Csdrhrt

I am a Project Manager. My annual leave has been approved and it is coinciding with an important deliverable. I had booked this vacation and had senior management approved it months in advance. Senior management is now bringing up that my vacation is coinciding with this deliverable.

I personally feel that my not being present to watch over the deliverable will not negatively impact the schedule as I have already arranged for someone to take over while I am on vacation. I told senior management that I am happy to change my vacation plans if requested, but senior management told me that was not necessary.

My question is will I damage my reputation with senior management by not being there to make sure deliverable meets the schedule? Do I come across as not being committed to the project?

We can't read their minds but you have already:

• Offered to change your plans ( which shows your commitment )


• Had them tell you it's OK to continue with your plans ( which shows their trust in you )

If your migration plan and cover are successful you should have no problems.

As mentioned by peter in the comments, we likely can't give you a solid answer on how this impacts your 'reputation', or the opinion others at your office have of you.

What I will tell you is that (in the US at least), management can decide to revoke / unapprove a leave request after it's been approved.

If they're still letting you go on leave at this time, I really wouldn't stress it / worry about it. Go on your vacation and enjoy yourself.

If they decide you absolutely need to pick a different date for that time off... well, that's your answer.

Aside from that.... While taking time off may be inconvenient for management, long-term, they'd greatly appreciate it if you use your time off and take care of yourself; Missing an important employee for a day (or a few) is much less costly than permanently losing a burnt out employee who decides to look elsewhere.

First, only you can answer this question. The only person who could answer remotely close to accurately would be a co-worker who has the same senior management chain.

Having been a project manager in the past I can tell you that it sounds as though you've done all of the appropriate professional things. You cleared your plans with your management chain, you've worked on a mitigation plan, and I assume you had someone able to provide coverage as one of your first steps in making these plans -- there should always be a backup even if you aren't taking what sounds like a major vacation.

The truth is that there are "senior leaders" who will either see all your planning as being committed, or who will jump on you if something goes bad no matter how many contingency plans you make. My mother passed away in the middle of a "Fall Planning" exercise and I was called on the carpet for dealing with my dead mother. I've also had management chains who were fantastic and understood that sometimes things come up and appreciated that everyone was aware of my plans and so on.

If your management chain is "Reasonable", I wouldn't worry. If they are "Unreasonable", why are you concerned what they think about your commitment level? Most likely they just don't care no matter what you do. Your annual leave is a benefit -- either they respect it or they don't.