I used to think that if I went on holiday, the firm would fall apart. As a young officer, I developed such a reputation for devotion to the job that my analysts tried to have a laugh by producing a stock price graph and marking the dates when I was out of the office. The funny thing is that the stock price actually did dip every time – at least during the month in which they did the analysis. It was pure coincidence, of course.

While I may have taken it to an extreme back in the day, we all want to be needed and even indispensable. Actually, it is in our self-interest to be able to demonstrably add value to the organisation. It then follows that being missed while away must be a good thing.

The reality is that there is a fine line between being seen as positively indispensable, and being cursed when things do not get done in your absence. The key is to steer clear of the two “nightmare” scenarios.

Scenario 1: You go on holiday and your replacement does an even better job than you. While this is a natural fear, you have to decide whether it is simply a sign of insecurity, in which case banish the thought, or if it is factually correct, in which case you need to get moving to improve (and resting up before the big push is probably a good idea).

Whatever you do, don’t sit there worrying about it: insecurity and a zero-sum mentality are not conducive to being the best you can be. In any case, unless you are relatively junior (in which case you are by definition still reasonably replaceable), it won’t be one person stepping in to take on your job, but rather a group of direct reports or colleagues who each take on a bit more while you are away. It is pretty hard for a temporary consortium to do a better job than a great employee, unless you are doing a job that does not need a full time focus, which is a different issue.

Whether your temporary cover is one person or a half dozen, the bottom line is if you are really good at your job and it is a job that needs doing, you should have nothing to worry about.

Scenario 2: You go away without adequately delegating and the ball gets dropped on important projects. Whether the firm loses money or clients are upset, it makes you look bad and worse yet, you come back to a mess you have to sort out. As a variant, your colleagues have to call you frequently and either experience frustration that they cannot reach you, or constantly interrupt your holiday.

Either way, it’s a lose-lose situation and your reputation takes a bashing.

Focus instead on the optimal scenario: You go away, have a great time and are welcomed back to an office where everything has gone according to your plan. This requires the mindset that you want to enjoy yourself and truly get a break so that you will come back refreshed and ready to perform at your best.

It also means understanding that your boss will appreciate you more if you let him or her know that you have set things up to run smoothly in your absence and that everything is under control so that he or she will not have to step in and sort things out while you are away. It also helps minimise the “re-entry trauma” we all experience upon returning from holiday.

The best way to achieve this is to leave clear instructions on the status of all live situations, delegate whatever needs to be delegated, and let people know how they can reach you if all else fails. Have confidence in your own abilities, recharge your batteries and come back to a win-win situation. Remember, demonstrating mastery in managing your current job, including when you are away, is a prerequisite for promotion to the next.

May Busch is a former chief operating officer for EMEA, head of European firm relationship management, and co-head of global capital markets coverage at Morgan Stanley.