A Sabbatical: An Investment in Your Organization's Leadership

Have you ever wondered what you would do if your employer offered you a sabbatical? If you teach in a post-secondary institution, the idea of a sabbatical is not out of the question—it is a common practice for faculty. But if you are working at a for-profit company or a nonprofit arts organization, the idea of taking a paid sabbatical may seem like a pipe dream.

In fact, more employers, especially nonprofit arts organizations, should give serious consideration to making regularly scheduled sabbaticals part of their long-term hiring and retention packages for top executives. Any of you who have headed an organization know that 14-hour days and seven-day weeks are not uncommon.

Compensation for executives at small and mid-sized arts organizations is often well under levels recommended by national studies. In addition, the stress of these jobs—always doing more with fewer people and never having enough money to accomplish what the organization needs—can quickly add up to job dissatisfaction, burn out, and eventually the loss of our highest performing executives to other (usually larger) organizations. Some will even leave the arts entirely, a loss that has long-term consequences for the arts field. Given these realities, there is not much that a board can do to reward their best executives.

Enter the sabbatical. Long the purview of academics and clergy, in recent years the sabbatical has become a hiring and retention strategy of the nonprofit sector. A 2007 article in The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported that an increasing number of foundations are making grants to cover the costs of a sabbatical for executive leadership. Sabbatical programs typically provide funds to cover two or more months of paid leave for a group's executive director, along with money or other assistance to help the organization operate in the leader's absence.

While few nonprofits can offer a 12-month, fully paid sabbatical, many are able to create shorter sabbaticals that are often just as meaningful. In some cases, the board or personnel committee will put some parameters around the sabbatical. They may ask that the executive attend a particular conference or create a specific plan around what they will do on their sabbatical. Others will ask that the executive simply take the time to do whatever they might like. In most cases, it is assumed that the executive will have little or no contact with their organization during their time away.

Sabbaticals commonly range from one to six months. A sabbatical is always given in addition to the employee's vacation. For shorter sabbaticals, existing staff, with support from key board members, will often assume the executive’s responsibilities during his or her absence. In other cases, the board will hire a consultant or temporary executive to serve in an interim management role during this time. Most importantly, the sabbatical should be viewed as a time of personal and/or professional renewal for the executive.

In recognition of her 10 years of dedicated service to Chorus America, the board granted our president & CEO Ann Meier Baker a one-month sabbatical. The only stipulation put on the sabbatical was that Ann take the sabbatical within 18 months of when it was granted. The reason for doing this was to insure that she would take the sabbatical in a timely manner and to give her time to plan what she might like to do.

Ann took her sabbatical this past August. She traveled to the Festival 500 Phenomenon of Singing International Symposium in Newfoundland with her husband and daughter, spent time with extended family, and enjoyed the opportunity to catch up on house projects, sleep, and her reading list. In all, Ann felt that her sabbatical was time well spent and she reported that she returned to work in September rested and reenergized.

From a board’s perspective, our goal for the sabbatical was to honor her for her exemplary service to Chorus America and to recognize that with her position come stresses and sacrifices of which we might not always be aware. We wanted Ann to have this time for personal rest and renewal.

As you think about your own organization, do you see a place for a sabbatical for your key executive and/or artistic personnel? While it may seem like a luxury that your organization can’t afford, you can guarantee that having to replace that leader will cost much, much more.