Bridget Brecheen, CTIE
The travel industry is changing rapidly. We are required to pivot on a weekly basis with the information we need to know about changes in entry and visa requirements.
Many agents running agencies independently for decades are closing up shop. They are burned out and can no longer keep up the pace. Instead of stepping into the 21st century and adopting a new business model that includes implementing Personal and Virtual assistants, they conceded with the younger agency owners who have embraced this practice to run their agencies more effectively. Bringing on other team members can create dissension if you do not understand DISC. Success depends on your vision and how well you know the people in your crew, communicate with them, and nurture their strengths.
This paper explores why effective leadership is vital in our busy and personalized world of travel. We will explore how the DISC personality framework can help you utilize the test to help you communicate better with your team, share practical, real-world steps for onboarding new travel advisors, personal assistants, and virtual assistants, and discuss how you can grow your agency by nurturing and empowering your people.
Why Effective Leadership Matters in Travel
Travel agencies are built on relationships—clients trust us to create experiences they will cherish for a lifetime. Nurturing these relationships requires an adaptable, empathetic, and inspiring leadership style. When leaders fully engage their teams, magic happens: more bookings, happier clients, and a thriving workplace. These should be the goals of every agency owner who wants to grow their business in today’s competitive travel marketplace.
According to Gallup, when business owners stay engaged with their teams, they enjoy 21% higher profitability and 17% greater productivity (Gallup, 2017). In other words, when you lead well, the numbers tell the story: a more joyful staff leads to a more successful agency.
More than that, leadership is emotional intelligence in action. It is about reading your team’s moods, motivating them, and helping them grow alongside the business. For me, this revelation came about when I discovered DISC.
Fine-Tuning Your Leadership With DISC
One game-changer in my journey? The DISC personality framework. How it was explained in the videos I watched for this course made perfect sense. It enlightened me to understand why I felt the way I did about my work ethic versus others, why I always felt the need to be in control, etc. It gave validity to why I was this way and how to better interact with my team by being aware of their traits as well.
DISC breaks down personalities into four types:
- Dominance (D): Bold, direct, results-focused.
- Influence (I): People-oriented, enthusiastic, persuasive.
- Steadiness (S): Calm, loyal, dependable.
- Conscientiousness (C): Detail driven, analytical, precise.
Leaders who tailor their communication to these styles don’t just talk—they connect. Learning to connect with my team has significantly made me a more effective leader and a kinder and more patient mentor.
Here is a personal story: While watching the DISC videos, I immediately recognized myself as a High D. It explained why my style sometimes felt abrasive to colleagues before I ventured into the travel world. In hindsight, it was me as I would do the work myself and not have to train someone to do things my way. I have never felt like an effective teacher due to my domineering personality and intolerance for repeating myself more than once. If I completed the work myself, I would complete the task quickly and efficiently the first time. My lack of patience was known to rear its ugly head, and I would blurt out, “Here, let me do it,” when the person I was working with was not grasping the concept as fast as I felt they should.
I have struggled with hiring new people in my agency for the past six years. I knew my personality and work style would be too aggressive for some, so I had to work on myself, learning not to be so domineering and learning new communication methods that would take most face-to-face training out of the mix. What this boiled down to was that I needed to understand people better and realize that not everyone is hardwired like me. DISC did this for me!
Lately, I have found myself mentally labeling people—”Jennifer is a High I,” or “Barb’s an S.” After hiring a virtual assistant, a personal assistant, and a bookkeeper in the past year, I now communicate uniquely with each, better understanding their needs and style. DISC didn’t just make me a better communicator—it made me a better leader.
Onboarding Travel Advisors: Setting Them Up for Success
Your travel advisors are your agency’s frontline. Each interaction they have ripples across your agency’s reputation. Onboarding is where you set the stage for their growth and, by extension, your agency’s success. Everyone needs to be on the same page when it comes to the agency’s culture and brand.
- DISC Assessment & Mentoring: Start with understanding their personality. Pairing someone bubbly and outgoing (‘I’) with a more process-driven ‘C’ mentor helps balance enthusiasm with attention to detail.
- Immersive Training: Skip boring manuals! Instead, dive into destination virtual tours, role-play tricky client situations, learn how to handle demanding clients effectively, and find a system that works for you. For me, it is the training videos I have created.
- Shadow & Gradual Release: Newbies watch seasoned advisors in action before handling calls themselves
- Goals & Checkins: Clear, measurable milestones around bookings and client care—reviewed regularly with supportive feedback.
My goal is to add three new Independent Contractors this year (bringing my travel advisor team to five), this thoughtful onboarding ensures each new advisor feels confident and ready to thrive.
Onboarding Personal Assistants: The Hidden Backbone
Your personal assistant often juggles many critical tasks and quietly keeps the agency engine running smoothly.
Clarity in Roles: Define responsibilities clearly, like calendar management, client communications, and vendor coordination, to avoid overlap or confusion.
Communication Expectations: Agree on how and when to communicate, whether via text for quick Q&As, email for formal matters, or phone calls for urgent needs.
Process Guides: Provide manuals or checklists for common tasks, such as handling last-minute flight changes or delivering client’s travel documents.
