The Power of Taking Time Off: Leadership Insights from the Lake of the Ozarks

Earlier in July, my family and I visited the Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri and learned the power of taking time off. For those who have not visited, the national park and surrounding area is an absolutely beautiful stretch that includes roughly 93 miles of the Osage River and several tributaries that feed into it. Our hosts have owned their property directly on the shoreline for nearly thirty years and have watched the area grow from a set of small villages and more of a backwater retreat into a fully appointed popular vacation spot for folks from across the U.S. and the world.

Consistent with many leaders I’ve met and worked with in the construction industry, I don’t take a lot of time off. Every year we are able to get some time with the family over the fourth of July week and over the Christmas holiday, but I’ve only been able to fully shut off email a handful of times in my career. The trip offered three valuable reminders that stood out and I believe they’re worth sharing:

1. Make a Plan and Keep it Loose
2. Try New Things
3. Seek Stillness

1.  Make a Plan and Keep it Loose

Each day at the lake presented its own set of adventures, but the adventure started with our travel to the lake. We flew direct from SFO to Lambert Airfield in St. Louis and Midwest storms pushed our flight over an hour later. Originally our plan was to grab some dinner at a local St. Louis barbecue place, but our delayed arrival meant once we landed, picked up our bags and the rental car, we likely couldn’t get to the lake until 11pm or so. So, we “called an audible” and immediately hit the road and stopped an hour and a half into the drive at McDonalds to get our Midwest adventure started off right.

The next morning, we woke up and by 9am the kids had eaten breakfast and were jumping off the dock and playing in the lake. Each day we set up an anchor activity and the rest of the plan emerged organically from the interests of parents and kids. On the first morning we swam, we got the stand up paddleboards and kayak out, and everyone got to skip and bump along on the Wave Runner. Lunch consisted of sandwich fixings, fruit, veggies, and chips left on the dining table on the dock and people ate as they got hungry. Later that evening after about 8 straight hours of swimming we took a sunset boat ride and enjoyed the stars, and the lake lit up in the night sky. The second day we explored the lake, went wake surfing and the kids learned how to fish. On the third day the kids scarfed down breakfast and resumed fishing for hours and then we tooled around in the water, did cannonball contests, and enjoyed playing in the sun.

During the work week by necessity, my schedule has become planned down to the quarter hour. I am constantly checking in with project teams, our office staff, and our team of facilitators and when the day is done it’s off to coach the kids in their sports. I wouldn’t trade it for the world. But, unplugging and having loose, unscheduled time for multiple days reminded me that boredom and wonder give you time to tap into your creativity.

2.  Try New Things

Perhaps more than any other vacation we have ever taken, this was a vacation of “firsts” for the entire family. To me the value of taking vacation with younger kids is that there are basically an infinite number of learning opportunities for them. A non-exhaustive list of firsts include:

• The first Happy Meal for my six-year-old daughter during our stop at McDonalds… I’m guessing it won’t be her last
• Swimming in the Ozarks for the whole family (we averaged about 8 hours of day in the warm water to break the 90 degree weather and 70% humidity)
• Driving/Riding on a Wave Runner (I dare you to avoid smiling while driving one of those around😊)
• Sunset boat ride – nothing quite like taking in the stars from the middle of the lake
• Wake surfing, inner tubing behind the WaveRunner, stand up paddleboarding, kayaking, etc. – so fun!
• Fishing (both lure and bait fishing) – my son caught a few catfish, and his uncle and cousin caught bluegill and both largemouth and smallmouth bass
• And a first time visit to Busch Stadium to watch the Cardinals beat the Miami Marlins.

It was a great reminder that activities like stand up paddleboarding force you to slow down, work on balance, and allow you to take in the lake from a totally different perspective than you would as a swimmer or as a passenger on a boat.

To me, the unanticipated benefit of this vacation was watching my kids get off their screens and dive in with both feet to these new experiences. It’s important for kids to live in a “land of yes” where they are encouraged and enabled to try new things, eat new foods and work on front flips. Historically, it has taken me a couple of days to get into the vacation and relax. At the lake, it took about an hour for my shoulders to release. I fully recommend it.

3. Seek Stillness

Those who know me well understand that I am in constant motion. As mentioned earlier, my work and personal life is highly scheduled, and I tend to pack the weekend and hours off with sports, music, chores, and other activities. In contrast my wife does an amazing job of achieving stillness through her yoga practice, reading, and other quieter activities and often reminds me to take on less and avoid overscheduling.
The lake provides endless opportunities to move, but more importantly it offers time to simply sit, take in the beauty, and enjoy connecting to nature. Watching my son learn how to fish and apply coaching provided by his uncle and cousin and observing how my daughter learned how to cast and set bait from her Great Uncle was really fun to watch. My son really took to it and maintained hours of quiet concentration as he figured out how to get the bait to the bottom of the lake, and he caught three catfish!

I was reminded of one of my favorite novels “The River Why,” which was basically a love note written to fishing by David James Duncan. In the book the character Titus said, “Fishermen should be the easiest of men to convince to search for their souls, because fishing is nothing but the pursuit of the elusive.”

This vacation was such a great reminder of the value of fishing. When you sit and stare at the water and try to “think like a fish,” your brain wanders and starts making connections you would not otherwise see. My life is pretty structured, and I rarely get time to just sit and think. When I drive, I’m frequently on calls or listening to audiobooks or podcasts. When I’m on site I’m preparing workshops and tend to fill the gaps in time on the phone. This experience has taught me that I need to take a cue from fishing and block off more structured thinking time.

Over the years, I have learned that everyone in the company needs to be encouraged to take meaningful time off. Vacation helps with morale, creativity, and enables everyone to be their full self when they return. And, while it is true that short hikes, evening walks or a day of fishing on the weekend can offer moments for contemplation, a deeper connection to nature or with the family for a week or more pays dividends. Plus, borrowing from Shawn Achor’s the Happiness Advantage, you get The Doubler, where you have a positive doubling effect when you share photos or stories of your trip with your friends and colleagues.

I encourage you to make the time to disconnect — you’ll be surprised what you rediscover. And when you do, I’d love to hear where you went and what you took away from it.

– Rob

Rob Reaugh is President of OrgMetrics LLC. He facilitates the City and County of San Francisco Collaborative Partnering Steering Committee and currently works with San Francisco International Airport, San Jose International Airport, BART, Caltrans, and others. He holds a Masters’ Degree in Alternative Dispute Resolution.

For more information please contact Rob Reaugh, RobReaugh@Orgmet.com / (925) 487-2404 (cell), or OrgMetrics, (925) 449-8300.