How to Ask for a Vacation and Set Your Team Up for Success

In a work force, where your badge of honor is based upon the hours you work instead of how much you actually get done, asking for a vacation can seem like you are not dedicated to the job or aren’t as ambitious as others in the company.

Although that may not be the case, that may be how it is perceived. However, the success of the request comes down to how you communicate it. When making the request, try to make it a win-win for all parties involved. When making a request. it is as much about how you present the request as what you are actually asking for. My colleague, Marissa Brassfield, is the prime example of how to make this request and leave your team feeling and knowing that you will not miss a beat when you are gone.

After notifying each member of our team individually and working with each person to ensure that their projects are up to speed, she sent our team an email outlining the following:

The dates she will be gone.
How this affects her team (including a one-line overview and a detailed paragraph as to why it doesn’t affect the team).
What her availability will be (when she will be online, what her expected Wi-Fi availability will be, how you can reach her at different times, and who to reach if you cannot reach her).

This not only set the team up for success when she will be gone, but it left our boss feeling at ease and even excited for her to take the vacation, knowing that she has done the work in order to leave and will come back even more refreshed and on top of her game than before. She set up a winning situation for herself, for the team, and for the company.

H/T HBR