Why Sabbaticals Could Be the Key to Unlocking Your Firm’s Scalability and Value

Since college, I have been a hustle-and-grind professional. It only got worse when I became an entrepreneur and ran my own show.  I’d never taken more than a week-long vacation. Then recently, in September 2024, I took a huge leap and embarked on a once-in-a-lifetime journey: hiking the Camino de Santiago, a medieval pilgrimage route spanning 500 miles from the Pyrenees in France to northwest Spain. My wife and I hiked it in 26 days, carrying everything we needed on our backs. While it started as a personal adventure, it became a transformative experience for me and unexpectedly for my company.

This sabbatical not only refreshed me personally but also catalyzed significant improvements within Interview Valet, a fully remote, 22-member Podcast Interview Marketing Agency.

Here are six quick lessons from this journey and how you can apply them to your business:

1. Deadlines Drive Progress

Setting a firm departure date created a forcing function. We had to prepare. Just as we did for our Chief Operating Officer (COO) earlier in the year for her maternity leave, I had to ensure systems and processes were solidly in place before I left. In just two quarters, we streamlined workflows, fixed inefficiencies, and delegated effectively. Without this clear deadline, many of these improvements would still be on the back burner.

2. Redundancy is Resilience

In the military, there’s a saying: “One is none.” When only one person knows how to do something, the team is vulnerable. This principle proved crucial during my absence. We built redundancy across HR, payroll, and leadership roles, ensuring the business could function smoothly without me. For example, my COO gained deeper visibility and understanding of key processes, allowing her to step up as the leader and voice of the company in my absence.

3. Opportunities for Leadership Growth

Before I left, I challenged the team to see my absence as their chance to shine. Many rose to the occasion, demonstrating leadership potential and earning recognition that will likely lead to future promotions. Conversely, gaps in performance became glaringly obvious. For instance, a senior sales representative mishandled key accounts in a manner inconsistent with our values, leading to their departure shortly after my return. This revealed weaknesses I had been masking with my constant presence and intervention.

4. Personal Renewal Fuels Vision

Burnout creeps up on you. You only realize its grip once you break free. Walking the Camino gave me space to reflect, recharge, and step back from the grind. Returning to work, my schedule was nearly empty—a stark contrast to the 60-hour weeks I had been used to. This created space to redefine my role, focus on strategic initiatives, and reignite the optimism and determination that had fueled me when I first started the company a decade ago.

5. A Model for the Future

The success of my sabbatical inspired us to formalize this concept within our company. We’re making sabbaticals part of our benefits—a unique way to align with our mission and values. For a remote team, where two-thirds of our employees are military spouses, flexibility is a critical differentiator. Sabbaticals offer an opportunity for personal growth and renewal while strengthening team cohesion and resilience.

6. Increased Company Valuation

Previously, outsiders may have called Interview Valet founder-centric. Now, there is clear evidence that the founder can take four weeks off while the company continues to thrive demonstrating our operational resilience and strong foundation. I believe my absence increased our valuation more than my presence would have.  When key team members also take sabbaticals, we prove the business isn’t tied to one person. The business can maintain consistent performance regardless of who runs it or who owns it.

Don’t let your firm be founder-centric. The time to implement operational resilience is now.

For leaders in professional services firms, I pose this question:

Do your firm’s operations rely on you too much to thrive without you?

What could a sabbatical unlock for you or your team?  Whether it’s to refresh your perspective, build organizational resilience, uncover hidden opportunities, or improve the valuation, the impact can be profound.

My journey on the Camino de Santiago was life-changing, both personally and professionally. I’m now often called “Camino Tom” by the team when I display the wisdom, optimism, and creativity gained over my 500-mile hike. I’m committed to ensuring others in our organization have the chance to experience their own transformative journeys.

What could a sabbatical do for you and your business?

As one of our clients, Bix Bickson, taught me, “Most of us don’t have a future.  It’s just a continuation of the past.”  To enjoy the future we want, he teaches that we must view it and then have the conversations that draw us towards it.  Let’s start the conversation.