3 Tips for a Summer Leadership Reset

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” — Anne Lamott

Summer arrives with a sense of relief. The pace shifts. Classes conclude. Committee schedules loosen. The constant cadence of meetings, deadlines, student needs, scholarship expectations, and service commitments ease.

Do you find yourself treating summer as a chance to catch up. Catch up on email. Catch up on projects or manuscripts. Catch up on all the work that accumulated during the academic year. Before long, summer becomes another season of productivity rather than a season of renewal.

Summer is not simply a break in the calendar. It is a strategic opportunity to reset. An opportunity to step back from daily demands, regain perspective, and prepare for the chapters ahead.

Here are three ways to use your summer to renew, refocus, and reignite (the 3 R’s) your impact:

1. Renew Through Reflection

Key Idea: Experience alone does not create growth. It requires reflection. Rarely do we create space to fully process what we learned during the previous months. Yet reflection is where insight emerges. It helps us identify what energized us, what drained us, and where we created the greatest value. It allows us to recognize patterns that might otherwise remain hidden.

Try This:

• Schedule one uninterrupted hour for reflection.

• Identify your three most meaningful accomplishments from the past year.

• Consider what activities gave you energy and which consistently depleted it. Are there any habits that need to be changed?

• Ask: What do I want to do more of next year? Less of?

Example:
A faculty member reviews the year and realizes that mentoring students and residents generated the greatest sense of purpose and fulfillment. That insight influences future discussions with the department to modify workload assignments. Reflection with action transform activities into wisdom.

2. Refocus on What Matters Most

Key Idea: Summer provides a rare chance to step above the work and look at the bigger picture. Renewal is not just about resting. It is about reconnecting with your purpose. For faculty, that may mean reconnecting with the aspects of teaching, scholarship, practice, or mentorship that first inspired you. For leaders, it may mean revisiting priorities and ensuring your time is aligned with the impact you hope to create.

Try This:

• Identify one or two priorities that would make the biggest difference next year.

• Review current commitments and responsibilities through that lens.

• Ask: Does my calendar reflect what I say matters most?

• Create space now for the work you want to prioritize in the fall.

Example:
A dean uses the summer to revisit collegiate priorities and identify two initiatives that will have the greatest impact on students, faculty, and the college’s future direction. Focus is not created by doing more. It is created by intentionally choosing what deserves your attention.

3. Reignite Your Energy and Capacity

Key Idea: You cannot continuously draw from a reservoir that is never replenished. Academic culture often celebrates endurance. Long hours, constant availability, and pushing through fatigue are frequently viewed as signs of commitment. But sustainable performance requires recovery.

Try This:

• Take time away from work without feeling obligated to remain connected.

• Re-engage activities that bring joy, curiosity, and creativity.

• Prioritize sleep, exercise, family, and personal interests.

• Give yourself permission to be fully present outside of work.

Example:
One faculty member commits to a daily walking routine and discovers that some of their best teaching ideas emerge when they stop trying to force them. Another spends time traveling with family and returns with renewed enthusiasm, perspective, and creativity for the coming year.

Final Thoughts:

Take advantage of your summer to prepare for the year ahead. Reflect on lessons learned. Reconnect with what matters most. Seek ways to restore the energy required to lead, teach, mentor, discover, and serve. As summer unfolds, consider this question: What do you need to renew now so that you can bring your very best to the people and work that matter most next year?

Next Steps to Your Leadership Reset

Looking for a thought partner to support your reset process? EduLead-Rx offers individualized leadership coaching and consulting to pharmacy faculty and leaders to navigate complexity, disruption, and real-world constraints to achieve what matters most. Work with us to build stronger systems, practical decision frameworks, reduce cognitive overload, and make high-impact choices that influence culture. Let us help you with your leadership reset.

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