Brendan McGovern's sabbatical send-off party.
Brendan didn’t leave without a proper send-off from his team members, who gave him a surprise sabbatical party to celebrate his well-deserved break. Party-goers were dressed in t-shirts that said “WWB$D?” an acronym for “What Would Brendan Do?” (B$ is his nickname at Meetup since he’s the money-guy.)
Says Linda Paul, Meetup’s head of team development: “When we had the surprise party one of the team members was saying that he really prepped us well for his departure, but there will be times when we have to think to ourselves . . .and then we all said ‘Hmmm . . .what would Brendan do?’ and took off our shirts to reveal the t-shirts. He LOVED it!”
What would YOU do if you had what Brendan has? Brendan’s choosing to travel the world before he returns in May – so far, he’s experienced a cruise, Costa Rica, and Australia. Maybe on your sabbatical you’d skip Australia and instead do one of these “100 Things to Do on Sabbatical.”
Whatever your sabbatical dreams, don’t just keep dreaming. Negotiate your sabbatical, even if your company doesn’t formally offer one. Jeff Jung, founder and producer of Career Break Secrets video travel guides, recently wrote this in his review of our Negotiating Your Sabbatical toolkit:
“It is a comprehensive tool that will take you through all phases of getting time off from work….I think it’s a good deal and here’s why. Compare the price to the cost of going to an executive coach, which will run you hundreds of dollars. Talking to your company about agreeing to time off can be stress-inducing. You want to be prepared and have thought through the pros, the cons and all the possible reactions such a discussion might trigger. This is an important conversation and you want to be prepared. I’ve read through the book in detail and I think there’s a lot of good advice and insight that you can apply to your circumstance.”
Thanks, Jeff! And to Brendan, we wish for you disconnection, rejuvenation and transformation.
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