Aaargghh!!!  What a shame. Mendelssohn’s win –  a sabbatical research fellowship from the University of Utah -  gave her the feeling of being blessed with a “golden ticket” after years of diligent, persistent work and achievements. Research for her second academic book (the cover for her first book is pictured here) was a primary goal for her career break.

But then, her high-achieving tendencies took over and now her story seems like a segment of a sabbatical reality show of “things gone wrong.”

In work, in life, and in sabbaticals, there’s a universal truth: Trying to do too much is not productive. I’d repeat that for emphasis, but here’s something even better: Trying to do too much on sabbatical can lead to a failed sabbatical.

For those considering a sabbatical or planning one now, Mendelssonhn imparts her “greatest” piece of wisdom – sabbatical success depends on managing expectations.  That clearly means realistic expectations.

Indeed, a little guidance could have made all the difference for Mendelssohn, who blames only herself for accomplishing so few of the things on her sabbatical wish list. (Read the entire 8^th paragraph of the Times article for the description of  her goals.)

Think it can’t happen to you?  Here are three tips to help manage expectations for your sabbatical:

1. Be selfish with this opportunity.  Your family, spouse, partner in life, and your mother will have all sorts of ideas for what you can and should do.  Make the majority of the time count for what you want as a goal.
2. Having objectives is very important but keep those sabbatical goals to two or possibly three.  (Mendelssohn had eight.  A good coach would have insisted she prioritize and drop five of them.)
3. Allow 6-8 months of sabbatical planning time.  That may seem like a lot, but this is an important opportunity that only comes along every 5-7 years (if you are working for a great employer who offers it) or once in a lifetime.  You’ll spend time reviewing professional and personal goals; then choose the best sabbatical experience for you at this time in your life and career.

Mendelsohn’s first sabbatical offers an insight in “what not to do” when it comes to being realistic about a break away from one’s job.  Yet, you have to admire her transparency and her spirit.  Despite the disappointment, especially where that second book is concerned, she  still says, “I’ve had a great time.”

I predict that Michele Mendelssohn’s positive nature will serve her well when she’s ready for that second sabbatical.  After she’s finished slashing and burning her sabbatical dream list, she’ll be left with all that really matters for a stunning second try.

There’s also the sabbatical experience to plan as well and some things appear only, it seems, in this last week. And don’t forget you’ve gotta pick up that thyroid prescription for little Janice and look for the passport that you haven’t laid eyes on 10 years. (Where is it?)

At work, snarling, jealous co-workers whisper behind your back and have pasty smiles as you dole out your work to them.  “Is this going to be really worth it?” you think.

Molly Thomas of Abacus Planning Group

Guess what? It’s not like that at all.

Take Molly Thomas on the Client Services Team at Abacus Planning Group. Molly has two more days at work before she leaves on a four-week sabbatical and gets totally disconnected from work.  (It’s the rule.) Molly and her sabbatical plans were featured in a  January post.

Molly was kind enough to take us inside the “world of an about-to-be sabbatical-goer.”

What I discovered from my discussion with Molly is that when a company really commits to a career break for its employees, the experience expands to many more people than just the sabbatical-goer - in good ways of collaboration and celebration. Abacus Planning Group, a fee-only investment counsel and financial planning firm in Columbia, South Carolina, offers employees a 4-week paid sabbatical after 5 years.  (Other companies that offer sabbaticals are on the yS Workplaces for Sabbaticals list.) Here are some highlights from my conversation with Molly:

Me: How does this last week feel and how are your co-workers doing?

Molly:  My last couple of days are flying! I guess I expected that, but there are not enough hours in the day.  Co-workers have been wonderful and supportive of my sabbatical.  I have received many well wishes!

Me: Has the preparation and the planning for your sabbatical been different that what you might have expected?

Molly: I am not sure exactly what I expected this last week to be like.  I knew it would be hectic, but was given direction and focus from Abacus’s president , Cheryl Holland.  Cheryl  recommended that I print and distribute my “open activies” report  for each of the financial advisors.  I ran this report to show current open activites, as well as those activities that are upcoming and highlighting all to each advisor.  This one activity,  communicated to each advisor all open and upcoming “to dos” for our clients.  Cheryl also asked me to delegate a couple of items to other employees, who quickly stepped up to the plate!

