WE MUST ALSO PUT ON OUR INNER MASK

Imagem de Tumisu por Pixabay

Recent times have made the mask already one of the daily props that we should wear. But it's no use trying to protect ourselves only with an outer mask if we don't take care of our own inner mask. Protecting ourselves, body, and mind; seeking our balance in these unstable times, preserving our well-being and mental health. Taking care of ourselves is not selfish. It is investing in ourselves, and this is, without a doubt, the best investment we can make.

The last weeks reveal in the most intense way the instability that we still live in Tourism, and the huge uncertainty about the future. The seas are turbulent again, and once more, we are not all in the same boat. Whether we are working, still on layoff, or leading a business, the complexity of the moment, even with different experiences, is enormous, making us fragile and more susceptible to breaks in energy and vitality. To a lower quality of life.

So don't just remember to put on the outer mask. Remember above all to create an inner mask that protects you and makes you stronger and more resilient in the present moment and prepared for the future. Be it in your personal or professional life. And these are small steps in daily discipline, which will help you to be able to find your balance. You don't need to be happy all the time but look for a mask of well-being, between body and mind, that allows you to be in harmony.

For Tourism professionals, regardless of the position they occupy, it is fundamental that we

1. Become self-aware. Self-knowledge

Know your limits and your strengths. Know how to analyze your emotions, so you can deal with them in the best way, without always reacting. Numerous challenges will arise every day, but their impact is not on the size of those challenges, but on how you react to them. Accept that you can't and don't have to control everything. And ask for help. This is a sign of intelligence, not weakness. Work on your strengths and, complement your weaknesses with other people who share the same values and ideals.

2. Practice positive thinking 

Martin Seligman, father of positive psychology argues that "a person who keeps his focus on positive thoughts and situations is more likely to become happy, even in the midst of mental disorders and natural day-to-day difficulties." Although Tourism has brought all its players great challenges, maintaining a positive attitude towards situations, having positive dialogues with yourself, and believing that it is still possible, will be key to being able to create the resilience needed to get through this phase.  Self-confidence.

3. Don't neglect your health, vital and mental

Create inner immunity: good diet, rest, and exercise. To be able to deal with potentially high levels of stress or to have the strength to motivate your teams, you have to feel good. And that means taking care of your body in a healthy way. So does taking care of your mind. Don't be always on. The best performances are not associated with the number of hours we work, but with what we produce. And that productivity comes from "deep work", focus on your tasks, one by one, without distractions. Multitasking is no longer fashionable. Avoid burnout by listening to your body's signals. When it asks you to rest, stop. Recover energies, and then continue.

4.  Set aside some time in your agenda for yourself every day

And make this commitment unavoidable. It doesn't matter what you do, as long as it gives you pleasure and makes you feel good. Like that breath of fresh air that will relieve you of the pressure. Make this appointment in your calendar and don't miss it. Live this moment, in the present. Mindfulness.

5.           Practice critical analysis and keep an open mind

Reality as we know it has been changing. Learn to analyze these changes, accept them, and integrate them into your own business and the way you do your job. Develop a culture of continuous learning, with an open mind to new ideas. Creativity. Innovation. Listen to your customers and learn to deal with new trends and even new business models. As Darwin said, the species that survives is the one that adapts. The same is true for business or the way we do our work. Manage with a future vision of business sustainability. Lead by building a business culture that supports that same sustainability, putting people at the center of the decisions.

6.  Don't be alone

The Tourism solution must be global. In processes of collaboration and mutual help. And this works, both at the individual and team level. Both at a personal level and at a company level. Develop and create a networking network that works as a support network for different situations. Share to also receive. Beyond family and friends, develop collaborative networks that support each other and promote the growth of companies together. This has to be a way forward for Tourism.

When reading all these points, everything may seem too obvious. But if we analyze our daily lives, we will probably find many situations where we can do a little better. Not to compete with others, but to be a little better than the day before.

Tourism is coming back and travel is already a necessity. Awaken that passion that has always kept you going until today and work every day for a purpose. We will be leaders again, very soon, even if we have to keep our masks on.

SAME, SAME, BUT DIFFERENT

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In a month when all over the world (or almost all, unfortunately) the Gay Pride month is celebrated, we remember the importance of Tourism as an inclusive industry. Without making any differentiation of color, race, ethnicity, nationality, and sexual preference. An industry that has the responsibility to promote equality, fairness, and freedom. Of all, for all. With respect. Without exception. But are you really prepared to receive LGBT tourism?

In this month several marches and demonstrations are usually organized where members of the LGBT community and all those who want to join, come together to celebrate love and equality between all genders. Tomorrow, June 28th is Gay Pride Day. The origin of this date is due to one of the most remarkable episodes in the struggle of the gay community for their rights: the Stonewall Inn Rebellion. In 1969, a revolt and riot were started by this community against the mistreatment and abuse of the police who invaded the bars in New York that were frequented by homosexuals. From this moment on, new protests, also involving local communities, spread through several American cities in favor of homosexual rights. The 1st Gay Pride Parade was organized the following year (1970), to remember and strengthen the movement to fight against prejudice. And it has been organized ever since.

In Lisbon, this year, it was supposed to take place on June 19, but due to current circumstances, it ended up being canceled. But we bring its motto here:

"Deconfining rights, dispelling prejudices"

Is this how we act also in Tourism? With tolerance and respect for all, without discrimination. We want to believe so. Even because the LGBT Tourism market has been registering considerable increases in recent years. According to data from WTO, World Tourism Organization, the LGBT community has about 180 million tourists per year all over the planet. They represent 10% of the total volume of international tourists, generating 185 billion dollars each year in their activities.

How then can your company respect and accept this market, offering them the same level of excellence and hospitality as everyone else?

_ understand the LGBTQ community before you try to capture this group. Attend conferences/webinars or even choose to take a course, for example, at IGLTA (the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association).

_ align your business with other LGBTQ-friendly businesses nearby to improve your products and services.

_ train all staff on how to promote equality and how they should adapt their behaviors, as well as respect all customers

_ they are customers like everyone else, so you should pay attention to their individual preferences. some general characteristics: more dynamic and adventurous travel, they look for unique and original products and offers, they look for excellent service, they are brand loyalists, ...

_ same-sex marriages: a growing market and Portugal as a desirable destination

_ get LGBTQ tourists to write reviews or stories about your product or service to bring in new tourists. Like all other tourists, LGBTQ tourists also follow reviews and recommendations.

_ have a marketing and communication strategy for this segment all year round.

_ go visit an LGBTQ event or festival near you to meet potential customers and promote your business. IGLTA has a calendar that lists most of these events.

In an increasingly diverse world, it is exactly the differences that complement and unite us. It makes no sense to have any kind of discrimination. Diversity promotes equality. Have you ever thought if we all liked yellow?

PS - we share the excellent work done by Variações, a Portuguese LGTI Trade and Tourism Association that brings together more than 60 companies as a non-profit business association supporting the economic empowerment of the LGBTI community in Portugal.

A RAINY DAY CAN BE AS BEAUTIFUL AS A SUNNY DAY

Photo by Rene Bohmer on Unsplash

Less than 24 hours before we start summer, it rains copiously. As if it were a winter day. Unpredictable, perhaps. Unexpected, possibly. With any impact? It all depends on each one of us. How capable is your company of dealing with the unexpected? How do leaders react when faced with the unexpected? As Darwin defended "it is not the strongest that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one that adapts to change". Is Tourism effectively prepared for change?

