*We are experimenting with a longer form email structure. Less quick + easy, more deep + thoughtful." Would love to hear your thoughts!

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I just finished a podcast conversation about sabbaticals with Alexander Lapa, and he said something that stuck: "I always had the perception of sabbatical as being a one-time thing, but I just realized there's no actual limit to it."

That moment of recognition? It's exactly what needs to happen in boardrooms across the nonprofit sector.

Let's Address the Elephant in the Room

Your board (maybe that's you, if you serve on a board) thinks sabbaticals are luxuries. They're not. They're leadership longevity investments that cost significantly less than the alternative: constant executive turnover.

The math is brutal: replacing a burned-out ED / CEO costs a minimum of 2-3 times their annual salary. Search firms, onboarding, lost institutional knowledge, team fallout, donor relationship disruption—it adds up fast.

Meanwhile, an 8-12 week sabbatical costs a fraction of that while delivering something turnover never can: organizational learning.

What Actually Happens When Leaders Step Away

Here's what I've observed in organizations that embrace sabbaticals:

• Meeting efficiency skyrockets. Hour-long meetings become 30-minute check-ins. Weekly gatherings shift to monthly reviews. Teams discover they can accomplish more with less administrative overhead.
• Hidden leaders emerge. Staff members who've been waiting for development opportunities suddenly have them. Your succession planning gets pressure-tested in real time.
• Operational dependencies get exposed. That "only the ED can handle this" task? Usually, it can be streamlined, delegated, or eliminated entirely.

None of this happens when you're too busy putting out fires to examine what's creating them.

The Real Reason Boards Resist

It's not actually about money. It's about control and the myth of indispensability.

Board members—especially those from corporate backgrounds—struggle with the idea that organizational effectiveness might improve without constant executive oversight. They've bought into the hero leadership model where exhaustion equals commitment.

Your martyr complex isn't serving your mission. It's undermining it.

Start With This Conversation

At your next board meeting, ask this question: "What would happen to our organization if our ED / CEO was unavailable for three months?"

If the answer is "we'd fall apart," you don't have a strong organization. You have a house of cards with a person-shaped keystone.

If the answer is "we'd figure it out," then you're ready for sabbatical planning.

The Pilot Approach That Actually Works

Don't start with comprehensive policies. Start with pilots.

• Phase 1: Identify one upcoming 3-4 week period when your ED could step back. Maybe between major projects or after a strategic plan completion. Or maybe, just pick a time!
• Phase 2: Before they leave, support them to distinguish between what must continue and what can pause. Not everything needs coverage—some things need elimination, and some things can handle a temporary slow down.
• Phase 3: Ask the ED/CEO to have their leadership team track what happens. Meeting efficiency, team dynamics, decision-making speed. Document the organizational learning.
• Phase 4: Two weeks after return, encourage an After Action / debrief with the org leadership. What worked? What improved? What does the team want to maintain?

The Funding Reality

External funding exists specifically for sabbaticals. The Durfee Foundation provides $75,000 grants annually for this purpose. Cricket Island Foundation is expanding sabbatical funding. Others are following.

But even without external support, consider this: budgeting 1-3% of your annual budget for a leadership resilience fund (that you can then use to support a sabbatical policy) isn't radical. It's basic organizational maintenance.

For Board Members Reading This

Your ED isn't asking for a vacation. They're asking for organizational development disguised as individual rest.

And that's only WHEN they have the courage to ask.

Most EDs and CEOs are nervous to ask for a sabbatical. Why? Because our society tells us that asking for rest equates to a lack of competency, and weakness. Many of our org leaders have heard horror stories from their colleagues requesting sabbaticals and being turned down from their board members.

Instead of being afraid to talk about sabbaticals, let's instead normalize prioritizing the benefits that extend far beyond one person's rejuvenation:

• Operational efficiency improvements
• Leadership pipeline development
• Succession planning stress-testing
• Staff retention and morale

The question isn't whether you can afford sabbaticals. It's whether you can afford the burnout-driven turnover that happens without them.

For EDs & CEOs Considering the Conversation

Frame this as sustainability planning, not personal need. Come with examples of organizations in your network that have successful sabbatical policies. Lead with the organizational benefits, not your exhaustion.

And if your board's first response is "but we have unlimited PTO," ask them to review the data on how much of that unlimited time your staff actually uses. Most unlimited PTO policies exist alongside burnt-out teams who never take meaningful time off.

The Bottom Line

People leave. The only variable is whether you plan for those departures or react to them.

Sabbaticals let you practice leadership transitions with safety nets intact. They reveal operational improvements waiting to be discovered. They develop your leadership pipeline before you desperately need it.

Most importantly, they acknowledge a fundamental truth most nonprofits avoid: sustainable leadership looks different from heroic leadership.

Your mission deserves leadership built for the long haul, not the next crisis.

What's Next?

If this resonates but you need more support for the board conversation, I've written a comprehensive piece breaking down the implementation strategy, financial planning, and organizational benefits of sabbatical policies. You can send this to your board of directors (whether you're the ED/CEO sending it to your board, or you're sending it to fellow board members).

The data is clear. The benefits are measurable. The alternative is expensive.

The question is: will you plan for leadership sustainability, or keep waiting for burnout to make the decision for you?

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About Leaving Well: I provide interim leadership, proactive sabbatical policy launch, and succession planning for nonprofits ready to normalize workplace transitions. Because people leave—and it's not a crisis if you plan for it. Reach out to support@8thandHome.com