Unlocking the hidden benefits of a break

It’s way too easy to ‘forget’ to take a break, and to underestimate the wider benefits of a holiday, not just for you, but also for your team. So let’s delve into the perks of stepping away from your business, and also take a look at the common reasons why business owners hesitate to take their well-deserved holidays.

Your Health:

Small business owners regularly neglect their own well-being in their pursuit of success. This neglect will often lead to burnout, and can leave you feeling physically, mentally, and emotionally drained. Taking a break gives you the opportunity to rest, recharge, and rejuvenate; calming your stress levels, and restoring your energy.

Your Productivity

On return from a ‘proper’ holiday (ie one where you completely switch off from business communication and activity) your mind is completely refreshed and re-energised.  As a result, you’ll find that you’re way more creative, innovative and productive, with a much greater ability to come up with new and exciting ideas and a renewed enthusiasm for tackling business challenges.

Your Team’s Performance

As long as you have done the work in advance with your team (created your One Right Way to do every task, trained your team in their role, ensured that they have the resources they need to do their job well), your break will give every team member the opportunity to take full ownership for their role and to showcase their ability to get things done without you needing to be there.

Your Team’s Confidence and Growth

The trust that you show in your team by not checking up on them while you’re away will increase their confidence and help them to grow both as individuals and team members. Will they encounter problems? Probably. But they will be forced to think them through for themselves, and will recognise very often that they already know the answers, and are perfectly capable of overcoming challenges without being able to run to you.

So…if taking a break has these great benefits, why do so many business owners (1 in 4 small business owners haven’t taken a holiday in over 4 years!) not make holidays happen?

Fear of Missing Out:

The fear of missing out (FOMO) often holds small business owners back from taking holidays. Their entrepreneurial passion drives them to seize every opportunity and to be involved in every decision. But this attitude actually impedes their growth, because stepping back allows you to gain fresh perspectives and allows your team, and your business to thrive without your constant presence. Embracing your own downtime creates space for your team to step up, builds trust, and empowers them to manage day-to-day operations without interference.

Lack of Delegation and Trust:

Delegation is a struggle for many small business owners. Entrusting critical responsibilities to others can be challenging, and there’s no denying the fear that important tasks won’t be executed to your high standards. This reluctance to delegate creates the misconception that the business can’t function efficiently without your constant involvement. This is where your investment in training comes into its own – having One Right Way to do everything in your business, training your team to follow it, and giving them corrective feedback when they do – builds a team who take ownership, and a business that runs like clockwork without you needing to be there!  Even the most crucial tasks can be trained – you learned how to do them after all! 🙂

Over-emphasis on Perfectionism:

Perfectionism is the curse of the business owner and one of the key reasons many don’t take time off.  It’s one thing to strive for operational excellence but it’s another to become so obsessed with perfection that you block your team’s growth by not allowing them to make the mistakes that they will learn most from. Accepting that imperfections are part of the entrepreneurial journey is a necessary pre-requisite to giving yourself permission to take a holiday.