Much has been heard about a "new normal"... But what was normality then, to be new now? An excess of tourism without limits? A disregard for the environment and communities? An incessant search, without means or measures, for immediate profit? If this was normality, then we don't want to be normal anymore. But, fine, if this is something we are looking for to show us which way we should go in Tourism, then let's simplify:

The "new normal" is sustainability, is regeneration.

We are still in the month of the environment and much has been said these days about the protection of nature and ecosystems, protection of the oceans, microplastics, recycling, circular economy, among other associated topics.

A year ago, also in celebration of Environment Day, the World Tourism Organization launched a program based on ONE PLANET VISION FOR A RESPONSIBLE RECOVERY OF THE TOURISM SECTOR. It was this program, with an alignment based on a recovery of Responsible Tourism, that gave us the final push to launch Please Disturb. We were now even more certain that we were on the right track, that only this could be the direction that Tourism could take:

#RESPONSIBLERECOVERY #BUILDBACKBETTER #RESTARTTOURISM

. For the People

. For the Planet

. For Prosperity

And we add, with a Purpose. These are our Pillars.

One year later, as we once again celebrate World Environment Day, where is this plan?

In this year's celebrations, the World Tourism Organization has once again launched a new guide TRANSFORMING VISION INTO ACTION where the actions for each of the areas of intervention in the recovery of Tourism are now listed.

Last week the Portuguese Tourism Board also announced the program PROGRAMA +SUSTENTAVEL 20-23 and also launched good practice guides for more sustainable tourism.

So, information is not lacking... and now, where do we start? From the perspective of acting locally for global impact, each of the tourism stakeholders has the responsibility to do their part.

And it is here that companies will have to adapt, will have to readjust in order to effectively become competitive and ensure their success in the future. We fully understand that the main objective now is to generate immediate profits to compensate for the losses of these last 18 months. But profit is not, and cannot be your main goal. More than ever it is necessary to plan and have a strategy that includes sustainability in all its pillars: socio-cultural, economic, and environmental.

Sustainability is the new digital.

In the same way that we have adapted to digital in an impressive way and understood its importance and relevance, we will have to do the same process exactly with sustainability. Adopting measures that are based on conscious decisions to protect the Planet, to include People, having a Purpose for Prosperity.

More than just talking about the issue of Sustainability in Tourism, we have to act. More than just being annoyed because it is raining when it should be sunny, we should adapt our companies, our teams, and our leadership to a new Tourism and a new Tourism that emerges: more conscious, more sustainable, more concerned about its impact.

Next time it rains... have your umbrella ready?

PS - in the Please Disturb Tourism Experts team we present efficient solutions for implementing sustainable 360º strategies with People-Planet-Purpose. You don't have to do it all yourself, we are on your side to help you thrive.

OUR NEXT 100 DAYS

Photo by Drew Beamer on Unsplash

On Portugal's day, June 10th, we celebrate our first anniversary. It is no coincidence that we chose this date. We are passionate about our country. Nor is it a coincidence that we are now launching a 100-day plan when this is normally done at the beginning of a project. But we don't always follow normality. So why now?

Throughout this year Please Disturb has been building itself. In our Design Thinking mindset, we can conclude that this year we are in the first two stages of the process: empathy and definition. We started with only two certainties:

_ that it will be a project and a brand of People for People, in a model of co-creation and radical collaboration, 100% sustainable

_ what our purpose is (which also evolved): to educate to provoke a change towards a Regenerative Creative Tourism.

In a period of total instability and uncertainty, we developed several research processes to find the personas with which we could generate real empathy. We realized where the biggest challenges for Tourism after the pandemic were being built, where the "wicked problems" would be. More than solutions, we focused on identifying and building the real problems and challenges that represent a new reality, present, and future.

We were developing empathy maps for the different stakeholders in Tourism and understanding their needs and pains. Their weaknesses, which may also condition the future. We don't believe in a new normal, but in an awakening and awareness that was abruptly imposed on us, but from which we will have to try to take the best opportunities. As we have always done in every crisis: with resilience and determination.

But we also reached another conclusion: we don't have to do more, we have to do better, in an integrative process, in a global and joint solution. We don't have to do everything alone.

AND WE HAVE REACHED THIS POINT: TODAY WE ARE HERE.

Always with a totally open mind, a beginner's mind. Questioning everything, taking nothing for granted. Our anniversary served to collect ourselves and reflect. To move on now to the process of ideation, of generating solutions to the different challenges and problems we have identified. To create our path, the one we believe in. And this is where our 100 Days, 8 Projects Plan comes in.

Perhaps we may think that we are being too ambitious when we want to follow with 8 different projects, but we can't dissociate them. They are all interconnected, it makes sense that they all follow simultaneously. Possibly at different speeds, but in a circular and interdependent model, sustained equally on our foundations - co-creation and collaboration - and on our pillars: People, Planet, Income, and Purpose.

It will be 100 days where over time we will also reapply the mindset of design thinking. New realities call for new ways of thinking and acting.

What problems do we propose to solve? What is the basis of the solutions we will generate? Why do we use the 100-day model?

All this you will have to discover with us ....

We are confident in our path. We start today, June 14 the first of 100 days that we believe, above all, will be days of much sharing, learning, and personal and professional enrichment. In a continuous process of growth. And we also believe, with the same strength, that these projects will only succeed and continue if we can continue to count on the support of each one of you. Each one of the People who have accompanied us has given us the certainty that Please Disturb Tourism Experts makes sense to continue to prove its impact on Tourism.

More than the usual weekly reflection, today we share certainties: we know who we are, what our purpose is, where we want to go and what we want to achieve and leave as a legacy.

Moving further…

THE POWER OF CO-CREATION AND TEAMWORK

photo from the Design Thinking Workshop

We continue with the theme from our last content because we experienced its power and we didn't want to stop sharing that with you. Because we want you to believe it too. 

Last week we participated in the organization of a workshop on the philosophy of Design Thinking applied to the challenge "How to make Lisbon a Creative Tourism Capital?" At the end of five mornings, a group of 12 people who did not know each other, generated 3 fantastic ideas as a response to the challenge. Only because they worked as a team, with a common goal, with a focus on the problem, and mainly in a process of co-creation and sharing of ideas. How is it possible that we still doubt the power of the collective?

When we are faced with adversities, we often react by diving into the problems, into a spiral of searching for solutions, without looking at the global, the whole forest. We focus only on the trees and on what we have to solve immediately. We don't listen to the voice of the client. We don't even think about asking for help. As if this were a sign of weakness. But this is totally out of line with today. And never has teamwork, with the active participation of all stakeholders, made so much sense. The solution for Tourism has to be global.

"The whole is greater than the sum of the parts" is an expression that can summarize some of the benefits of the co-creation process: the perceptions of different elements generate new ideas, insights, and results, generating creative and innovative solutions; there is a reduction in costs and greater flexibility in the execution of processes, with a faster response and greater knowledge, and networking translates into a competitive advantage for the company and the teams.

The principle of co-creation is based on the optimization of talent and resources available to solve various challenges. Therefore, all teams will also be more involved and committed to the solution.

But how to start implementing the co-creation process in your company and/or team?

