You know how it goes. You’re finally getting ready for the summer vacation you’ve been looking forward to for months. The week before is a blur of wrapping up projects, getting ahead on deadlines, and making sure everyone has what they need while you’re away. As you’re packing your suitcase, you inevitably look at your work laptop and have the same internal debate you’ve probably had every summer. Should I bring it? I really don’t want to…but what if something comes up? Even when we genuinely want to disconnect – and even when we want to set the example for our teams that it’s okay to unplug – we often end up sliding it into our suitcase anyway, just in case. 

I’ve been thinking about that “just in case” lately because I don’t think it’s really about the laptop. I think it’s one of the clearest reflections of our leadership. Our ability to disconnect from work has very little to do with how responsible we are and almost everything to do with the team, culture, and systems we’ve built. Summer vacations have a way of revealing what the busyness of the rest of the year often hides. 

If your team truly can’t operate without you for a week, vacation didn’t create the problem. It simply exposed it. 

You start to notice the signs. Every decision, even the low-risk ones, somehow finds its way back to you. Projects lose momentum because no one wants to make the wrong call while you’re away. Meetings get postponed until you’re back because “we wanted your input.” Your phone lights up with questions your team is perfectly capable of answering, but they don’t feel empowered to answer them. You find yourself checking email from the beach, responding between activities with your family, or calling the office “just to see how things are going.” Clients are surprised to hear you’re actually unavailable because you’ve trained them to expect an immediate response. Before long, you realize you’re physically on vacation but mentally still at work. 

If I’m honest, there have been seasons of my career when I secretly believed being indispensable was part of being a good leader. If everyone needed me, I must be adding value. 

I’ve come to see it differently. 

Do people really need us, or have they learned to?

I’ve yet to meet a team that accidentally became dependent on one leader. Dependency is learned. It develops one approval, one rescue, one unnecessary signoff, and one “I’ll just do it myself” at a time. Most leaders don’t create this intentionally. In fact, it usually starts with good intentions. We want to be helpful. We want to be available. We want to make sure our team succeeds. But over time, our helpfulness can become a crutch. Eventually people stop asking themselves, What do I think? and start asking, What will my leader want me to do? Before long, we’ve built an organization that waits instead of one that leads. 

One of the biggest misconceptions about leadership is that becoming indispensable is the goal. It isn’t. If everything depends on one person, you’ve created dependence – not leadership. Great leaders don’t build organizations around themselves. They build people who can think, exercise good judgment, and move work forward with confidence. 

A few days ago, I came home from our family’s beach vacation thinking about all of this. Like I do every year, I packed my laptop. Old habits die hard. The difference this year was that I never opened it. 

Sure, I checked my email a few times throughout the week, but I honored my out-of-office message. I didn’t call my team to check in, I didn’t jump into decisions, and I didn’t feel the need to “just make sure everything was okay.” They handled what needed to be handled, our clients were taken care of, and the business kept moving. 

I was thinking about my vacation and how I’ve changed as a leader. My ability to fully be present on vacation was a reflection of years of intentionally building trust, creating decision clarity, and empowering our team to exercise good judgment. We still have plenty of work to do – as every organization does – but this vacation reminded me that one of the greatest compliments a leader can receive is knowing your team can thrive while you’re away. 

Summer also has a way of revealing organizational culture. 

Can people actually disconnect when they’re on vacation, or do they quietly answer emails throughout the day? Do leaders encourage time away but secretly reward constant availability? Do employees return rested, or do they come back saying they “kept an eye on things” the whole time? 

I’ve always appreciated organizations that intentionally recognize the different rhythm that summer brings. One national insurance company encourages employees to embrace a “Remote Work July,” giving people additional flexibility throughout the month while recognizing that work and family often look different during the summer. Other organizations embrace Summer Fridays, intentionally ending the workweek early so employees can recharge. Some schedule company-wide shutdown weeks, allowing everyone to disconnect at the same time so people don’t feel like they’re missing something while they’re away. 

What all these organizations understand is that these practices aren’t really about remote work, Fridays off, or extra vacation time. They’re about creating a culture where people believe it’s okay to step away. Because here’s the truth: you can have an unlimited PTO policy and still have a culture where no one actually takes vacation. Policies don’t build culture. The behaviors leaders model every day do. 

If you’re wondering what your summer is revealing about your team, here are a few questions worth asking: When someone is out, does work continue moving forward or does it come to a standstill? Can people make low-risk decisions without asking for permission? Do employees feel comfortable taking vacation, or do they feel the need to apologize for being away? When a leader is gone, do others naturally step into ownership, or do they simply wait? 

The answers to those questions will tell you far more about your culture than any engagement survey ever could. 

So what do you do if you recognize yourself and your team in this article? 

First, create decision guardrails instead of decision dependence. One of the biggest reasons leaders get interrupted on vacation isn’t because the decision is too important. It’s because no one knows which decisions they actually own. Spend time clarifying what truly requires your involvement and what belongs to your team. Create principles that help people make good decisions when you’re not in the room. Clarity creates confidence, and confident teams don’t spend their week waiting for someone to return from vacation. 

Second, reward thoughtful judgment instead of perfect outcomes. Many organizations unintentionally teach people that avoiding mistakes is more important than making decisions. Over time, employees stop exercising judgment because asking for permission feels safer. The next time someone brings you a decision they could make themselves, resist the urge to answer immediately. Instead ask, “What would you do?” or “Walk me through your thinking.” You’re not just solving today’s problem. You’re developing tomorrow’s leaders. Leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about developing people who can find them. \

Finally, model the behavior you want your team to embrace. If you answer emails from the beach, everyone notices. If you apologize for taking vacation, everyone notices. If you tell people to unplug but quietly stay connected yourself, your team will follow your example long before they follow your policy. Leadership has always been more caught than taught. If we want people to believe it’s safe to disconnect, we have to show them what that looks like. 

As you pack for your next vacation – or head to a conference, a long weekend, or even just a day away from the office – don’t just ask what needs to get done before you leave. 

Ask yourself a better question. What will my absence reveal? 

Because moments like these aren’t simply time away from work. They’re some of the few opportunities we get to honestly see the leadership we’ve built, the culture we’ve created, and the confidence we’ve developed in the people around us. 

If your team thrives while you’re away, don’t take it personally.  

Take it as one of the greatest compliments your leadership can receive. 

Enjoy your summer!