How to drive better office culture with your OOO

I love vacation.  I love everything about it. 

I’m not one of those overly important people who thinks the world falls apart if/when I take vacation.  So, I take time off—lots of it. Liberally. And I encourage my team to do the same—I haven’t counted vacation days for my team in years, if ever.

If you want to be a better leader—not only should you take your vacation time (another topic entirely) but you should be transparent about the fact that you are offline. Don’t hide behind the “I’m always working” persona.  Don’t pretend like you’re working when you’re not. Instead—be bold, be transparent, and tell the world that you have a life outside of work by using your OOO (Out of Office email auto-responder).

I often tell the world that I’m hiking in the mountains, traveling with my family or just taking time off for myself. Using your OOO to share that you’re on vacation does a few things—for you and for your teams.

First, it messages that you are human. It messages that you have a life outside of the office and that you care about your own well-being. It messages that you don’t take yourself (or life) too seriously and that you value work life balance. It messages that family, travel, community, self-care—are all just as important as work.

Next—it signals to your team that taking time off is okay. Leaders set the tone at the top and drive culture. If your team culture is one of always-on, always working, available 24/7 in a virtual environment, then you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Leaders who take vacation time and hide it, or pretend that their working when they are not—are terrible role models. Don’t be that person. Instead, highlight your own vacation time so that others feel empowered to take theirs.  It’s the right thing to do—to say nothing of the fact that all the research shows that personal time off leads to improved productivity and higher employee engagement.

Finally, your OOO helps YOU. I do not like my inbox.  Email and I are not friends—it is truly the bane of my existence.  And yes, I’ve tried every life hack and still, wading through email is my least favorite part of the day.   But when I’ve got my OOO on, I feel light as a feather. I love having the space that my OOO creates for me to truly turn off—to not think incessantly about my to-do list or who I need to respond to and when.

So be a great leader and use your OOO to stop hiding the fact that you take time off.  

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And if you want to take it one step further, and be even a better leader—go ahead and use your calendar to block off personal time too. I was once speaking with the COO of Investment Banking for a Global Investment Bank after we had been engaged to help retain senior women. We were talking about our children, and I asked him a question: did he ever put his son’s little league games on his calendar? He looked at my quizzically, and I explained that transparency (or lack thereof) was part of the problem.  

If you actually leave the office to go watch your child play soccer, or be the pumpkin in the school play—don’t pretend as if you’ve got some important work commitment. Instead, just tell it like it is. Block your calendar for “soccer tournament” or “school play.” The messaging here matters. Look back at your calendar for October 31, 2021. What does it say? Were you really at an important meeting or did you maybe skip away for a costume parade or Halloween party?

Want to know what else is on my calendar—literally right now?  Here’s a sampling: book club, birthday party, 3rd grade mystery reader, Wriglie vet (the dog), mani/pedi, massage, haircut in NYC, walk on the lake with mom, camp application due… you get the point. I don’t just block out personal time—I’m actually 100% transparent about where I am and what I’m doing. I’m never hiding behind an important meeting. I have lots of activities and commitments outside of work that are equally important to me. And I want my team to know that they can and should do the same.

We need to encourage leaders to be more transparent about their lives—so that we can all recognize the value of life outside of work and begin to talk about time off in a way that isn’t shameful or hidden, but that is recognized, appreciated and maybe even one-day celebrated.

YOUR TURN         

How can you use transparency with your OOO and calendar to be a better leader and drive culture in your organization? I’d love to hear from you HERE.