For a medium complexity issue, start by inviting some of your stakeholders (different employees from various areas, suppliers, partners, and even customers) to search for a solution. Involve your company in a professionally mediated Design Thinking process, and above all commit to these premises:

. Detachment from preconceived ideas and implemented concepts

. An open mind to all new knowledge and absorption

. Develop the five dimensions of the human personality: openness to new experiences, conscientiousness, extroversion, amiability, and emotional stability

. Stimulate creativity, without limits

Let the ideas flow and certainly, the answers and results will come

The mindset of Design Thinking will bring many advantages in solving questions and challenges. And even if you don't immediately understand all the steps, or how to apply the tools immediately, it will be an excellent starting point to start provoking a positive change in your company's culture. Especially in People. It will bring a greater involvement of everyone and a sense of belonging. By participating in the construction of the solution, there will also be a greater commitment.

If in one week, 12 people who didn't know each other, created three fantastic solutions for an ambitious challenge, imagine what you can achieve with all your stakeholders towards a common goal of success. 

Embrace this challenge... New realities demand new ways of thinking and acting.

We know that we are all already focused on the long-awaited recovery of Tourism, but we want to alert you to something: the guarantee of financial sustainability of companies in the medium and long term. Do not work only for immediate profit. You may feel that you are succeeding now, but you may also be compromising your future.  

CO-CREATION IN TOURISM, A LITTLE MORE THAN SIMPLY COLLABORATING

Photo by "My Life Through A Lens" on Unsplash

In what is increasingly positive news about Tourism, we can finally start thinking about an upturn and coming back. And this gives us a new lease of life, a new motivation to start again, a hope for the future. But at the same time, it also gives us fears and insecurities, even some uncertainty about what we should do. So we remind you: you do not have to do everything yourself. On the contrary, the solution must be global. Even more than collaborating, we have to co-create. But then what is the difference?

Co-creation is a very broad concept, used in several areas and there is no certainty about its origin. This term started to have some relevance in an article published in Harvard Business Review, in the 2000s, entitled Co-Opting Customer Competence, written by C.K. Prahalad and Venkat Ramaswamy, who later wrote the book The Future of Competition: Co-Creating Unique Value With Customers. We were then starting to talk about co-creation. That is, 20 years ago. So why are we bringing this concept back to Tourism?

Because new realities require new paradigms and new ways of thinking. And in Tourism, we do not have that "new normality" that many talk about, but a reality with different premises, new demands, and even new stakeholders, or at least stakeholders with different positioning, as is the case of the tourist. The reality of Tourism as we once knew it has changed and companies have to adapt to new markets of supply and demand.

If on the supply side issues such as digital and sustainability are fundamental pillars, they are also crossed with a more demanding and more aware tourist, who wants not only to understand the impact of his stay but also to understand how he can collaborate with the communities that host him. And it is in this alignment of demand with supply that co-creation has a role to play:

Co-creation in customer understanding | Empathy

In an internal creation process, a company's professionals try to better understand what the consumer is looking for and to tailor their offer, optimising the results. In co-creation, however, external agents also participate in this process. In other words, we work on Empathy in understanding the real needs of customers. We create solutions that optimise the company's resources, guaranteeing better results and greater market satisfaction.

Talk to your clients. Try to understand how this last year has affected them. Doing a survey by questionnaires, or even interviews will give you a greater perception of reality. Involve all stakeholders in your takeover, in a collaborative co-creation.

Co-creation in offer innovation | Creativity

More than creating or taking back offers that are important for the company, you should listen to your customers, the market and be aware of your competitors. How has everything changed and how am I going to position my brand, company or offer in the face of a new reality. And in this offer, we include the performance of the teams, because the success of the service we deliver depends on them. How do your employees return? How do they feel? How do they feel about the company? Do they understand the present and the future?

Involve your employees in the take-back process. Let them share their ideas. Promote collaborative creation actions where everyone can be involved in the solutions. Sense of belonging.

Co-creation on community impact | Regeneration

Not contemplating sustainability in the recovery will not be an option. And more than sustainability, we will have to consider the impact we will have on the communities where we operate. This will be a concern for those who visit us and should also be yours, as a tourism agent. Involve "your neighbors" in the growth of your business. Share experiences and contribute to the distribution of wealth and the recovery of society as a whole. In a fairway. If you work together, everyone will win.

Assess the market around you and try to understand with whom you can create partnerships, with whom you can develop authentic experiences, how you can contribute to the local economy.

There is, however, a common denominator to all these forms of co-creation, People. PEOPLE must be part of the solution and not the problem, in a collaborative and creative process of sharing, embedded in a positive business culture that encourages participation and involvement of all.

This is how we invite you, before opening your doors, before returning to your workplace, to stop and think for a moment. Who is my customer? What are their real needs? How can I create a differentiating and authentic positioning that guarantees me success?

As you don't have to do everything yourself, we're here to help too...

TODAY I AM BLOCKED, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO CONTINUE... CREATIVITY IS NEEDED!

Photo by Ashley Batz on Unsplash

I have some facility in writing because I enjoy it and usually even always know what I'm going to talk about. Today I have written and deleted the title a dozen times and I simply don't know how to continue. I stop, and I think this is the feeling that countless companies and teams in Tourism must also feel at this moment. We have a glimmer of hope with the opening of some flights, but now that we have to react, we don't even know-how. The solution... move on. Even if it doesn't come out perfect right away.

After almost 6 months stopped, here comes a new beginning. Full of uncertainties, insecurities, and still with many unanswered questions. How can we take advantage of this opportunity and start again what we have been looking forward to so much?

There is no right answer to this question. For we also don't believe in the phrase that we often hear "we are all in the same boat". We are not all in the same boat. Yes, we are all in the same sea, still with stormy days. But some are with speedboats, others with ships, and others in small rubber rowing boats. We don't have the right navigation chart, but we do have one certainty: for all of us to stay afloat, the solution has to be joint.

Nor do we believe that we will enter a new normal. The world as we knew it has changed and none of us is exactly the same person we were a year ago. But we don't talk about a new normal. We are talking about new demands, new paradigms, and even new realities and challenges that we will have to learn to deal with. And for new realities, we will have to look for new ways of thinking, new leadership, and even greater investment in People.

The solution is not linear, and the answer may even have some complexity, but there are 6 Paradigms about which we have complete certainty, and on which any tourism company must build:

1. PEOPLE

People must be at the center of all decisions. They will be the main foundation for the success of any business. Respect. Sense of belonging. Involvement. People as part of the solution. Training and continuous learning. A genuine concern for teams, in a positive corporate culture, of sharing and co-creation.

2. PLANET

More than sustainability, regeneration. A Regenerative Creative Tourism in full communion with the communities where it is inserted. A circular connection and sharing on an environmental, socio-cultural, and economic level. Respect for all these dimensions, with Tourism as an integrating industry with other industries, in a common benefit.

3. PROFITS

The companies are in a fragile situation and urgently need to start being profitable. But they won't be able to do it alone. Creative solutions together, contributing to the development of local businesses. Circular Economy. Sustainable Capitalism with an equitable distribution of wealth.

4. PURPOSE

Companies do not need to reinvent themselves. They need to go back to their essence, to the true reason for their existence. More than creating products and offerings, we need to seek our authenticity and share it creatively with all generations. More than selling, we have to generate and nurture lasting emotional relationships with those who visit us. Because we are unique and that hasn't changed.

5. PLANNING

Anticipate different scenarios, build solutions based on different possibilities for the future. It is a fact that we almost need a crystal ball, but having a strategy, even if it is not the ideal one, is better than not having one at all. Not knowing where we are going and what we want to achieve is not a solution. OKRs and KPIs have to be constant.

