Sherri Cima, CTIE
“Creativity is seeing what others see and thinking what no one else ever thought.” – Albert Einstein
Being a leader in today’s ever-changing world requires an abundant skill set. Organizations are constantly faced with many challenges that require consistent great leadership. Being a leader who is creative is necessary to almost any business. It is vital for leaders to be imaginative, so their enterprises continually grow and produce effective solutions. Creative leaders have strong work ethics that contribute to the success of their organization. They encourage new ideas and inspire creativity in their varied teams. They remain in the forefront of change and are ready for the inevitable challenges. Creative leadership within the travel industry has always played a key role in the innovation of all aspects of the profession. Global happenings have impacted the industry throughout history and creativity is what has supported the industry to move forward. The travel field was one of the most severely impacted during the recent worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Leadership had to revolutionize and evolve rather quickly. Creativity became an essential skill for travel and hospitality professionals during the unprecedented times proposed by the pandemic. Leaders were required to look forward, past the uncertainty, and find groundbreaking solutions. Creativity is an important part of being an effective leader in the travel industry to innovate, problem solve and move an organization forward.
While successful leadership requires a series of different skills, creativity is consistently considered a top capability. Ingenuity in leadership is crucial when it comes to innovation and problem-solving. Leaders need to be willing to take risks and break new ground when looking for unique solutions. They must remain open-minded, curious, and have a clear vision.
Peers and employees look to leaders who can adapt to challenges and seek out revolutionary ways to solve issues (Doyle). The future successes of many businesses depend on the innovative skills of leadership.
The travel industry is no exception when it comes to boundless creative leadership. There are many successful, well-known leaders, past and present, that know the importance of leading the industry with creativity. Walt Disney was a true visionary, and he understood the value of using one’s imagination. He led with his dreams and believed in those dreams wholeheartedly. Disney maintained his theme parks were never completed because he felt new ideas were endless if everyone used their imagination (Walt Disney Career Advice and Valuable Lessons). Walt Disney once said, “Around here, however, we don’t look backward for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” He also asked questions and looked ahead into the possibilities of the future, keeping in mind the bigger picture (Walt Disney Career Advice and Valuable Lessons). His success as a leader was rooted in his creativity and has shone through his theme parks for generations.
Richard Branson, head of Virgin Group Ltd., puts creativity at the forefront of all his businesses. He has piloted huge accomplishments in various travel sectors with Virgin Atlantic Airways, Virgin Hotels, and most recently a new cruise line, Virgin Voyages. Branson said, “We reinvent any business we go into. We pull out a blank sheet of paper and just like an artist get out our crayons to create something that is innovatively different” (Talbot). As a trailblazer, he puts in the required hard work and has the courage to make tough decisions when needed. He takes failures and mistakes and creatively comes up with alternate solutions. Branson also likes to have fun, is very charismatic, and is always up for a challenge. He likes to make noise and shine (Talbot). Richard Branson’s ingenious leadership has been a great illustration of successes within the travel industry.
Creative leaders have creative teams supporting their efforts to grow their business. They realize that problem-solving requires innovation to result in real solutions. They understand the importance diversity plays when this need for creativity arises. Differing individual experiences can result in a team with brand new ideas. “If every employee possesses a thought process unique to their own experiences, then the ideas generated will be as broad and diverse as the team itself” (5 Ways Diversity Inspires Creativity in the Workplace). When interacting with others from different backgrounds you can get a fresh point of view.
An Indeed.com post, “8 Ways to Use Creativity in Leadership”, says to be a creative leader you must include multiple perspectives. “Collaborate with individuals from multiple job levels and departments. People may have different backgrounds; skill sets and experiences that allow them to innovate in many creative ways. New ideas often require several participants to develop actionable plans that work for everyone “(Indeed Editorial Team). Leaders often rely on their teams for input and productivity. Diversity helps develop imaginative ideas and ultimately effective results.
Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, CEO and President of Celebrity Cruises, became the first woman to run a publicly traded cruise line. She is a frontrunner in the global travel industry and believes in creative innovation and diversity. She has been instrumental in engaging more women leaders throughout her company, including hiring the first female American captain (CNT Editors, The Women Who Travel Power List). Lisa stated, “Balance is important in business. Having men and women at the table makes for better and more diverse conversations and solutions to business issues. Gender balance leads to more profitability and a better blend of experience. As a CEO, I feel it is my responsibility to create a balance that has never been achieved before in our industry” (CNT Editors, The Women Who Travel Power List). Lisa is a dynamic leader using different experiences and various opinions to continue company growth.
Surroundings can help to cultivate and promote creativity. Many leaders understand the importance of an inspiring work environment for their employees to grow and innovate. They will often design their workspaces with an open concept layout, giving employees freedom to do their work where they feel most comfortable. They will have different areas to brainstorm with coworkers and more traditional spaces to concentrate. The design may also be specialized to the industry with different areas to focus, collaborate and socialize. “Sometimes the best ideas happen while friends are chatting about their day over a cup of coffee” (Creative Spaces with Every Kind of Employee in Mind).
Hyatt Hotels Corporation designed their corporate headquarters in Chicago to reflect a high-end hotel experience. Employees can work together freely in an inspired space that is reflective of their industry. The space is a mix of a work environment and hotel environment, with a reception area, bar and cafeteria, office suites with pods, and private spaces. Employees can often taste-test food to be served at various properties and give their opinions on different hotel items (Wilson). CEO Mark Hoplamazian, an innovative leader, says “The idea of having a daily experience, that is reminiscent of the experience people have in hotels or our hotels, is a not-so-subtle reminder of the business that we’re in” (Wilson). Mark recognizes the importance of employees understanding their industry and flourishing in its atmosphere.
Jet Blue Airways Corporation has creatively designed its headquarters as an airport theme, in line with their terminal at JFK Airport. Also giving their employees a unique work environment reflective of the business they thrive in. The workspace has many different seating areas for teams to collaborate. While there are still traditional cubicles and offices, there are also open spaces for teamwork. There are conference rooms named after popular JetBlue cities, crew lounges, and galley kitchens. If you have a flight scheduled, you can view boards with real-time updates and even check in at a kiosk (Goodman). Working in a unique space helps keep the creativity flowing amongst executives and employees.
The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic shifted many companies to require employees to work from home permanently or on a hybrid schedule. Many businesses are still trying to figure out the right balance, as there will always be a need for employee interaction to better collaborate and innovate. This has shaped a novel challenge for companies to creatively rethink their work settings and offer better spaces for their employees. Airbnb Inc. has one of the most imaginatively designed headquarters located in San Francisco, CA. But as a shift in office work continues to change, CEO Brian Chesky believes, “employee gathering in spaces will still exist but in an entirely different form. That’s because more workers will opt for relocating to different cities, states, or countries or regularly travel.” Brian is leading the way into a new phase of office work atmosphere (Abril).
The travel industry was left with no choice but to be creative and swift when navigating through the global COVID-19 pandemic. A series of new issues arose that required innovative solutions. Business leaders were trying to come up with ways to make customers more comfortable when traveling while navigating through the constant changes. Airlines blocked middle seats and waived change fees, while meetings and trade shows pivoted to be completely virtual. Rental car companies sold off and moved around their fleets. These were all creative solutions for the times presented. The hotel industry had to incorporate new cleanliness standards and instill social distancing protocols. Hilton Hotels and Resorts was at the forefront of these essential changes. They redesigned lobbies to account for social distancing and implemented contactless check-in processes. They instilled digital room keys via guests’ own smartphones and pivoted their food service options. Adam Crocini, Vice President and Global Head, Food & Beverage Brands said – “The pandemic has pushed us to rethink and reimagine how we provide our guests with the services and experiences that they are looking for – resulting in high-end, to-go cocktails, expanded grab-n-go markets and personalized plating for meetings and events” (A Decade of Innovation in Just One Year: Seven Surprising Ways the Pandemic has Changed Hotels Forever).
