Don’t forget this when you’re planning your getaway this summer: when you come back from your getaway – whether it’s a week, a long weekend, or even just a day out of the office – you’ll have to play catch-up. If that thought has you groaning and reaching for a bottle of whatever’s handy (not ketchup), then keep reading. We’ve got an answer for you!
Have you ever had the job where you were afraid to take time off because of the mess you would face when you got back? I know I have! Or how about the job where you’re seemingly always on the hook for something that happened – or didn’t happen – while you were away?
Even if something is hardly your fault, it can still reflect badly on you — damaging your reputation within the office, and weakening your position long-term. It’s all the more difficult to avoid this when you’re a one-person department. That’s why you should plan for things to go smoothly in your absence, so that no detail is missed, and nobody who would miss you feels underserved by your necessary absence.
As I say to my clients in the scientific community, “Until you can clone yourself, you can count on us!”
But those scenarios I mentioned above are usually the result of miscommunication (on both ends), mismanaged expectations, and the kind of buried personality clashes and mental rigidities that seem only to show up in the form of constant breakdowns and bad faith.
No system by itself will be enough to save you from that.
Nor will any of your work ethic, attention to detail, or professionalism stand up to that kind of chronic doubt.
So, before you go away, ask yourself which one of your working relationships isn’t working; are you doing battle with your principal, with a fellow department head, or maybe with one of your reports?
Then let us help!
It makes sense, then, that summer is when we feature our Systems Specialist and Engineer packages for busy marketing professionals and principals. Take a few minutes now to see what Engineer and Systems Specialist are all about, and what they can do for you.
Then get in touch (you can call, email, or even comment!) and let us know what’s keeping your mind from following your body on vacation.