6. POSITIVITY

To believe that it is still possible, that it is worthwhile to continue in an industry that builds Happiness. That we all miss so much to see at its best. We don't want to reach the 2019 numbers, not in their profitability, but in the consequences and through the path we were following without realizing the sacrifices we are subjecting ourselves to. We don't need to do more, we need to do better. And today, with resilience, believing in a better future.

I'm still not sure if this is what I wanted to write about, but it stays anyway. In a world of uncertainty, (MU)VUCA or BANI, as you prefer, it is hard to be sure of all the steps to take. But the important thing is to move forward, believing in our individual value and mainly in the value of the collective.

Let’s go…

WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT CREATIVE TOURISM AGAIN?

Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash

The concept of Creative Tourism is already 21 years old. It was first defined by Crispin Raymond and Greg Richards: "Tourism that offers visitors the opportunity to develop their creative potential through active participation in courses and learning experiences that are characteristic of the vacation destination to which they are taken". Nothing new... But an approach that may be a bit overlooked, and that deserves to be effectively recovered, within a Regenerative Tourism.

In what will be a strong competition between destinations to attract tourists to their country, two factors stand out: their authenticity and the People who welcome them. Everything else is just a matter of personal preference. Portugal is very strong in both pillars and therefore it is fundamental that in its recovery strategy it considers an approach based on creativity, regeneration, and People.

Tourists are no longer looking just to "visit". They want to experience, to feel, and live a little of the authenticity of the country, of the region they are visiting. Because that cannot be copied. You can only experience being Portuguese in Portugal. And here the opportunities are countless. And the advantages for all tourism stakeholders as well. Including the communities where they are inserted. That is why we cannot dissociate the term Creative Tourism from Regenerative Tourism. Both complement each other and their power in creating better Tourism is enormous.

Regenerative Creative Tourism will allow:

• local activities and industries get valued and get going again. Traditions are not lost.

• culture and history recreate themselves and attract younger generations. Multigenerational.

• the immersive experiences stay in the memory and there will be an urge to want to do more. Loyalty.

• these experiences are available without time limits. Combat seasonality.

• the communities have an interactive role with tourism. Co-creation.

• sustainability in the preservation of spaces and environments by their reuse. Regeneration.

We could continue with a much more extensive list, but more than that, we want to bring back to life Creative Tourism, which already has several projects in Portugal, but all a bit scattered. We want to be a country alive in the arts, in traditions, in gastronomy, in knowledge and customs. And we know that Tourism has the power to keep all this alive and contagious to the world. But we need to unite. We need to co-create together. In different dimensions.

The current challenges are enormous and hence our concern for the future of Regenerative Creative Tourism. If on the one hand, we believe that this has to be the path, we are also aware of the current situation of companies, of small businesses that bleed and try to survive at such a cost. That's why we remind you again and insist: the solution has to be global. It has to be from everyone to everyone. Without exception.

Regeneration and creativity have to enter the mindset of our entrepreneurs and managers. Only in this way will they be able to guarantee success in the future. Sustainability is the new digital. None of this is hypothetical or empirical. It is very real. There is a global need to embrace sustainability, community integration, and respect for People in the way we create Tourism.

We understand that more "comfortable" concepts like pricing, profit, and profitability may still be the focus. But these will always be short-term solutions, unsustainable and fragile. We have to bet on differentiation and authentic positioning, both supported by conscious decisions. Always in a creative perspective, of regeneration and co-creation. There is no other way...

LET'S TALK ABOUT HAPPINESS AT WORK? BUT REALLY SERIOUSLY...

Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash

May always starts with Labor Day, but year after year, little changes. The same demonstrations, the same cries of struggle that are no longer heard anywhere, we almost risk saying that they are already words without any impact. And why? Because we are simply not attentive to the changes, we resist learning and evolving with mistakes. So why don't we celebrate Labor Day by talking about Happiness at Work?

Because the concept of Happiness at Work for many companies is still a new-age trend of some ideological types, because it simply doesn't exist, it's a utopia. Because we have more to think about, namely how to make money. And in an even less careful language, that's what we still hear, even in Tourism.

But we don't intend to be revolutionary with this text, because it is not a revolution. We know, of course, that wages and working conditions are important and that there is still a lot to be done on these points. But we also know that there is much more besides. We just want to state what is already a reality, to which many are still blindfolded. Feeling good in the workplace is a right that we all have, without exception. No differences.

And this feeling of well-being is really what matters. Nothing more.

Happiness at work is not about putting a foosball table in the break room or painting the walls of the cafeteria with motivational phrases.

Happiness at work is not about laughing all the time and being stupidly happy. There is no such thing as eternal and continuous happiness. This is a utopia, that we should always be happy.

But we're not going to talk here now about concepts of Happiness either.

What we just want to raise awareness is that all employees are People. Unique human beings, each with their own characteristics. It is this diversity that makes the richness of a team, the culture of a company. That's why our alert is for Leadership to be focused on People and not only on results. So that Leadership effectively puts people at the center of all decisions. That companies have a genuine concern for their workers, like Mothers (taking advantage that we also celebrate their day today)

Well-being at work includes

Feeling involved in the work we do and knowing how much it contributes and is important for the evolution of the company.

Having a sense of belonging. To a group, a team, a tribe with which we identify with its purpose, its values, and what they believe in.

To be part of the solution and not just a number, which becomes a problem on an excel management chart.

To be respected for who we are, for our strengths, and for our contribution.

To be heard, to be understood. Sometimes we even have the solution you are looking for.

To simply be part of a project, not disposable parts. To be valued and rewarded for our talents.

There is much more than a monetary salary (which we repeat again, must also be fair and worthy). There is a whole emotional salary that sustains us and to which companies in Tourism have to start giving real importance. It doesn't come on the payslip, but it can make all the difference in the well-being of each employee. This emotional salary is about EMPATHY towards our employees and understanding their needs and motivations.

It is related to a positive corporate culture where we promote the individual growth of each employee, personally and professionally. Continuous training plans. Career progression plans, with adequate compensation.

Emotional salary encompasses flexibility in work, in schedules, in rest periods. Building a healthy balance between personal and professional life. Always in total harmony between the interests of the employees and the company. Many times, small changes, almost insignificant for the company, can have a huge impact on a person's quality of life.

The list is almost endless, all sustained by a positive, genuine, honest, and transparent corporate culture. Without this culture, no matter how good the strategy, it simply won't work. The success and profitability of any tourism company lie in the performance, motivation, and delivery of its people. And the funny thing is that all this "utopia" of Happiness and well-being at work actually generates better financial results. Curious, isn't it?

FREEDOM TO CREATE

Photo by Karim MANJRA on Unsplash

Yesterday was Freedom Day in Portugal. A day for which we should all be grateful, otherwise today we wouldn't even be able to be here writing about Freedom. When we put free thought into creativity, often the impossible simply happens. Because we are free from judgments because we create without limit. This is the kind of co-creation that Tourism needs now...

In his book "Creative Confidence", Tom Kelley, who believes that we all have a creative side, recalls an episode of a child who goes to the playground for the first time and wants to go down the slide. Initially, there is that discomfort, that fear of the unknown. What's going to happen. Could I get hurt? But once that fear has passed, and when you finally decide to go ahead, the sensation at the end is one of ecstasy, of contagious joy and satisfaction. And it comes back to repeat, over and over again, without fear.