As we are coming off the pandemic, consumers have different thoughts on how they would like to travel. Marriott International’s Global Brand and Marketing Officer, Tina Edmundson, has been a creative leader pre and post-pandemic. She recently explained how data helps Marriott imaginatively interpret the current trends within the industry from a marketing standpoint. Leisure travel has substantially increased as more consumers are going on their first post-pandemic trip. Travelers want to travel for longer periods of time. They are mixing business and leisure travel and bringing their families along for the best of both worlds. This surge in “Bleisure Travel” and “Workcations” has increased the need for hotels that have connecting rooms, activities, kids’ clubs, and pools. The trends are fluctuating more than ever (Hood). Edmundson said, “The pandemic has really helped us break the paradigms that we used to live with where we were always so planful. Not to say that we shouldn’t plan, but we’ve got to be nimble enough to be able to react to the environment as it’s occurring” (Hood).
I work for a company that owns their own travel agency. I have a unique position of managing that travel agency and managing the company’s business travel as well as our client’s travel. Like many travel agencies, most of my team was furloughed due to the pandemic. As business slowed down tremendously and uncertainty increased, there were several matters that required abrupt attention. I, like many others, quickly needed to find creative solutions. I was helping a client plan their sales meeting in Napa Valley. It was for a small group of people and they were looking to give them the best of wine country. The client kept holding off signing with any properties with the constant uncertainty proposed by the onset of the pandemic. After some thought on zoom meetings being all the craze, I suggested they should try something in the meantime, a virtual meeting with a wine tasting. Send the attendees various wines and wine glasses with their company logo, directly to their homes. Have a zoom gathering, followed by a wine tasting happy hour. I helped them organize invites and find vendors to ship items to the attendees. The client was extremely grateful, and it turned out to be a successful and memorable experience for all.
As places began reopening around the country, I wanted to let people know that our travel department was still there and would still be there whenever they were ready to travel. There were several properties we had leverage within driving distance of both of our company offices. Road trips seemed like the perfect way to ease in to travel. We offered some great destinations via newsletter to our travelers and clients. We included lesser-known facts about the cities and fun activities. We provided links to great articles about the hotels and destinations, like the top ten must-see spots. Also included recipes for a signature drink or the city’s most well-known foods. So, if you were not quite ready to travel yet, there were still some interesting reads within the newsletter.
It was fun to be imaginative and think unconventionally. I was grateful as a leader to have the time to use my creativity and work on such an important skill. I feel these varying ideas helped keep us relevant and set as a reminder to our clients that we were there for them during extraordinary times. And now coming out of the pandemic our employees and clients are back and ready to travel with us. I am currently implementing a new online booking tool for our travelers as a creative solution to help ease staff shortages. I am also looking into different ways of organizing and tracking our client’s preferences. We are still sending out emails to promote travel to various destinations. I really enjoy helping clients think outside of the box when proposed with new tasks and assisting with uncommon solutions.
Sometimes we do not realize how truly creative we are being when on-the-spot decisions need to be made. Sometimes we must take the time to cultivate our creativity. Being a leader in any organization requires many different skill sets. Being creative is a craft worth perfecting. Creative leadership is essential for companies to grow, innovate and problem solve. Great leaders almost always have teams of creative people to support their ideas. They flourish in diversity and in creative spaces. Many well-known leaders are extremely imaginative, and the travel industry has some of the most creative minds. World events often force the industry to quickly make changes and generate unique ideas. Airline strikes, bad weather and catastrophic events all can have major effects on business and the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic was no exception. It forced leaders to innovate promptly. The world needed solutions and navigating with a creative mindset became the best path to lead businesses forward. Creative leadership will continually be paramount throughout all travel sectors. Even now as the pandemic is ending, trips are in high demand and innovative solutions are needed to push through the labor shortages. Being in the industry for 25 years, I have seen both the hesitancy and wanderlust for travel. The setbacks and the comebacks. The travel industry has remained resilient. There will always be a need and want, to journey about and discover the world. After all, bucket lists are most made of travel adventures.
WORKS CITED
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