Step Away without Worry
Stress-free vacations for product people
Are you rethinking your vacation away from your product management job? Is the stress, worry, and guilt not worth the benefits of a break from work?
Sooner or later, you are going to need a break from work. As a product manager, you have a key role in your product. Whether you have a compelling reason to miss work or you need time to recharge, a lot can happen in a few days.
Product management is a strategic role. Product managers are expected to be responsive to stakeholders, customers, and executives. Product managers are the go-to people for important decisions.
While the team is dependent on their product managers, there are steps you can take to prepare for and recover from a vacation.
Before the Vacation
Product managers often feel committed to their products. They know many teams depend on their leadership. Strangely, these same dedicated product managers are so humble that they think no one is going to need them for a few days.
The first step is to stop thinking you don't do anything for the product! Product managers at any level in the organization are doing important things with many dependent teams. Don't be humble about your role in the product when planning a vacation!
Now that you have put aside your doubts about your role, you can take an objective view of your in-progress work. Lay out your in-progress work logically by dependencies that can't wait for your return. Lay out your top 4-6 critical initiatives with this information:
Short description and priority for the time you are out
A shared location with relevant information
Deadlines, if any, while you are out
Who knows about the initiative to help
Send your critical initiatives information to people covering during your vacation.
Communicate about vacation plans and coverage. Let stakeholders and the product team know about your upcoming vacation. Provide key contact points for changes while you are out.
Schedule out-of-office notifications so teams don't waste time looking for you or your in-progress work. Let the team know how to reach you for critical emergencies. 95% of product management vacations have no critical emergencies.
After Returning from Vacation
Your goal after vacation is to regain control of your product responsibilities. Your team has saved issues for your return.
Your team has made progress and they didn't do things the way you do them. This is ok - there are many ways to successfully manage a product.
First, do a quick assessment of what happened while you were out. Followed by gradually regaining control of your critical initiatives.
Here are the steps:
Review the progress of the critical initiatives
Use your critical initiatives list that you prepared before vacation
Check communication channels for urgent items
Prepare a list of follow-ups as you go through emails, instant messages, and shared documents
Meet with your team to debrief and get the inside story
Use your follow-up list so you cover all the significant events while you were out
Active listening for most of the events
Ask questions after hearing from the team
Update key stakeholders on progress and feedback
Be ready to handle concerns after you have the background from meeting with your team
Evaluate temporary leadership roles
Recognize team members who stepped in to lead during your vacation
Understand the impact on progress from the temporary leadership
Gradually transition back into full control
Pick up the issues that were saved for your return
Make sure key activities stay aligned with your roadmap
Encourage team members who stepped up to lead to continue taking the initiative
Taking these steps, you can reintegrate into the product workflow while encouraging team independence.
Conclusion - Stepping Away and Transitioning Back
Product managers need breaks from their daily working environment for their well-being. By planning ahead, the product team is empowered to lead during your vacation. When you return from vacation, you can enjoy the long-term benefits of a self-sufficient team.
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That's great advice, Amy! Making a comprehensive plan before and after the return is a great way to reduce any negative impact, because like you said, this role is key. But we deserve to rest too!