Me: What’s uppermost on your mind about the sabbatical experience ahead?

Molly:  Uppermost on my mind is to make sure I don’t leave any major “hanging chads” at work.  My husband and I are busy making last minute travel plans.  Almost everything is in place, with the exception of our bike tour of the Gardens and Palace of Versailles.  Lastly and most importantly, I am arranging the day-to-day life of my 16-year-old daughter, while I am out of the country…..probably my biggest challenge!

Thanks Molly and have a fantastic sabbatical.

Deloitte's Jessica Muhlenberg

What company launches a two-tiered sabbatical program in a down economy?  Deloitte does!  And with great success, I learned yesterday when I got an update from Jessica Muhlenberg, Senior Manager of Benefits.

A previous post described the kick-off of Deloitte’s two sabbatical offerings for US employees:

1.  Four weeks of unpaid and unrestricted time off. Offered to any employee who has given at least six months of continuous service and has good performance ratings.

2.  Three to six months of time off to pursue career development or volunteer experiences. Offered to high performers who have been with the company for at least two years, this sabbatical offering comes with 40% of base salary.

In June 2009, Muhlenberg reported that the company had received seven applications, one approved, and lots of interest. That was a nice beginning for what was to come.  So far, 50 employees have gone on sabbatical!

Here are the highlights of the conversation with Jessica:

• Of the 50 employees who have gone on sabbatical, 40 experienced the one-month sabbatical and 10 utilized the longer sabbatical of 3-6 months.
• Deloitte is especially pleased with participation since the program crosses all business units – tax, audit, accountancy, etc.
• A best practice has been established for asking their Talent Delivery folks to be open-minded when considering whether a proposed activity for a 3-6 month sabbatical would meet the requirement for career development or volunteerism. “We didn’t want to provide a specific definition of what would or would not qualify for the sabbatical,” explained Muhlenberger. That’s great thinking, because there are SO many possibilities.
• Deloitte has experienced  few challenges with program; doesn’t plan to make any changes; and wants to continue to focus keeping participation high.
• Featured sabbatical stories on the company’s very active intranet lets employees know how others are utilizing their sabbatical experiences and creates interest.

Jessica provided a thoughtful, no-nonsense answer for my last question, “What’s the best business outcome  for Deloitte?” She said: That it continues to be perceived positively as part of the Total Rewards Program; that it continues good success as a viable option for employees at Deloitte who want to step out.

Molly Thomas with Abacus

While  more than enough good ideas for your upcoming sabbatical may exist, finding the “best” experience is critical. Given career ambitions, should you consider a global leadership experience or is this the time for personal rejuvenation?  Is including family a good idea? Or this time, perhaps not?

Part of finding “your best” sabbatical can be  to take an idea and stretch it by asking:

Can I add an element that’s a little over-the-top?

What if I were to go out of my  comfort zone?

Not only might this new idea have more potential to achieve your goals, it also may  make your heart race a little faster – either from pure excitement or fear. Great, you might be on to something.

Molly Thomas’ upcoming first  sabbatical – “a trip of a lifetime” – came from the “stretch” process.  As part of the  Client Services Team at Abacus Planning Group, she’s eligible for a 4-week paid sabbatical. Abacus Planning Group, a fee-only investment counsel and  financial planning firm located in Columbia, South Carolina, offers employees a 4-week paid sabbatical after 5 years.   (To find other companies that provide sabbatical programs, check  ”workplaces for sabbaticals.”)

What started out as a stay-cation (she’d get some things done around the house and throw in a jaunt to San Francisco) is now a full-tilt-across-the-Pond-I-can’t-wait-for-April career break.

Now for a drum roll please. Going to Europe is a first-time experience for Molly.  (wooowheee!)

What caused Molly to re-think her original idea? “My daughters inspired me,” said Molly. Two of her daughters have traveled in Europe – more than once.  While I was speaking with Molly, one of those daughters, a sophomore in college, was tweeting her way across Spain to Barcelona.

