A re-energized Rob Tautges walked into his office in January after a three-month sabbatical that took him around the world, and away from his duties at HLB Tautges Redpath, an accounting firm in White Bear Lake. He learned a lot—and so did those who ran the company in his absence.
“In 1992, when the firm was smaller and we were doing well, I challenged the owners to identify what we could do to make ourselves better. We decided one officer each year would have the opportunity to leave for three months with full pay. The benefit is they get time to reflect, to re-evaluate their careers. If you’re excited to come back, [then] you’re doing the right thing and you’re in the right profession. It’s a real gut check.
“One of the greatest values of a sabbatical is that it creates opportunities for advancing staff. When I left, we put a young lady who had just turned 28 in charge as CEO. With our sabbaticals, people get a larger piece of responsibility, an opportunity to either hit a home run or fall on their butts. To leave and have confidence in those people sends an important message.
“I left on my third sabbatical last October and went around the world. When I returned in January, the dominant feeling I had was excitement: I wanted to see how things had changed [at the office].
“When I’m gone, I don’t check voicemail or e-mail. There was a very short list of [situations] in which people could contact me. Someone said, ‘What if a tornado blows down the building?’ I said, ‘What am I going to do about it from India?’
“There are ways to grow, and one of those ways is to let go. I think a lot of people in my profession have a real problem with that. It’s a better firm when I come back. People have accepted the challenge and stepped up.”
