A ship’s captain is responsible for the ship even while asleep. Being in charge doesn’t clock out.

LEADERSHIP

WHAT THIS MEANS

Responsibility is not the same as attendance. A captain asleep in a bunk still answers for whatever the ship does, which is why the job is really about what you set up before leaving the deck: who has the watch, what they are told to wake you for, what happens by default. If things only work while you are watching, you have not built anything yet.

Think about what happens in your group when you are not there, and make that the thing you work on. Decide in advance who covers what and what is worth calling you about. Then step away deliberately and see what holds.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

What stays your responsibility even on your days off?

Free, with nothing to buy inside it.