Written by Allison Howe

I am back from my sabbatical. Thanks to a supportive board, I was incredibly fortunate and valued to be able to take two months off. My fellow executive directors/CEO’s have expressed a variety of responses to my sabbatical. 

Envy: “You are so lucky!” 

Amazement: “How were you able to leave for a month and not have the organization collapse?” 

Aspiration: “Can you talk to my board?”

Allison leaves the stresses of nonprofits behind to spend time with a new friend in Kenya

Why would a board encourage an executive director to take a two month sabbatical? There are a number of reasons:

Supporting your ED/CEO: NonProfitConnect’s new Board Chair Carolyn Biondi is a former executive director herself and has an advanced degree in positive psychology. She understands that executive directors experience burnout all the time. She and our former Chair were 100% supportive of the decision.

Desire for Retention: I have been in this job for seven years and have grown the organization and impact significantly. Providing intentional time for rest, renewal, and a fresh perspective allowed me to return energized, bringing new ideas to the work. They want me to be able to stay and to contribute as long as possible.

Succession Planning Strategy: Our Director of Operations had a chance to lead the organization in a way that is impossible to practice when the executive director is available.

Minimal Cost to Agency in some cases: I took my sabbatical during NonProfitConnect’s least busy time. I did not take a salary. This may not always be the best practice, but it did help secure my board’s support.

What did I learn?

NonProfitConnect will survive without me. Nonprofit leaders tend to believe that we are not replaceable. It is actually a good and reassuring experience to see that you have someone who can handle leading the organization without you!

Problems are less stressful and insurmountable when you leave them for a little bit. Seems obvious, right? But really, it is amazing how much an intractable problem before a break becomes easier to solve or just not as important in the scheme of things when you return.