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Studies confirm that the best managers and leaders have rich personal lives. Is your company realizing the power of time away from the job?


Archives for Career Success

MeandRaymondo2[1]

How a Volunteer Sabbatical Changed My Career and My Life

In my previous life (this is what I call my life before my sabbatical), I worked as a project manager in the UK at an American insurance company called ACE Insurance. I worked all hours, earned decent money, was stuck in a rut and was going through a divorce, which like all divorces was costing [...]

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GMLogo

An “Innovation Sabbatical” at General Mills

Rolled out in 2007 along with a personal sabbatical program, General Mills’ “Innovation Sabbatical” is only offered to members of the company’s “Innovation, Technology and Quality” organization, which is comprised of employees in roles related to research and development, nutrition, quality and engineering. After 7 years of service, these employees may apply for an Innovation [...]

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How a Volunteer Sabbatical Can Change a Career - and a Life

Joseph Quaderer, a director at Morgan Stanley, is on a 6-month sabbatical teaching Ugandan high school students the necessary skills to start and scale social enterprises – financially sustainable organizations that also address important social problems. He’s sharing his experiences in compelling, beautifully-written blog posts on this site, so be sure to read them. Here, [...]

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How an Unpaid Sabbatical Can Boost a Career: One Marketing Professional’s Story

When Tim O’Connor left his job as SVP Marketing for a $5B company in Atlanta, he chose to first spend six months serving as the non-paid Executive Director leading the renovation and relaunch of the EthicMark® Award for Advertising, an international advertising award that recognizes outstanding marketing, advertising, and public relations campaigns and communications designed to uplift the human spirit [...]

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Patton, Claudia

Cultural Exposure Brings Career & Personal Benefits

Claudia Patton of Edelman took a five week paid sabbatical to the Himalayas, visiting China, India, Tibet, and Bhutan. “I have much deeper relationships with my colleagues in India now that I have shown some interest in their government, culture and way of doing business,” she says. Patton encourages her team members to take a similar break to step outside their own experiences. “Immerse yourself in another world and bring that awareness back to Edelman. In doing so you become a more fully 360 degree employee.”

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sunny-trinh

Surf's Up For Sunny

During his sabbatical, Sunny Trinh started 9 Fish Surfboards, which he now runs in the evenings, outside of his management position with Arrow Electronics. “By starting a business, I learned quite a bit that I bring to my job at Arrow,” he says. “I am also able to use the surf business to build relationships [...]

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