Hearing her daughters’ experiences must have inspired Molly to ponder:  I’ve never done that. Could I do that?

Fantastic thought for stretching an idea  when looking for your best sabbatical.

Molly’s  sabbatical is a “hybrid” sabbatical – using time to be involved in several different experiences.  First, she’ll spend some Spring Break time with one of her daughters; then depart with her husband for the across-the-pond experience.  Using the last few days of her sabbatical alone at a beach house, she’ll take time for herself to reflect on her experience before returning to work.

I pointedly ask Molly if she truly felt at this stage of her life and career, this was her “best” sabbatical plan.  After a thoughtful pause, she replied, “Yes.  This is the best for now.  But next time I’m going for an entirely different experience.”

What might that mean?!! In five years, Molly will have an empty nest and that’s the time she’ll seek an experience “to take me way out of my comfort zone.” No cushy hotel rooms next time.  Instead, Ms. Thomas wants to wear only blue jeans, plop herself down in  a rustic environment and get  involved in perhaps mission work or some opportunity to give back to others.

Since Molly has already stretched one sabbatical idea, will she do the same for her second? (I keep thinking the answer might be “of course, she will.”) What do you think?

So, if you have a good idea for your sabbatical, take the time to s-t-r-e-t-c-h  it. Molly ended up with a sabbatical fodder file on her desktop titled,   ”Across the Pond” and unwavering confidence in her choice for what to do on her career break.

What might show up on your sabbatical folder file?

The source: Top Talent: Keeping Performance Up When Business is Down, Sylvia Hewlett, Harvard Business School Press, 2009. Know that I’ve put this book at the top of my reading list. Lured in by the dramatic drop in top talent loyalty in the short time of this recession - from 95% to 56% – makes me think drugs are  involved.  That, sloppy research, or the sample size is the number of people walking on the beach today. (Unusually cool on the Gulf Coast right now. Number of people barefoot on the beach. N=30)

Why am I concerned?  Because this is a pretty dramatic dive to be reported during a  time when most everyone is working their butts off.  How were these statistics gathered? Since productivity is up despite the number of people gone, who is taking time to be interviewed for a study? Fill out a survey? (Yeah, right - put that right at the top of my to-do list. ) Oh, strategy sessions? (In a big room or a little room?)

Still, we have to be hopeful that there are valuable, smart, do-able ideas here because the author does have “cred.” An economist and the founding president of the Center for Work-Life Policy, Hewlett directs the “Hidden Brain Drain”—a task force of 35 global companies committed to fully realize female and minority talent over the lifespan.   She is the author of six critically acclaimed nonfiction books and her articles have appeared in the New York Times, the Financial Times, and the International Herald Tribune. Hewlett has taught at Cambridge, Columbia and Princeton Universities and held fellowships at the Institute for Public Policy Research in London and the Center for the Study of Values in Public Life at Harvard. A Kennedy Scholar and graduate of Cambridge University, she earned her Ph.D. degree in economics at London University.

(whew) Still, you never should believe book-hype, so I’ll just report that we might have some big findings for companies who are working on today’s challenges caused by the economy and still want to stay smart about the future.

If I hadn’t left my Kindle on an airplane last week, we’d know more.  While another Kindle ships from Amazon, here are two of those eight interventions to appease you:

• Re-create pride:  Give employees reasons to feel good about their company by recommitting to social responsibility and lifiting up success stories.
• Provide meaningful non-monetary rewards:  Use time as money.

(That last one sounds like a sabbatical program to me.)   Stay tuned, and hope I like the Kindle2.  Meanwhile, why do I feel creepy being so judgemental about information touted in a Harvard blog?

sabbatical. The shop (Sagmeister Inc.) is closed. Ideas generated during the sabbatical year fuel the creative genius and the firm’s bottom line grows substantially during the next six years - all a result of the one-year sabbatical.

Sagmeister is  on his second sabbatical.

