This summer I’ve had the chance to be a guest on two podcasts that I regularly listen to. I was asked to talk about what I’ve been doing since completing the BMW/Daimler joint venture with ReachNow. My Camino trip certainly made for some interesting stories, but my main message was really about leadership. As leaders it’s critical to rest and recharge ourselves and to model the behaviors we want to see in our teams.
How many of us know companies with “unlimited vacation” where no one really ever takes time off? When was the last time a manager who should have been enjoying a beach with an umbrella drink in hand was instead pounding emails out while their family splashed in the waves?
Leadership is not just a story you tell, it’s a set of behaviors. It’s about modeling the behaviors you want to see in those around you so that you can be an example for your teams to follow. I hope talking about my trip and what I learned while away can inspire others to find their own way, so listen up!
Not long after I returned from Europe I was invited by Joleen Hughes to be a guest on her “The Lawyer Who Rocks” podcast. It was my second time on the podcast since I was one of her first guests back in March with an episode we’d recorded in 2018. This time around we talked about leaving ReachNow and choosing to go on the Camino as a way of wiping the slate clean before my next challenge.
More recently I spoke on an episode of the second season of Beyond The Blue Badge by the Microsoft Alumni Network. I’ve been an Microsoft Alumni Network member for a long long time and to be a part of their podcast series alongside so many accomplished Microsoft leaders was a big honor. With the help of host Lora Poepping we spent a lot more time on why it’s so important to take time away from our technology focused jobs. I was blessed to be able to take 2 months away from home but even if you only have a week or a weekend it’s important to commit that time to yourself to recharge your own creativity.
I’m an avid podcast listener and will binge listen to a series I love in the same way I devour Netflix or Hulu. If you enjoy the episodes I was on make sure to dig into the archives for more great leadership stories. Hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to do more podcasts to talk about the importance of sabbaticals to leaders at all levels and my own great experience on the Camino de Santiago.
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