Well actually I have leadership issues and it comes from a deep concern. I don’t know where the future travel industry leaders will come from. Where will the next Ursula King come from? Where will the next Tom Goldman come from? Where will the next Janette Davie come from?
All hard questions, as I see people leaving the industry and taking their accumulated knowledge and leadership qualities with them. Travel has always been a long term career for many people and their acquired knowledge and skills come from many years of travel and many years of relationships. Our problem is that no one is passing on that knowledge. Google cannot replace any of the above people and the peers they worked with.
As an industry, travel can be a bit self centred (okay a lot self centred) and fragmented when it comes to giving back. We sometimes get too concerned about looks and how we can get to that next free of charge flight. The old I’m alright, you’re alright attitude is alive and prevalent in the industry, but there are people willing to give back and look out for the future.
Mentorship in some sections of the industry like hotels and airlines has raised the level of potential leaders coming through but the broader industry has no avenue to progress this thought pattern.
So praise should go to Penny Spencer and her committee for setting up T.I.M.E.(travel industry mentor experience) a mentoring program aimed at the industry at large. They are looking to put past and current leaders, along with their knowledge, together with up and coming mentees to ensure the knowledge will continue to grow and evolve within the changing landscape of travel today.
Is this an easy concept to sell and explain to the travel industry? Obviously not, as the struggles to get this program off the ground, attest to. So praise should also be heaped upon companies like Sabre Pacific, Creative Holidays, Traveller’s Assistance and Royal Caribbean Cruises, who have all dug deep to financially support the T.I.M.E. project. There are no agendas attached, other than it being the right thing to do for the future of the industry.
Think about the people that have helped you get where you are today and how you can help the future.
If you are interested in the future of the travel industry, then contact Penny Spencer at Spencer Travel.
02 9281 5477 or www.spencertravel.com.au.
In her hands the future looks good.
I may even get over my authority issues?
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