The Leadership Practice You're Missing: Why Rest Isn't Radical—It's Required

As nonprofit leaders, we pour everything into our missions. We juggle strategy meetings, donor visits, team challenges, and endless to-do lists while fighting for causes that demand urgency. But here's the paradox emerging from recent research: the more urgent our work feels, the more critical rest becomes—not as an indulgence, but as a core leadership practice.

The Scarcity of Attention

Neil Pasricha opens his Harvard Business Review article "Why You Need an Untouchable Day Every Week" with a stark observation: as our world gets busier and our phones get "beepier," attention and creative output have become our scarcest resources. His solution? Schedule one "Untouchable Day" per week—no texts, emails, phone calls, or meetings allowed.

The results are remarkable. Pasricha reports being ten times more productive on these protected days, writing 5,000 words instead of his usual 500. Research shows that getting into a flow state while doing a single task enables us to be more productive than when we try to focus on multiple tasks, thanks to what University of Minnesota professor Sophie Leroy calls "attention residue"—the cognitive cost of constant task-switching.

The practice is deceptively simple: block out one full day sixteen weeks in advance, schedule it as "UNTOUCHABLE" in all caps, and protect it fiercely. The day can move within a week but never gets deleted or pushed to the following week. What seems impossible at first becomes transformative with consistency.

The Personal Planning Retreat: Investment, Not Indulgence

When Dr. Patton McDowell told his family he was taking a solo weekend retreat—just him, a legal pad, and a flip chart—they gave him that look. As he writes in his Armstrong McGuire piece "Wait, You're Taking a Retreat… Alone?," the confusion was palpable. Why would someone facilitate their own retreat?

As nonprofit leaders, we regularly pour time and resources into planning retreats for our organizations, yet rarely give ourselves even a fraction of that time to reflect on our leadership. The personal planning retreat isn't a vacation—it's structured, intentional time to step back and reframe your work with clarity and purpose.

McDowell's approach involves "priming the pump" by reading leadership books beforehand, bringing a journal and wall calendar, and using physical tools like flip charts and sticky notes to make big ideas tangible. Leaders return calmer, clearer, and more grounded, with renewed focus on what matters most.

The practice addresses a question most leaders avoid: Is the path I'm on still the one I want to be walking? In the relentless pace of nonprofit work, answering this question isn't a luxury—it's leadership maintenance.

Sabbaticals: From Luxury to Leadership Strategy

The case for extended rest becomes even more compelling when we examine sabbatical research. The Chronicle of Philanthropy has documented how sabbaticals strengthen both leaders and organizations, revealing benefits that extend far beyond individual rejuvenation.

The data is striking. The Silicon Valley Community Foundation and other funders are increasingly insisting that their grantee leaders take sabbaticals, even funding wellness coaches and organizational health assessments to support the process. Why? Because modeling for staff that self-care isn't radical is a vital part of leadership, as Jennifer Ching of the North Star Fund notes.

Jacob Martinez of Digital Nest was initially reluctant to take time off, but his six-month sabbatical proved transformative. He now sees extended paid leave as a retention strategy at every level, developing a policy that grants additional paid time for every two years of employment. The ripple effect is powerful: when leaders prioritize rest, they create cultures where sustainable work becomes the norm.

The research confirms what experience shows. The O2 Sabbatical Program found that 84% of sabbatical participants reported increased clarity, creativity, and strategic thinking when they returned. The Durfee Foundation's two-decade evaluation shows that rest leads to stronger second-tier leadership, better prioritization, and deeper, more intentional leadership.

Reframing Rest as Responsibility

Jamie Allison, executive director of the Walter & Elise Haas Fund, makes the case explicit in "Nonprofits Need Rested Leaders": rest isn't weakness—it's responsibility. Despite overwhelming evidence of its benefits, only 13% of nonprofit organizations offer sabbaticals to their leaders, while more than 60% of nonprofit professionals report symptoms of burnout.

The timing feels impossible. Funding is uncertain, communities need support, and crises demand immediate attention. But as Allison writes, there will never feel like a "right" time to rest. The question isn't whether we can afford to rest—it's whether we can afford not to.

Neuroscience research affirms what many leaders resist: time away from high-stakes decision-making boosts creativity, insight, and emotional regulation—all essential capacities for adaptive leadership. When we're exhausted, we might still be working hard, but we're not accessing our full cognitive and creative resources.

Moving from Knowledge to Practice

So what does this mean for your leadership practice? The gap between what we know about rest and what we actually do is stark. Here's how to start closing it:

This week: Schedule your first Untouchable Day. Block it out 4-6 weeks in advance, put it in all caps on your calendar, and protect it like you would your most important donor meeting.

This quarter: Plan a personal planning retreat. Even a half-day at a coffee shop away from your office can provide the space to reflect on whether your current path aligns with your deepest purpose.

This year: If you've been in your role for several years, start the sabbatical conversation with your board. Share the research. Point to the Durfee Foundation's resources or the North Star Fund's sample policy. Make the case that investing in your rest strengthens the entire organization.

For funders: Consider how you can support grantee well-being. Can you fund sabbaticals? Encourage personal planning time? Model rest in your own foundation practices?

The Leadership Edge

The articles reviewed here converge on a single insight: rest isn't separate from effectiveness—it's the foundation of it. When we treat exhaustion as a badge of honor, we limit our capacity for the very creativity, wisdom, and resilience our missions demand.

As Jamie Allison reflects after her sabbatical: "I'm back—re-energized, grateful, and determined to keep learning how rest and results can co-exist."

Your next breakthrough isn't waiting on the other side of another late night or skipped weekend. It's waiting on the other side of intentional rest.

Ready to explore how rest can transform your leadership? Start the conversation with your team, your board, or your funders. Because as these leaders have proven, taking care of yourself isn't radical—it's the most responsible thing you can do for your mission.

Sources

• Pasricha, N. (2018). Why You Need an Untouchable Day Every Week. Harvard Business Review.

• McDowell, P. (n.d.). "Wait, You're Taking a Retreat… Alone?" Why Every Nonprofit Leader Needs a Personal Planning Retreat. Armstrong McGuire.

• Various authors. (2025). Sabbaticals Strengthen Leaders and Nonprofits: Here's How to Recharge. The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

• Allison, J. (2025). Nonprofits Need Rested Leaders: Reframing Rest as a Leadership Practice, Not a Luxury. Walter & Elise Haas Fund.