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On a mission to grow better business leadership and culture for positive people and planet impact l culture consultancy l Board & leadership l programmes l facilitation l coaching

Feeling the pressure before taking time off? Time away from work is full of hope, fun, new experiences, and time with family and friends but why is the run up to finishing work always so stressful? We know it’s coming, we plan for it but there always seems to be a race to the finish line of putting the ‘out of office’ on. Some of our approaches that create the pressure are: - being over optimistic about what I can achieve in the short term (one of my personal favourites!) - feeling guilty about leaving work, clients and colleagues behind - worrying how our time off will impact others - Feeling like it’s ‘all on us’ and no-one is available/willing/able/competent enough to step in This list got me curious about how most of these approaches are attached to our sense of worth; we’re only useful or have value if we’re merrily ticking tasks off our ‘to-do’ list and when the value we bring is only in the visible outcomes that we can measure. So before time away we 'not so merrily' tick off as many tasks as possible and strive to meet our measured targets before we head out of the office door to super prove our worth to others, and ourselves before disappearing. The uncertainty that a change in our normal routine brings (even if it’s wanted change like a holiday) can lead to us getting super busy in familiar, routine tasks that we know and feel certain about. In reality our worth in the real or virtual office is much, much more than this reductionist, machine like approach to work. Our human strength of how we show up, how we experience ourselves and how we connect with others speaks bigger volumes and is the glue that connects people and holds cultures together, creating the conditions for thriving. People don’t remember what you said or how many tasks you achieved, but they do remember how you made them feel. How we show up for others and ourselves is deeply driven by our assumptions, beliefs and values about ourselves and our worth. So the next time you’re racing to the ‘out of office’ finish line, notice what is driving you and if it’s fear (of not doing enough, of not being good enough, of being judged) how could that be shifted to being driven by a little more love for you? #thrivingwork #Iamenough #beinganddoing #compassionateleader #loafspark #huddlecraft

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