As a globetrotter-wannabe, I am always dreaming about my next trip. I love getting to know new places, tasting new food, taking interesting pictures and especially, meeting new people. In business, traveling for me means meeting our customers, partners and getting to know the way of doing business somewhere else than in our small village.
Despite the hassle of the trip itself (packing, unpacking, being away from home, airport or airplane meals and the turbulence…), I am always ready for my next trip.
For business or for pleasure: Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.
How traveling impacts our career and personal development:
Getting to know other cultures and other ways of doing things: Visiting different places helps us to understand different values and perspectives. This helps us developing our cultural sensibility. Better culture understanding means better ways to approach new customers, prospects and business partners.
Getting inspired: there is something to see, to eat, to talk about or even to read. After the trip, we go home with new ideas, solutions, and new ways of approaching previous problems.
Developing our social skills: Traveling in a group or even alone will encourage us to talk to the people around you. Yes, we talk to strangers, but in a very positive way! Traveling forces us to connect with new people because we need to register to the hotel, to find some food and even to move around the city. The networking opportunities are endless. Having the ability to create a good network is beneficial to both our career and life in general.
Refreshing: stepping away from our office and daily routines at home help our brain to reset and relax.
Seeing the big picture: sometimes we focus too much on our own issues and daily challenges. Those might look very insignificant after traveling to places where people are facing other major difficulties. Traveling invites us to rethink our priorities.
Challenging ourselves and getting out of our comfort zone: navigating foreign environments might be scary, but embracing this discomfort makes us feel more confident, independent and competent. Absolutely, traveling helps us to grow.
Practicing some languages and developing our communication skills: Of course, this might feel a bit different if your native language is English. (There is a higher probability of finding somebody who speaks at least couple of words in English than any other language). We might be challenged to use a foreign language when traveling. If you have already studied this language, this is only good news, as it becomes a perfect opportunity to practice. If you have not studied the language yet, traveling helps you to find alternative ways to communicate.
Getting to visit different places, as well as getting to know people from other countries and cultures will enhance our CV, but especially will help us to develop our relationship with colleagues, customers, and partners from different backgrounds. I invite you to travel. It is one of the best investment and experience in life.
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