Early in our marriage, Barry and I made a goal to travel. We believe it is the best form of education. But traveling to 5 countries in a short 30-day period really brought to life some leadership lessons and I have been pondering how these related to business. Read below the 8 travel lessons about leadership and see if any personally resonate with you!
Travel lesson #1:
“Way out.” As leaders, we need to learn to use the clearest words to describe the way forward. In England, they use “Way Out” to describe the exit. I loved the clarity and simplicity of this message, and it challenged me to make sure that my word choices are easy to understand rather than just “group speak” or industry standards. Lesson learned: Words Matter (and the simpler the better).
Travel lesson #2:
“Don’t use brakes.” In Greece, we chose to participate in an electric bike excursion. The bike excursion turned out to be an “off-road” bike descent and ascent. These were grades that I have not experienced in my life. To top things off, my brakes were not working well. My guide kept telling me to not use the brakes so that I would not wear out the brakes on his bikes. Guess what? I used the brakes ALOT. Lesson learned: Go with your gut. You know you and what you can handle better than anyone else.
Travel lesson #3:
“When someone pays you, stay awake.” In France, we took a bus tour to Normandy and had an amazing experience, except for one thing. Our tour guide fell asleep on the way there (for an hour) and on the way back for an hour and half. When he was awake, he was excellent. However, when we exited the bus, he was disappointed that no one gave him an extra tip. Lesson learned: When someone is paying you for a service, stay awake, stay engaged and know that people are watching as you lead.
Travel lesson #4:
“Sunset is 10pm.” When we travel, we typically rise early and stay out until dark. This worked great in most places until we realized that in Paris, in May, the sun sets at 10pm. We were waking at 6:00am and staying out until 10pm multiple days in a row and it just wasn’t working for my body. Lesson learned: No matter what everyone else is doing, you must work at your own capacity and pace. Knowing your limits and setting healthy boundaries keeps you in the race for the long term.
Travel lesson #5:
“Enjoy the journey.” It is hard when you travel to not look back and compare and not look too far ahead to where you are going next. We had a very detailed travel agenda for these 5 countries. It took us months of planning and researching before we left for this adventure of a lifetime. When the trip started, it was important to be present.
To sit in Paris and marvel at the Eiffel Tower, to enjoying St. Andrews Golf Course in Scotland, to drink a Guinness (even though I don’t like beer) when we were in Ireland, to embrace the crowds (without complaining) when we were in London, to sit in Santorini and take in the views. Lesson learned: Planning is important but make sure and enjoy the journey.
Travel lesson #6:
“Don’t wait.” At many stops, we saw older people who were traveling that were not able to keep up, take the stairs, and unable to participate in the experiences. It made both of us sad to think about people who wait until they retire to see the world. We should all be traveling NOW while we can participate and enjoy. Lesson learned: Use your PTO and GO. Don’t wait until retirement to see all that you want to see and do. The world is a big adventure, and travel doesn’t have to be expensive.
Travel lesson #7:
“Pivot.” There were many times on our adventure that things didn’t work exactly according to plan. One such time was at the train station to Bordeaux. A dead animal was hit and shut down all trains to our area. We waited 3 additional hours at the station before we could depart. We found a little café, pulled out our IPAD’s and spent the next 3 hours catching up on all our work. Meanwhile, some people were in a complete meltdown.
I watched them use so much emotional energy melting down. I wanted to just yell from my seat…PIVOT! Find something else to invest in until the train is ready. Lesson learned: When traveling (or working in an organization), learn to be flexible. Be mindful to not let one change derail your whole experience.
Travel lesson #8:
“Celebrate.” Our family has a neat tradition that at the last meal of every vacation we pause and reflect on our 3 favorite experiences and 3 favorite meals on our trip. I am always amazed at the value of the experience because it accomplishes several things: 1. We remind each other of what we experienced during our week together. 2. We learn more about each person and what they value. 3. We leave grateful for the lovely parts of our trip. Lesson learned: Gratitude multiplies when its shared and leaves everyone with a positive last experience before heading home.
Leadership lessons can be found in full view in all our experiences. Pondering to think about our experiences can be a rich way of developing our leadership art. If these 8 travel lessons resonated with you, we’d love to connect. Reach out to our HPA team to explore how we can grow leadership together through meaningful experiences.
