these companies - IBM, Intel, Microsoft and Autodesk - are on our “Companies on a Quest” list (see the list […]
Look What Granny's Doing! Kite Boarding IS for Seniors
The two times I have brought this up, my daughter, Elizabeth, has had the same response. “Are you sure you’ve got that right?” she queries, looking at me like part of my brain has fallen out. Yes, I am sure I have it right. Kite boarding IS the fastest growing water sport for SENIORS. This […]