The same happens today with all of us who work in Tourism. The slide symbolizes the uncertainty and unpredictability in which we live. The stairs to reach the top, the resilience and courage we need to move forward. And then comes the surprise of the descent, which we don't know what it will bring us. But it may be the same ecstatic joy as the children.  The one we need to feel again when we reach our goals when we accomplish something and excel. When we vibrate with Tourism.

This is where our won Freedom comes in.

Freedom to decide which direction to take. What decisions must be taken now to guarantee the future? Not only ours but that of future generations. What legacy do we want to leave?

Freedom to think differently. There will be no new normal. Reality is in the now and it must be in the now that we must be bold and disruptive in a new way of looking at tourism. Reality demands a greater awareness of the decisions that have to be taken.

Freedom to take risks. Always in the greatest crises, the greatest opportunities also arise. A halt that forces us to review the way we were working and the high cost we were paying, without really knowing why. We don't need to do more; we need to do it differently.

Freedom to listen. Active listening to understand what the market and consumers are telling us. What are their real needs today? What are they looking for? Tourism companies will have to stop creating products that they think are good for the company. They will have to generate offers that satisfy the needs of those who consume them. A more demanding Tourist, more conscious in their decision making. 

Freedom to co-create. The solution does not have to be isolated. On the contrary, it needs to be global with everyone's collaboration, in systemic and circular planning. Tourism can be the engine of other industries, just as it can receive the energy it needs from them.

Freedom to respect. Society, culture, the environment. People for People. With a holistic balance between supply and demand. In preservation and regeneration of all the elements of Tourism. In a circularity that encompasses an equitable distribution to all stakeholders without exception.

Freedom for creativity. We do not need to reinvent ourselves. We only need to return to our essence and find a creative way of sharing it with everyone. To be connected by values rather than prices. Authenticity. Singularity.

Freedom to take risks. Going down the slide may seem daunting at first, but if we don't try, we can never enjoy the sensation of the experience, nor the final contentment. We are left exactly where we are, looking at what could have been.

In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson "do the thing you fear, and the death of fear is certain". This is the time to believe in ourselves and be creative in a new Tourism, for new Tourists. Not by doing more, but by doing it better... #buildbackbetter

WE ARE NOW BEGINNING TO MARK OUR FOOTPRINT...

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It's still not very usual, when we think about the leadership of a company or brand, to think about the legacy we intend to leave. But that was exactly the question we took into our breakout period, a year after we started Please Disturb. What impact did we want to start having right away, and what legacy do we want to leave? And the answer was immediate: REGENERATIVE TOURISM. We can't wait any longer, it has to be NOW.

Our purpose is to educate to bring about a change towards Creative and Regenerative Tourism. And although all our actions were always with this purpose in mind, we felt that the intensity was not being enough. We realized that the urgency of the moment demands from us an even greater dedication and the construction of what we have always defended: a joint effort and a global solution. It was then, during these days when we just let our imagination flow, that we took some decisions. We stopped, analyzed, and reflected. We did that process that we so often ask companies to have the coolness and courage to do.

We started by letting go of everything that was taking us away from our purpose. We eliminated all the processes that once made sense, but now only limit us. We reviewed all work methodologies and looked for ways to optimize resources and reduce costs.

As we felt lighter, we could then have the clarity to realize what made sense to keep or recreate. Always articulating our 3 pillars - strategy, people, and sustainability - we defined our path, getting closer to our essence: co-create with creativity and regenerate.

STRATEGY WITH CREATIVITY | DESIGN THINKING

We are 100% committed to a philosophy of constant innovation through empathy processes. Of working in an ecosystem rather than an ego-system. We absorb from the outside, to co-create and then pass back to the outside. Nothing makes more sense to us than to follow the DESIGN THINKING process and absorb its entire philosophy. It has already entered our DNA, and it is here to stay. We want to be carriers of this philosophy and share all the advantages it can bring to all leaders (not forgetting that we consider that everyone can be a leader).

PEOPLE IN CO-CREATION | LEADERS WITH PURPOSE

Never has leadership efficiency been so necessary as it is today. There is no longer any room for traditional management, with heavy hierarchies and cultures closed in on themselves. WE ARE ALL LEADERS. WE ALL HAVE A PURPOSE. And only with the alignment between both will companies achieve their positioning and differentiation in the market. A healthy corporate culture is needed, with involvement and a sense of belonging from each of its employees. PEOPLE must be part of the solution, not a problem. The happiness and well-being of teams must be analyzed. The GNH (Gross Internal Happiness) has to be part of the maps of all manager leaders.

GENUINE SUSTAINABILITY | REGENERATIVE TOURISM

Sustainability is the new digital. It can no longer be considered a trend or something optional, it has to be part of all decisions, in all its amplitude: socio-cultural, economic, and environmental. Conscious decisions. The management of the global impact has to start locally and therefore more than sustainability, we advocate regeneration. Integration of all forms of tourism into local communities. A GOOD PLACE TO VISIT MUST FIRST BE A GOOD PLACE TO LIVE. Circular Economy. Conscious Capitalism. We no longer believe in any other way.

And in infinite and circular energy, we will integrate these six components in the development of two projects:

Making THOR ACADEMY accessible for everyone.

Creating a community of ELEPHANT FOOTPRINTS for Regenerative Tourism.

We couldn't be surer of our path, nor happier with what we are developing. We hope you will join us on this side. The challenge will be huge, but the path will certainly pay off...

HAVE YOU ALREADY DESIGNED THE MARKETING PLAN FOR YOUR INTERNAL CUSTOMER?

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As we approach an upturn in tourism, it is normal that companies begin to implement more dynamic marketing and communication plans to attract customers and position themselves in the market. But what about your internal customer? Have you defined the plan for attraction, retention, and satisfaction in the different stages of the Customer Journey?

Customer Journey is a concept that is already being addressed in companies when defining their strategy and objectives. But there is another journey that companies should give as much or more importance to, the employee journey, which is directly related to the Employee Experience. The current moment will have had a different impact on each of their employees, so it is urgent to understand how the teams are doing, and how we should act in their return, in integration in a new reality and in their performances.

The Employee Experience is the sum of all the perceptions and feelings that professionals experience in their different interactions with the company. In reality, it is the result of a complete journey of the employees in the companies, and that goes through the following phases:

Selection process;

• Hiring;

• Onboarding (integration process);

• Training and development;

• Growth (promotions and career advancement);

• Outplacement (dismissal and outplacement process).

In each of these phases, based on an IBM study, the experience for the employee should include five criteria:

1. Sense of Belonging: feeling an integral part of a team and especially of an organizational culture with which one identifies in its values and beliefs.

2. Clear definition of objectives: understanding the dimension and importance of the performance of their functions, as well as the impact of their performance on the company's development.

3. Accomplishment: is the feeling of accomplishment at work, of duty fulfilled, by completing activities, and having a good performance.

4. Happiness and Well-Being: is the level of satisfaction and pleasure at work, consisting of emotional interaction with the organization. A sense of trust, of support and sharing. Of knowing that even on less positive days, the company will be our support.

5. Motivation: is the energy and willingness of the employee to offer his best for the business objectives, in addition to resilience in the face of difficulties.

But how do we implement a good EX?

. Measure the temperature of your teams: listen and get to know your employees. Try to understand their emotional state, their professional and personal aspirations, ... How do they feel about the company?

