When my nephew was born, I talked to my sister about setting up a college fund for him. She said, “What if he doesn’t want to go to college? What if he wants to travel?” In my mind, hell, yes. Travel. See the world. You have as much to gain, if not more, from experiencing life through a completely different lens.
I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to travel. When I was young, our family didn’t go far, but we did get out of town every once in a while. Our trips might have only been to the next state for a long weekend or a trip to the beach for a few days or a holiday with family in a different city. Regardless, we got on the road in our VW bus and drove a few hours to a different place.
Those experiences helped me to realize that other places, other food, and other experiences existed outside of my little world.
Through my professional career, I’ve also had the opportunity to travel. For a time, I covered the southwest region of the US, and over a period of five years, I was on the road for 80% of my working life. While living in the Middle East, I filled two passports with stamps, and while most of that was traveling for work, I took some opportunities to experience other countries on my own.
Here’s the thing: travel is its own education, and I’ve learned a thing or two from being on the road.
Set clear expectations. I once traveled to a remote island with a friend for personal time off, and we had very different versions of what a relaxing beach vacation should look like. I wanted to strangle her by day 3 because we hadn’t discussed what a “beach vacation” meant. Once we talked, it was fine, and we should have had that conversation before we got on the plane. Lesson learned.
People do things for their own reasons, not yours (thank you, Phil M. Jones). When you travel alone, you can go at your own pace, see what you want to see, eat when you want, and so on. When you travel with others, everyone has their agenda. The same is true with leadership. If you’re flying solo, you can determine what you think is best in any given situation. If you are in a team or collaborative environment, you have to take other people’s requirements into consideration. As the Leader, you may be responsible for what’s best, and you may also be responsible for acknowledging and respecting your team’s contributions.
Set boundaries (along the lines of “stick with your decisions”). Going back to clear expectations, it’s okay to tell fellow travelers (or colleagues or team members) what you are and aren’t okay with. Boundaries are important. In simple terms, what kind of sleep do you need? When do you need to eat? What does your bathroom experience look like? If someone wants to get on the metro to a museum that opens at 8 am, but you aren’t functional until you’ve had coffee and time to process, do you go along? If a senior manager wants to have an evening meeting that occurs at 9pm in your time zone, do you attend? In more complicated terms, how do you prefer to communicate with your group? When can and can’t they call you for follow up? When are you online and when are you offline?
Contribute. In regard to travel or to team participation, add something of value. Maybe you’re not a great cook, so you don’t know how to provide food for others. Offer to shop for groceries or to clean up. Maybe you are a doer and not an instigator, so you don’t know how to make the first attempt. Offer to set a task list, be an accountability partner, act as a team cheerleader, or follow through on next steps. When you travel with others, you have an obligation to provide to the effort in some way. When you act as a leader, you own the responsibility of motivating and encouraging those you work with. In either case, give something.
Accept your blind spots. Shocker: you’re not a perfect traveler. You’re not a perfect leader. Recognize the areas where you may struggle or resist and get clear about them. Are you an early riser or a night owl? Are you a planner or are you spontaneous? Be honest: do you get hangry? Do you snore? Do you react strongly to a change of plans? How well do you manage conflict? No responses are right or wrong, and all need to be considered in the rotation of your travel partners or your team. Assess where you do well, and lean into that. Acknowledge your gaps, and ask for help. Your team, your colleagues, and your travel partners will be grateful.
Whether it's in-state, out-of-state, in the country, or overseas, adventure abounds. The opportunities are endless, so get out there! What's on your bucket list? Where do you want to go next?
What's stopping you?
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