A Leadership Practice I’ve Implemented
This year, I began recording videos of myself performing routine tasks that my personal assistant needs to handle – like entering bookings or updating client information in Travel Joy. This shift wasn’t just a digital convenience; it revolutionized our communication.
My PA has repeatedly shared how helpful these videos are—they empower her to learn independently and revisit explanations whenever needed. The biggest win? I no longer feel the frustration that sometimes surfaced when explaining tasks verbally. I can record without interruptions, laying out each step. Then, she watched the videos on her schedule and came to me with focused questions for clarification. This approach has boosted her confidence, reduced miscommunications, and deepened our relationship.
Additional Learning That Improved My Leadership
This past year, I also enrolled in a course by Mary Beth Lynn called Assistance That Works. Recognized as an expert in hiring virtual assistants, Mary Beth emphasizes teaching your assistants the tasks they must master, then delegating fully to make them proficient. One of her practical tools is a handout titled “40 Tasks You Will Never Do Again When You Hire an Assistant,” which was eye-opening. It revealed how many hours I spent on menial tasks that a well-trained assistant could manage efficiently.
This realization pushed me to become a better leader and communicator, especially because my personal assistant has a High C personality. She has a copy of the list of 40 tasks and understands my expectations clearly. Combined with the training videos I have created, this has been a game-changer in our collaboration and has strengthened our professional relationship and productivity. We are both looking forward to her taking over all 40 tasks.
Onboarding Virtual Assistants: Building Bridges Across Distance
Virtual assistants can be invaluable, but working remotely away from your office location, in a different time zone, or if they are located in a different country from you requires thoughtful structure.
- Tech Setup & Schedules: Reliable internet access is crucial. Your assistant has to be able to work efficiently.
- Depending on the time difference, you will need to find a time to communicate via Zoom or Teams to address any pressing issues. Face-to-face time is important for both parties. It connects you to that person and lets them know that you care, especially if you get up at 3:00 a.m. to meet with your virtual assistant in the Philippines and leave on the East Coast.
- Task Management Tools: Use apps like Asana (which is free) to break jobs into clear, time-framed tasks. I utilize this app with my virtual assistant.
- Regular Video Check-ins: Weekly video calls humanize the remote partnership and clarify any misunderstandings. I always pay my assistants for their time on a Zoom call. They deserve to be compensated for their time discussing your business.
- Cultural Awareness: Learn about their culture and holidays; respect and flexibility go a long way. This can apply to an assistant in another country or the United States. For example, if you hire an assistant who is an observant Jew, you need to understand that they will not be available to you on Friday after dusk until Saturday after dusk. If you are a Christian and attend church weekly, you will not be available to take any calls or answer any questions your assistant may have until Monday. Those time boundaries need to be discussed and respected.
Growing Your Agency by Building Your Team
Growth is about hitting sales targets and growing people and culture.
- Play to Strengths: Delegate based on DISC. Let ‘D’s lead projects, ‘I’s charm clients, ‘S’s excel at service, and ‘C’s manage quality control.
- Invest in Learning: Encourage certifications like The Travel Institute’s Certified Travel Associate or destination specialties. Education about the travel industry is paramount for being a well-informed Travel Advisor with a firm grasp of the industry. I found the CTA certification to be an excellent foundation for me.
- Recognize Often: Celebrate small and big wins. Gallup shows that recognition can lift engagement by up to 70% (Gallup, 2016).
- Encourage Feedback & Innovation: Open communication uncovers ideas and smooths out bumps in the road.
- Lead by Example: Participate in client calls occasionally, share success stories, and model empathy. I have put together an itinerary for my IC to a destination she was unfamiliar with. This was a way to show her how I accomplished the task, she had the itinerary for future reference, and it helped her close the sale.
To become a better leader, I reached out to a friend who has been in the business for 20+ years. She gave me a list of four books that changed her business and how she grew her team of 11 agents. I purchased all four of the books that day. EntreLeadership was her #1.
Dave Ramsey’s EntreLeadership offers wisdom: “When you grow yourself, you grow your business” (Ramsey, 2015). My goal this year is to add three new travel advisors, and by focusing on leadership growth and team empowerment, I’m confident this expansion will be solid and sustainable.
Wrapping it Up
Effective leadership in travel is both art and science—blending awareness of unique personalities, clear communication, and intentional team building. Using DISC, you can better understand your team’s strengths and weaknesses and how to manage and lead your team more effectively. When you invest in people and provide them with the tools they need to be successful, praise their achievements, and celebrate their work, you have the key to an agency filled with loyal clients and passionate team members.
References
Gallup. (2017). State of the American Manager: Analytics and Advice for Leaders. Retrieved from https://www.gallup.com/services/182138/state-american-manager.aspx
Gallup. (2016). Updated Jan 12, 2024. Employee Recognition: Low Cost, High Impact. Retrieved from https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236441/employee-recognition-low-cost-high-impact.aspx
Gallup. (2016). Employee Recognition: Low Cost, High Impact. Retrieved from https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236441/employee-recognition-low-cost-high-impact.aspx
Ramsey, D. (2015). EntreLeadership: 20 Years of Practical Business Wisdom from the Trenches. Ramsey Solutions.