Stefan Sagmeister

Our company, yourSABBATICAL.com, couldn’t make up a more compelling business case for sabbaticals. Since our mission is to make certain that EVERY PERSON has sabbatical opportunities as part of their career, we’re happy to let Stefan talk on and on.  And we couldn’t ask for a better looking spokesperson.  He’s rugged-looking cute.

It would be surprising if you haven’t seen his presentation, The Power of Time Off, at the 2009  TED conference.  Afterwards, the blog world lit up as Sagmeister’s novel logic – “take your retirement years and intersperse them into your work life”– inspired and surpised many.  My post about “taking a Sagmeister” was one of a gazillion.

Two months later when Sagmeister should have been doomed to Susan Boyle’s current status (Where is she? Who was she?), here comes another slew of blogs -including one on Oct. 7, 2009 on the yourSABBATICAL blog -Sagmeister on Sabbaticals. All with more tweets and enormous gushing once again at this very “smart and unique” idea.

Before Sagmeister’s given saint status, let’s set the record straight. He’s not the only person who steps out of a successful career for a year long experience away from work.  There are many successful people who employ the same strategy and you may not ever know of them.

So let me introduce  two people who stepped away from successful careers for a year out. Both are in the first quarter of their sabbatical.

First there’s Eve Beglarian, composer and collaborator, who put her bright red kayak into the Mississippi River’s headwateron Aug. 1, 2009. She’ll glide the river until late November then head back upstream by car. With a small ensemble, she’ll travel and perform new works for and with residents in the very communities along the river that inspirted them.  She’ll pick up the river and complete her year doing a long mosey til the end.

Why wasn’t she treated to tweets heard round the world after an article about her appeared in the New York Times?  Lack of dollars in her bank account? Not as pretty as Sagmeister?

Another person  is 27-year-old Manhattan resident Joseph Quaderer – an NYU MBA student and Director at Morgan Stanley.  Why take a year away from a six-figure salary, a posh lifestyle with access to the best NYC clubs and restaurants, a luxury apartment, a Hampton’s summerhouse, a network of family and friends, a six-figure salary ?

Why, pray tell, in the middle of the worst economic crisis would he take a year out to wander the heart of Africa to work with disadvantaged Ugandan students? The pay doesn’t sound good, and I’m curious about the accommodations.

Good for all of us is the news that Joseph will be telling his story on this website so all of us can learn about his experience, his motivations and his day-to-day challenges.  And look for a hint of regret, perhaps.

Watch for his blog posts soon. Meanwhile, don’t scoff at one-year sabbaticals and definitely don’t credit the idea as one lived out only by the rich and famous.

Could that be you in a red kayak or sporting a lion-claw necklace next year?  Interesting thought.

Like so many other fields, law is on shaky ground as the economy continues to rock and roll. While the idea of “hiring them and sending them away” seems a tad more innovative than some organizations can handle, lawyers loosen up their starchy shirts to declare they are in the war for talent with a clear strategy – to win.

Scooped up by the New York law firm, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Heather Eisenlord who graduated from George Washington University near the top of her class plans to leaves her Brooklyn apartment to visit 10-15 destinations around the world, teaching English to monks in Sri Lanka and helping bring solar power to remote parts of the Himalayas. Eisenlord’s year-long sabbatical starts July 1st, and her $80,000 salary certainly paves the financial way for a profound journey.

She won’t meet up with Juan Vladiviesco, a Harvard Law School student who graduates next month. He’s using his stipend of $60,000 to pursue pro bono work in the public service sector before he joins up in the fall of 2010 with the Washington-based firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.

How logical is this for a business?  Mark Weber, assistant dean at Harvard Law, says the idea of granting sabbaticals on the front end of a career is “financially convenient” for such high-profile law firms that offer starting salaries of around $160,000.

Convenience and money aside, while others futz around, these firms will keep the talent they selected this year as well as gain employees with broadened perspectives of the world and life outside of work. The law profession combines work-life flexibility, the war for talent, developing high potentials and innovation in this unprecedented move … and other organizations should take note.

So when it comes to being clever AND taking action, give credit and lay off the lawyer jokes. There’s nothing funny about smart people being smart.