. Design and identify all the processes of the employee journey. Analyze each of the phases and try to understand how you can improve the experience and the whole workflow.

. Develop a positive, sharing company culture with accessible, two-way communication channels. Ensure that the company has clear, honest, and effective communication where everyone can contribute and give feedback.

. Prepare the leaders. Team leadership has huge challenges today. Make sure your leaders have all the necessary tools for effective leadership and the motivation needed to lead teams in these more challenging times.

. Create an EX (employee experience) program, with an incentive system, with growth opportunities, empowerment, constant innovation, ... Measure the results of all actions.

. EMOTIONAL WAGE: Go a little further than a monetary wage. Understand how you can compensate your employees with shares, salary supplements, and other ways to ensure greater satisfaction and well-being.

The key to Employee Experience is to treat your employees as if they were your best customer and invest in them to provide the best positive experiences. Have you already started designing your internal strategy?

HAPPINESS IS NOT FOR THE INERT

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Aristotle already said so. On March 20th we celebrated the World Happiness Day and Portugal climbed two positions in the ranking of the happiest countries in the world. We now occupy the 58th position. And how is the happiness index of tourism workers at this moment?

The analysis of the Happiness Index, prepared by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, considered a new factor that influenced this year's result: the pandemic of the new coronavirus. Covid-19 directly affected the general perception of happiness. None of us could remain indifferent to this past year. Everything has changed, an entire reality that we once knew as normal has altered. And the world of Tourism is no exception, both in demand and supply. With a forced stoppage with high damage in companies, it is necessary to review forms of management and leadership. We now realize that much of what we were doing, was wrong. That the price we were paying for the pre-pandemic results, was too high.

But it is in these crises that the best opportunities also arise. Provided we have an open mindset to recognize and embrace them. And one of the biggest changes is the role of People in the organization of companies. This economic fragility that we are experiencing cannot be overcome with the same means that we used before. Even because the tourist is not the same anymore. New mentalities, new leaderships, new business models need to be implemented for sustainable development in Tourism.

People have to become the center of decisions. Their well-being in the workplace has to be on the management charts, like any other performance indicator. All leaders face enormous challenges in maintaining a balance between the financial health of the company and the health of their teams. This balance can only be achieved if companies humanize themselves.

Companies led by a Purpose, rather than managed by profit.

Sustainability is the new digital. Every decision has an impact. A global impact.

Conscious capitalism. Circular Economy. Doughnut economy. Everything is related.

New value propositions have to be built. Not based on supply but underpinned by consumer needs. Moving from Eco-system to Ego-system.

Facing a complex reality (VUCA, MUVUCA or BANI, as you wish to adopt), anti-fragile business models have to be built, that can benefit from instability and disorder. Tourism doesn't just need to be resilient; it needs to regenerate and evolve quickly. Constantly.

Happiness at work has to stop being a utopia. It is a right, in a commitment between company and employees and employees and company.

Regenerative Tourism. Our premise. We cannot continue to build a Tourism that is imposed. At this moment, each of the Tourism agents has the responsibility to leave the place better than they found it. Tourism must have the capacity to regenerate.

On March 20, spring also began, a season of blossoming. With new hopes, with new breath, with positive energy to keep us going. May this date also mark a new blooming of Tourism. We don't need to do more, just do it better.

GIH MUST BE A TOURISM ANALYSIS DATA

GIH stands for Gross Internal Happiness and is an economic indicator that we aim to have in the analysis maps of the leaders and managers of Tourism companies. This indicator will evaluate the company's corporate culture, measuring the well-being of all its employees. And although it is a set phrase, it is a reality: happy employees achieve better performances. But more than talking about performance, we advocate that feeling good in your workplace is a right, not a privilege.

March 20 is now celebrated every year as the International Day of Happiness, declared since 2012 by the United Nations. In the same year, on April 2, the UN implemented Resolution 65/309, adopted unanimously by the General Assembly in July 2011, thus placing Happiness as a holistic approach to Development. What is missing? Bringing this same approach to Tourism companies.

In a brief explanation the GNH is supported by four pillars:

• sustainability and equity in socio-economic development

• environmental conservation

• cultural promotion and preservation

• good governance/leadership.

From this base, it is subdivided into nine domains, which in turn are subdivided into other categories:

1. Psychological well-being

2. Health

3. Time use

4. Community vitality

5. Education

6. Culture

7. Environment

8. Governance

9. Standard of living

All carefully measured and analyzed, to then work, step by step, on the company's main challenges, with a view to implementing a positive culture of well-being. And the results will come accordingly.

Tourism needs to be part of this Economy of Happiness because people have to be at the center of all decisions since the future is in their hands. The goal has been set: let's make our way and one year from now, when we celebrate the International Day of Happiness again, it will be with success stories!

A CORPORATE CULTURE OF WELL-BEING MUST EXIST EVEN AT A DISTANCE

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The construct of a happiness culture at work has not yet managed to gain its prominence in the reality of the Tourism industry. And we fear that this situation will become even worse, given the current circumstances where we have companies with only the survival instinct active. But managing for profit, with low costs and low salaries, is not the way... and there is an agent of change that will make companies change: the CUSTOMER.

Although we are living the reality of a VUCA world, on the other side of the equation we have a new visitor, a new Tourist that is already asking for a change. And one of those changes is humanized companies, with genuine concern for all their stakeholders and their impact on the community. And where does this humanization of companies have to start? Inside, in their most valuable resource: PEOPLE.

Aware of the current challenges, with fragile teams, in an industry that yearns to start over, it is fundamental, even from a distance, to work in a healthy corporate culture. Where employees can trust their leaders, can believe in the future. The success of the return to active work will depend on how strong the teams and their leaders are, more than low prices or special offers, only focused on a possible short-term profit.

In a labor market that will be even more competitive and in a multigenerational organizational environment - baby boomers, X, millennials, and Z, with diverse demands, it becomes increasingly urgent to promote the development of a Culture of Corporate Happiness. This culture will have to attract, engage and retain the best professionals who are looking for more than a career. They are looking for experiences to be had within the organization.

Where to start? By understanding how a healthy culture is (re)built and what components make up that culture. More than skills and abilities, the level of satisfaction and well-being of employees are also important performance indicators in organizations. Therefore, we suggest the applicability of the PERMA MODEL, created by Martin Seligman, one of the founders of positive psychology.

In the PERMA model, Seligman relates subjective well-being to the presence of more Positive Emotions than negative emotions on a daily basis, to the practice of activities that promote Engagement (Flow), to the existence of Nurturing Relationships, to the presence of a Purpose (Meaning) that goes beyond the person him/herself, and, finally, to Accomplishments.

How to measure and work these 5 points, especially if we have a team at a distance?

Positive Emotion

It does not mean always laughing, or always happy. There is no such thing. It means feeling good. We manage to generate the negative emotions that also have to exist and have a more positive outlook.

How do your teams feel? Try to understand through frank dialogs how they are coping with the current situation and the state they are in emotionally.

Engagement

People have to be part of the solution, not feel like a problem. When we get involved in our work, feel useful, and occupy our time in a rewarding way, we can even enter a state of flow. It is this state that even makes us lose in time, excited.

Invite your teams to participate in building solutions for the future and reopening. Develop projects with collaborative methodologies such as the Business Model Canvas, where there is a great team dynamic and a sense of belonging.

