Travel as a Teacher

Sitting in an airport terminal and people watching has me reminiscing to a trip with fellow executives from a past position - nine cities in ten days.

I was thinking about how travel teaches you more about people than most meetings ever will. You see how they react when plans change - when flights are delayed - when schedules tighten and pressure creeps in.

Some people get louder. Some shut down. Some stay steady. You learn who treats service workers with respect, who can adapt without drama, and who stays calm when control disappears.

You also learn a lot about teams on the road. The ones who communicate clearly don’t scramble. The ones who trust each other don’t panic. The ones with weak alignment feel it immediately.

Travel strips away polish. There’s no time for rehearsed answers or perfect conditions. What’s left is character.

Over time, you stop dreading the logistics and start paying attention to the signals. Because how someone travels often mirrors how they lead, how they partner, and how they handle pressure at work.

If you want to understand people quickly, don’t just watch them in meetings.
Watch them when the plan changes and the gate gets moved.