Everyone's on Leave (And You Need Decisions Now)
READ TIME - 4 MINUTES
"Out of office until May. Try Sibylla for urgent matters."
Jordan sighed as another auto-reply popped up in his inbox. It was the third one so far today, and he was running out of people to escalate to.
The project timeline was already tight, and now half the decision-makers seemed to be camping somewhere or soaking up the vibes at Bluesfest.
April was always like this. What with Easter, school holidays and ANZAC Day, it felt like the whole country pressed pause.
And with most people not back until the 28th, Jordan knew he had to keep things moving without the usual decision-makers in the room.
"Alright," he muttered, opening his stakeholder tracker. "Time to work some magic before this whole thing grinds to a halt."
When holiday season leaves your stakeholders out of reach, here are a couple of ideas to help keep momentum without losing your mind:
The "Pre-Decision Prep" Strategy
Even if decisions are delayed, you can still use this time to set things up for a quick resolution when people are back.
How to do it:
Identify the specific decisions or approvals you need and document them clearly
Prepare (bite-sized) pre-read materials with all the context decision-makers will need
Draft 1-page decision options or recommendations to make it easier for them to say yes (or no)
Use this time to align with available stakeholders so you’re ready to hit the ground running
Pro tip: A well-prepped, great-looking decision pack can cut meetings and deliberation time in half—especially when everyone’s playing catch-up after leave.
The "Work With Who’s Here" Approach
Sometimes, you’ve just gotta get creative with who’s available. Not every decision has to wait for the top brass.
How to do it:
Check your delegation framework—can someone else sign off in their absence? (Don’t have one of these? This is your sign to create one stat!)
Use informal channels to get input from stakeholders who are still around
If possible, run smaller working groups to make progress on elements/features that don’t require formal approval
Keep a log of all interim decisions and actions to ensure transparency
Pro tip: Even if final sign-off isn’t possible, progress on smaller tasks can keep the momentum alive.
A Friendly Reminder: If your change initiative allows, this could be a great week to recharge before the busy lead-up to EOFY.
Taking a short break now can help you hit the ground running when things pick up again.
Truth is, holiday periods are a fact of life in every big change program. Your job isn’t to fight them—it’s to work with them.
By focusing on what you can control now and optimising for what’s next, you can keep your initiative moving even a little when half the team is out of office.
That’s it for this week.
Next Tuesday, we’re tackling what happens when the business case oversells the benefits—don’t miss it!
See you then,
Team EVER
PS: Someone pass this on to you?
Nice, you’ve got cool friends! Subscribe here to snag your own practical change insights every Tuesday.