Relationship | Nurturing Relationships

The human being is a social being, and that is why this state of confinement is so hard for us to bear. By feeling that in our workplace we belong to a group, as if we were a tribe, we feel we have a safety net.

Promote informal meetings and even a virtual café with your teams? Leave the space and freedom to talk about things other than work. Also be careful to leave some moments for one-on-one conversations, so that there can be some sharing.

Meaning | Purpose

A life without meaning, without significance, ends up becoming a rather empty life. The same happens with business and the reason we work. We achieve our best when we dedicate, serve, and belong to something greater than ourselves.

If you haven't yet defined your company's purpose - because they all have one - you can't let this opportunity pass you by. If the founders no longer exist, do some group work with different employees from different generations to understand the company's reason for existence.

Accomplishment

Having explicit goals that challenge us and developing our abilities to achieve them, , are important for well-being and happiness. Accomplishment helps build self-esteem and provides a sense of fulfillment.

Set SMART goals for your teams and individually. Again, it will be a good opportunity to build the future of the company together.

Feeling good in your workplace is a right, not a privilege. It is up to leaders to take care of that well-being and to create and develop a positive company culture.

DISNEY'S CHAIN OF EXCELLENCE IN TOURISM

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Disney is a brand that nurtures dreams. Just like traveling.

But to feed all dreams, Disney is based on a chain of excellence that we can transpose to Tourism. Quality service means paying attention to details and exceeding customer expectations, whether external or internal. People are at the center of decisions. Disney's excellence starts with excellence in leadership... as it should be in Tourism.

The management model established by Disney is based on four pillars:

1. Excellence in Leadership

At Disney, they believe that each leader has the opportunity to serve as an example for future generations. The way they lead tells the story about their values and creates a legacy of leadership. Some of the values these leaders uphold focus on integrity, honesty, diversity, courage, respect, transparency and a good work-life balance.

2. Cast Excellence

The employees at Disney are referred to as the cast, just like in the movies. The teams are the protagonists, and it is on them that the success of the brand depends. That is why they are treated exactly the same as the customers, with full attention to detail. The company invests in their training so that each employee has the autonomy to perform at their best, with empowerment. Each employee knows exactly the importance of his or her role in the unfolding of the story. The company culture is very strong.

3. Guest Satisfaction

Disney doesn't have customers, it has guests. There is a focus on an emotional connection with the brand. People need to feel perfection, in meticulous attention to detail. In unique customization, resulting from a constant restlessness. This restlessness makes the company get out of its comfort zone and generate unique value propositions. It turns its clients into followers and makes them fall in love with the brand. There is a critical eye to exceed the needs of its guests. And the corporate culture spills over to the outside.

4.Results/repetition - loyalty

For there to be a constant evolution, everything is measured, tested, qualified, and if necessary revised. Disney seeks to maintain consistency in excellence and as such uses different external and internal indicators to measure satisfaction levels. Excellence is directly associated with the ability to set a benchmark for execution or production/delivery. For consistency to be achieved, it is necessary that the established standard is non-negotiable.

We often hear "the fantastic world of Disney, where anything can happen". And we believe that exactly the same can happen in Tourism, whatever your role.

We, therefore, invite you to do an exercise: replace the name Disney with the name of your company and be duly prepared to make the magic happen. And we remind you that this magic only happens with People at the center of all decisions.

HAVE YOU MEASURED THE TEMPERATURE OF YOUR TEAMS TODAY?

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And we are not talking about thermometers or health conditions... we are talking about EMPATHIC LEADERSHIP. Of a genuine concern of companies for their employees. We are all eager to get back to work in Tourism... but do you know what the state of your company is? How are your teams really doing? Ready for the challenges?

Unfortunately, perhaps the answer from most companies and team "leaders" is: I have no idea... which is unfortunate. But we can still implement a change. And this is where EMPATHY will have even greater strength in effective and positive leadership.

A formal definition of Empathy is the ability to identify and understand the situation, feelings, and motives of others. It is our ability to recognize the concerns that other people have. Empathy means, "putting yourself in the other person's shoes" or "seeing things through another person's eyes."

Given such a simple definition, why does it become so difficult to practice? Physical distance does not mean social distance. And one of the greatest advantages of technologies is that they allow us to be connected. And in the uncertain and unstable times we live in, being empathic leaders should be our duty to our teams, to our colleagues, to the company, and even to ourselves. Fear, frustration, irritability, insecurity, are some of the feelings that trouble us. We need someone to tell us that everything is going to be alright. That Tourism will come back and that step by step we will recover one of the most important industries of the national economy. And no illusions: leaders will be judged by how they reacted during this historic moment. And the future of a company lies in the quality of its leaders and in its culture.

Leading with empathy is not an innate ability. Even if you have a high emotional intelligence quotient, you may need some guidance on how to get started.

Here are some tips that we suggest you start practicing right away:

1. Practice active listening. Take a personal interest in people. Show people that you care and that you are genuinely curious about their lives. Ask them questions about their hobbies, their challenges, their families, their aspirations.

You can even use the Empathy Map, as a tool to genuinely get to know those on your side.

2. Be present 100%. Pay your full attention at the moment. Be accessible by different means and make sure your teams know how to reach you.

3. Sense of belonging and involvement. Employees need to be part of the solution, not a problem. Keep them updated on the status of the company and try to understand how everyone can help in its recovery and reopening. Listen to their ideas and suggestions. Develop open and honest sharing spaces.

4. Don't just talk about work. Try to maintain some office, team routines, even from a distance. If you used to have coffee together after lunch, keep that coffee virtual, or at the end of the day. Cultivate a positive and healthy company culture, with a two-way line of communication.

5. Adopt innovative solutions. To be an empathetic leader, you need to have different attitudes than other leaders usually have. Be creative and foster creativity.

6. Admit your weaknesses, learn to deal with your emotions, and ask for help when necessary. Leaders are human. And a request for help is not a sign of weakness, but of intelligence, of being part of a team that complements each other.

Uncertain times require unparalleled leaders. Show your humanity with true empathetic leadership. Empathy will not only motivate your team through the current moment but also help you deal with your own conflicting feelings and get everyone ready for the future and the return of Tourism.

SELF-KNOWLEDGE... AN IMPERATIVE CONDITION FOR GOOD LEADERSHIP

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The first major theory about self-knowledge suggested in 1972 when researchers Shelley Duval and Robert Wicklund stated that "self-knowledge is the ability to look inward, think deeply about your behavior, and consider how it aligns with your moral standards and values." Later, as early as the 1980s, psychologist Daniel Goleman, associated self-knowledge as one of the most important elements of emotional intelligence. But how is all this connected with leadership?

Before we have the ability to lead and inspire a team, our colleagues, or just the people next to us, we have to know ourselves. We must have the ability to see ourselves clearly, recognizing our strengths, our vulnerabilities, and especially our emotions. Only by being fully aware of ourselves can we effectively inspire and lead others to be leaders as well.

By being able to have a critical capacity about ourselves, we will have a high emotional maturity that will allow us to maintain coherence, values, and the discernment to act, even in adverse situations.

Self-knowledge allows us to be authentic and to promote leadership based on a purpose and with People as the center of decisions. It facilitates Empathy and Communication, and above all, develops genuine relationships with those around you. Not only will you have the ability to motivate yourself, but you will also be a source of motivation for your teams.

And right now, Tourism really needs good leaders!

So how can I introduce to myself? How can I truly know myself?

