Each CEO participant will undertake a 3-month sabbatical. During this sabbatical period, CEOs are asked to completely disengage from their organisations and take a period of leave.
The organisation will commit to the CEO continuing to be paid during their period of leave, on top of their usual annual leave entitlements, and the identified Step-Up Leader from the organisation will step-up into the CEO role.
The organisational capacity funding may be put towards some of these costs, such as additional duties pay for the Step-Up Leader or backfilling a position.
SILA’s 3-month sabbatical will provide CEOs with dedicated time and space away from their organisation, enabling them to deeply reflect on, discuss and apply learnings from the SILA Program, and to also focus on personal and professional issues of importance to them.
Sabbatical periods have been proven to have several benefits for organisations and their CEOs. Research has shown that there are many demonstrated individual benefits of participating in a sabbatical, including rejuvenation and personal renewal, reduced burnout and stress, improved wellbeing, increased capacity, creativity and innovation, and gains in knowledge from personal and professional development.
Sabbaticals also offer important benefits for organisations too, and research indicates they help to: improve productivity, morale, governance, recruitment and retention, reduce costs and promote leadership distribution, and create enduring positive changes in infrastructure and systems – which are put in place to manage the CEOs planned absence – leading to greater time and capacity on an ongoing basis for addressing strategic issues.
SILA’s 3-month sabbatical will provide CEOs with dedicated time and space away from their organisation, enabling them to deeply reflect on, discuss and apply learnings from the SILA Program, and to also focus on personal and professional issues of importance to them.
The sabbatical is tailored to the needs of each CEO through the leadership and wellbeing assessments alongside the executive coaching program, and may incorporate, for example, self-directed learning, work on a small personal or strategic project, a period of travel, and focus on their own health and wellbeing.
The sabbatical period will also allow the Step-Up Leader to access personalised support and acquire new skills that will enhance their leadership capabilities, and build greater resilience within the organisation.
Categories