Had an emergency board call on vacation and it changed my view on remote leadership

I was hiking near Lake Tahoe last month when my phone blew up. Our COO had a bad car accident and the board wanted an emergency decision on interim leadership within 4 hours. I found a cafe with spotty wifi and ended up directing a critical call from a picnic table next to a trash can. That day showed me that being a real leader means being available even when you'd rather not be. Has anyone else had a vacation ruined by a work emergency that actually taught you something about running a team?

2 comments

2 Comments

grayb641mo ago

Yeah, my big "leadership moment" came when I had to approve a budget from a hammock that kept tipping over on a beach in Mexico. Between the seagulls dive-bombing my laptop and sunscreen smearing the screen, I felt like a real CEO of chaos. Your Tahoe trash can story makes my hammock heroics look pretty tame.

angelaellis1mo ago

Oh man, the seagulls dive-bombing the laptop is a perfect detail. I had a similar thing happen once where I was trying to join a Zoom call from a park bench and a squirrel literally ran across my keyboard and hit "end meeting" for everyone. The hammock tipping over though, that's a next-level balancing act. Sunscreen smearing the screen is the absolute worst, like trying to read a spreadsheet through a greasy window. I bet you felt like you were running a company from a reality show set, haha.