The first step is to really want to accept yourself as you are. By recognizing your true personality, you will be able to deal daily with self-control over emotions, weaknesses, and your greatest potentials. This control will allow you to better lead teams and consequently better results and better performance.

By accepting to take this path, we leave you some tips on how you can develop the process:

1. Know your strengths and your weaknesses. Learn to accept and deal with your weaknesses and to enhance the skills and abilities where you are stronger. Ask for help to complement your weaknesses and surround yourself with people who complement you.

2. Reflect on your emotions, what your triggers are, and how you can control and adjust your behavior in situations. By doing this exercise and being fully aware of your feelings at the moment, you will achieve greater serenity and discernment in your decisions and a greater focus and effectiveness in your actions.

3. Get out of your comfort zone and learn not to make self-judgments. Accept yourself as you are. Your authenticity will be your greatest value.

4. Try to understand how others perceive and identify you. Does it meet the values you want to convey? If not, ask for feedback. Listen actively and constructively to how you are perceived by your peers, your team, by all those who deal with you in different circumstances.

5. Be balanced and accept that there are also not so good days. Learn to work on your resilience and accept that you will not always have the ability to control all factors and that not everything will go as planned.

6. Develop your own self-esteem. Learn from your mistakes and failures and celebrate your achievements and victories. Share. Don't isolate yourself. A leader is always focused on People, being by their side all along the way.

We live in troubled times in Tourism, where we even easily question our own abilities. Work on yourself. Strengthen your qualities and strengths and look for solutions to complement your weaknesses. More than ever, we will have to work on our inner strength and resilience.

Tourism, though late in coming... will return. And it will need leaders who can bring about positive change, for new times.

EFFICIENT LEADERSHIP STARTS WITH ACTIVE LISTENING, ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS AND EMPATHY

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In the vast majority of companies in the tourism sector, teams are either layoff or working from home, something that is not at all common... If leading was already a challenge, these conditions further increase the need to approach the teams and the development of human skills that allow developing an efficient leadership, maintaining the motivation and safety of employees.

If self-motivation and resilience are now, even more, demands of any leader or entrepreneur, when we additionally have to motivate teams and maintain a union and serenity at a distance, to practice active listening is fundamental. Ask questions... Ask the right questions and involve all stakeholders in building the answers. Questions should be asked in a broader sense of how:

What new opportunities have arisen that we do not want to miss?

How can we use new technologies to change our business model?

How can I adapt my company and way of working to new demand trends?

Asking the questions and seeking help in the answer does not show any weakness in your leadership. On the contrary, the search together for these answers will contribute to greater involvement of the teams in the recovery of the companies and the return of Tourism. There will be a sense of belonging that at the same time will be able to develop greater confidence in the future.

But given the current challenges, listening has to be even deeper and more genuine. Each employee will react differently to this new constraint. Anxiety, uncertainty, discomfort, and even some empathy will be emotions that will easily develop. It's up to the leader, to take care of his team. And that also includes generating EMPATHY. Develop bilateral communication channels, where employees feel comfortable sharing their fears. Ask questions, try to understand how you can contribute positively. Even at a distance, you can schedule a "virtual cafe" to try to understand how each individual feels and the state of mind of your teams. In this way, you will be able to take the necessary measures, so that in your longed-for return, you won't have disconnected and weakened teams, but united and strong.

Invest in training. Not only in hard skills, but also in soft skills. Promote self-knowledge and encourage individual learning. Growth.

Create projects that not only contribute to the strengthening of the company but also to maintain unity and teamwork. Involvement.

Promote a positive business culture of partnership and sharing. Of positive construction, resilience, and collaboration. Sense of belonging.

And don't let yourself be left to your employees... try to understand how your suppliers are doing, what their current situation is. Can you contribute in some way, generating more positive and constructive relationships in the future?

Develop partnerships. The recovery will have to be global and collaborative, co-creative. Be creative and together with other brands, develop authentic and unique products and offers that already feed the dreams of those who will soon visit us again. Creativity.

Ask questions also to your customers. Find out how you would like them to receive you. Try to understand how you can maintain a relationship with the brand, even at a distance.

Tourism may be still, but it's alive... feed the dreams of all the stakeholders, because soon we will be together again.

HOW CAN WE FOSTER THE MOTIVATION OF THE TEAMS AT HOME? WITH A CULTURE OF L&D

Photo by Dmitry Ratushny on Unsplash

We will still be at home for some more time... and Tourism doesn't know how to stand still. The anxiety of the team increases, it is difficult to maintain the motivation of employees and our state of mind starts to weaken. To avoid all this, we will have to get the best out of these times, being the best time to invest in a culture of learning and development in your company.

Even if you are just the only employee... take the opportunity to invest in yourself. It will be the best investment you can make, with a guaranteed return. Take advantage of this time to learn and develop your skills, to improve your aptitudes, and develop your soft skills.

If you are a company leader, remember that organizational culture is a critical driver of transformation and business performance, even if you may find it difficult to define - or to change. If this has been the case so far, then why not take advantage of this forced stop to create, develop and implement an L&D (Learning & Development) culture that will not only help teams overcome these challenging moments, but will also create a more solid structure for the company in the future. Regardless of the size of the company.

The different innovation processes that the Tourism industry has been forced to accelerate may not be having the same perception and understanding by all employees. There is a need to (re)align values, strategies, actions, and objectives, in a common language. Involvement of teams in the reconstruction of the company. Sense of belonging of the individual who should feel secure in their job.

GATHERING FEEDBACK

Before starting any development plan. Before you start talking, practice active listening and try to genuinely understand the emotional state of your employees. This means that, besides promoting collaboration among people of the same hierarchical level, the leaders also have to be available to listen and exchange information.

ALLY THE COMPANY'S OBJECTIVES WITH PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT GOALS

A high-performance organization with a strong alignment between culture and strategy produces more financial growth and better employee involvement. If the purpose, values and beliefs, and goals are aligned, performances will be even better, as all teams will work for the common good, feel fulfilled in their workplace and this positive culture will pass on to all stakeholders, especially clients. Humanized companies.

DON'T FOCUS ONLY ON TECHNICAL SKILLS AND APTITUDES. HUMAN SKILLS ARE A PRIORITY.

Leadership. Positive communication. Empathy. Resilience. Gratitude. Any of these skills is fundamental to overcome the current challenges. Do you know the strengths of your teams? Collaborate genuinely with the growth of your employees, as human beings. We never tire of saying that companies are People and Tourism is P2P (People for People). Develop programs to strengthen the strengths of each employee. Work on your motivation for a fresh start. Security. Ethics. Respect. Transparency. Healthy business culture.

COMBINE PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT WITH INNOVATION.

Digital evolution is no longer a plan for the future, they are actions of the present. New business models. New ways of working and managing. New KPIs including for example sustainability. In less than a year, the changes are numerous and will continue. We are still not sure how tourism will recover. We have evidence of a change in the profile of the traveler and we will necessarily have to adapt to this change. Are the teams prepared to receive this new traveler? Are they aware of the changes? Do they know how to manage and deal with innovation?

 In fact, and always trying to look at a positive perspective of today's times, we have never been given this opportunity to do better and prepare ourselves to strengthen ourselves. Tourism will come back... We cannot discourage and lower our arms. Take the best management decisions for the continuity of your company and in parallel build a strong and resilient humanized business culture, which will allow your brand to stand out in the future.