By Isobel Hunter, CEO, Libraries Connected
In May 2023, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and the need for a mastectomy. One in eight women has breast cancer, but – like most women – it came as a complete shock that I was now joining this club. It felt like the brakes were being slammed on in my busy and active life.
In many ways, I was lucky – as the cancer was early stage and I would not need radiotherapy or chemotherapy, just an operation and a period of recovery. I didn’t have small children to manage – although my 20-year-old son got confused and told his mates I was having a vasectomy. I had a supportive partner and kind friends who all rallied round.
However, I was obviously concerned about an absence from work, and oddly felt guilty that I would be lounging about while my colleagues continued to work their socks off.
As CEO of a small charity, I realised I was in a unique position. I often describe my role as “doing everything and nothing”, so it isn’t straightforward in thinking through how to pause or delegate work, especially when your mind is a bit scrambled as you deal with the stress of a forthcoming operation.
However, I am extremely fortunate in having both brilliant colleagues and a supportive Board, and was able to pass work both up and down so that I could have confidence whilst on leave that everyone would manage perfectly well without me.
I actually really enjoyed my six weeks off work. The operation was obviously a bit horrible, but I decided to enjoy having a long break over the summer and the chance for coffee with friends, to sit in the garden and to watch La Vuelta a Espana live.
It also gave me a chance to step back from the hurly burly and think a little more clearly about our organisational priorities so I felt more focused once I returned to work.
So my eight top tips on how to manage a CEO absence are:
- Looking after yourself is leadership. As CEO, caring for your own health is an investment in the organisation’s long-term resilience, not an indulgence. We spend a lot of time looking after our colleagues’ wellbeing – but sometimes we have to prioritise ourselves.
- Empowered teams are mighty engines. The CEO’s absence is the ultimate test of whether staff are genuinely empowered and able to carry on without you—an essential hallmark of a healthy organisation. I ensured we had a clear plan of priorities over my absence, drafted in some extra help for two small projects and made sure all staff knew where to go for support and decisions. However – deeper than that was letting the team know I trusted them to make decisions and tackle problems without me – because I value their skills, experience and judgement.
- Support from your chair and board is invaluable. My chair was both kind and wise – advising me to completely step back to recuperate and ensuring he was available while I was away as the backstop for decisions, and for staff to bounce ideas off. He met weekly with my senior management team in a supportive manner, and recognised this was great experience for them to act up into a CEO level.
- Accept help—it makes other people feel good. I had so much kindness from colleagues, friends, relatives and even people I hardly knew. It made me realise afresh that as humans we are wired to help each other and that’s what powers the charity sector – if not the world. As a CEO, accepting help is really important, and people then feel valued and appreciated.
- Plan for your return, not just your leave. I wasn’t prepared for how daunted I would feel returning to work. I had only been away for six weeks, but it felt like an eternity and I was keenly aware that my wound had not yet fully healed. However, once again people’s kindness saw me through. My chair wisely advised a phased return with three shorter weeks, and colleagues gave me a really warm welcome back. And nobody stared at my appearance (which thanks to a deft reconstruction did not look wonky).
- Return is not instant. A doctor may sign you fit for work, but the physical realities of treatment, medication side effects, and the psychological adjustment can extend the recovery curve. It’s also not a steady curve – some days you feel 100 per cent over things, and the next it can smash you over the head. It’s given me a much better understanding of the need to provide long term support to colleagues after a period of absence, or a life changing event such as bereavement.
- Find a landmark for your return. I returned to work in September, and then had a break in December where I went cycling in Girona. After 13 weeks off the bike, I was fully back on. I cycled to the top of Rocacorba wearing my F*** Cancer cycling socks a friend had given me – and that was the moment I felt I was over it and ready to be fully back at work.
- The world keeps turning. Stepping away shows you that the organisation can—and will—continue without you, which is both grounding and liberating. The fact that the team carried on happily without me is one of my biggest achievements as a CEO.
