Lessons from Newquay: Why Taking a Break Makes You a Better Leader

A Trip with a Twist

My husband and I have just returned from a five-day break in Newquay. The main reason? To take our daughter to the Boardmasters festival and stay nearby – just in case!

If you’re a parent, you’ll know the mix of pride and anxiety that comes when your teenager starts doing big “firsts.” For us, this was her first major festival. She was going with friends, armed with a tent and a sleeping bag.

Both our daughter and the tent survived the experience. The only casualties were one jumper and a pair of Crocs, which I consider a win. No calls for emergency pick-ups, no minor injuries, and no major dramas. It all went smoothly but my own journey to get there was far from calm.

Business at Full Speed

The timing of this break couldn’t have been more challenging. Just days earlier, we completed the acquisition of JM Solutions, a small firm of Chartered Accountants in Sarisbury Green, on 1st August.

Acquisitions are exciting milestones. They also come with a heavy to-do list – meeting and reassuring new clients, transferring them onto our systems, learning their unique ways of working, and handling all the ICAEW and HMRC compliance requirements. Every client matters, so we can’t afford to miss a single deadline in the transition period.

And as if that wasn’t enough, our team has been expanding rapidly. We’ve welcomed four new colleagues in the past two months. Finding the right people is an art as much as a science. We hire for culture and values first, because technical skills can be taught but personality, work ethic, and how someone fits into the team can’t be changed.

Recruitment is time-intensive. You advertise, shortlist, interview, assess, and follow up. You weigh up potential, experience, and gut feeling. You make a decision and then commit to training, onboarding, and supporting that person so they can thrive. Over the years, we’ve made mistakes in hiring – and learned from them – which is why we now have a clear process. But even when you get it right, it takes real effort to integrate new people into the team.

Systems: The Lifeblood of Growth

While building the team and integrating a new business, we also had another priority: improving our systems.

Systems are the lifeblood of our practice. Without strong systems, growth is impossible. Recently, we recognised our onboarding process needed refining. With the JM Solutions acquisition, we knew we’d have a wave of new clients to integrate, so we decided to act quickly.

We invested in new onboarding software – the perfect tool for our growing needs – but it wasn’t a plug-and-play solution. It required significant setup, customisation, and testing. That’s an investment of time and attention as well as money. And of course, all of this had to be done while keeping the day-to-day business running smoothly.

So, when it came to packing for Newquay which included my laptop and a bag full of paperwork, I was running on fumes. The thought of a 3am departure for a five-hour drive did not feel like the restful escape I needed. I was wrong.

The Oxygen Mask Principle

Years ago, during leadership coaching, I learned a powerful analogy: the oxygen mask. On a plane, you’re told to put on your own oxygen mask before helping others. The logic is simple – you can’t help anyone else if you’re struggling to breathe.

This applies to business leadership more than we often realise. When we’re busy, stressed, and feeling indispensable, we tend to think we can’t afford to step away. But the truth is, that’s when we need it most.

Rest isn’t a luxury – it’s a necessity. Without it, decision-making suffers. Problems start to feel bigger than they are. Creativity dries up. Patience wears thin. But when you take time to recharge, your thinking sharpens, solutions feel clearer, and challenges become manageable. You come back not only with more energy but also with renewed perspective.

Rest to Be Your Best

In Newquay, the hot sun, beautiful beaches, and – I’ll admit – a few glasses of Cornish cider worked wonders. Each morning, I did about an hour of work. That small connection to the business reassured me things were ticking along and meant I could switch off properly for the rest of the day.

By the end of the trip, I felt lighter, calmer, and genuinely ready for the next chapter. Even the eight-hour journey home didn’t dent my mood. I realised that the break hadn’t taken me away from the business, it had brought me back to it in a better state to lead.

The Takeaway

Here’s the simple truth: if you think you absolutely can’t take time off, that’s the moment you most need to. Your business will not only survive without you for a short time it will probably benefit from you returning with fresh ideas and renewed energy.

Rest is an investment in your business. It’s the foundation for making better decisions, leading with confidence, and seeing solutions you might miss when you’re tired and stressed.

Need help freeing up your time so you can take that much-needed break?
Contact us to find out how James Todd & Co can help your business.