#MiPDV – Learning While Traveling For Business

When you travel for business, do you look for opportunities to learn??

Many of us are in a nonstop hurry when we travel. We rush to get to the destination, then pack the day with back-to-back meetings, until you need to race to the airport to get to your next destination.?

Often, the hours are long – when I traveled overseas, I would usually work a full day in the local time zone, then work another full day (US time) at the hotel. It was not unusual to work 20-hour days during intercontinental travel.?

The long hours were a fast path to exhaustion, making it very difficult to learn new things outside the office or customer location.?

Somehow, I forgot a lesson from my very first business trip. We went to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to be trained on software my employer bought to run his business.?

In addition to the training, he arranged for the entire team to visit a local manufacturer. It was a fascinating tour of the factory, with a myriad of machines working at high speeds to produce the factory’s products.?

We enjoyed the local community. We saw a bit of what the area had to offer.?

Yet, my employer had an ulterior motive.?

The reason he arranged the tour was not to just create a break in the training (although it was helpful to our learning), it was to showcase how a local business ran, and to show us how we needed to be as diligent with the production of our products (legal documents) as the factory was in making their products.?

My employer also encouraged us to pick up a souvenir – I got the camel that is in the photo, above. Only later did I realize that it was his way to help ensure the lessons remained with us.?

In another trip, the sales rep that asked me to travel to his city to make a customer call arranged the trip so it coincided with a personal trip – I could visit his customer, then go on to visit family. He taught me the value of making it easy for people to help you.?

And the small clown figure he gave me is a reminder of that lesson.?

Travel is an opportunity for us to learn. As leaders, we should encourage our team members to look for learning opportunities when they travel on our behalf.

There is nothing wrong with someone arriving a day or two early, or staying an additional day, to enjoy the destination and learn something while they are there. (Every company I’ve worked at only asks that the employee cover the extra costs, such as the extra hotel night, meals, etc.)?

Perhaps it’s a cooking class.?

Or a tour of a historical site.?

Or learning a bit of the local language and culture.?

Because they will return more relaxed, appreciative of the opportunity, and a new perspective they can apply in their role.?

Even better, thanks to your encouragement, over time they naturally look for new things to learn.?

It’s a win-win-win situation.?

• The employee wins by learning something new without spending much time or money.?
• You win by having a team member with new skills and perspectives.?
• And the company wins by having more engaged employees.?

All it takes is a little encouragement.?

?

?

That’s mi punto de vista #MiPDV.

?