We chat to Kim Mason, Personal Travel Manager at TravelManagers Australia about a decade in the industry, leadership and bringing personality to the role, IN CONJUNCTION WITH TRAVEL WEEKLY’S WOMEN IN TRAVEL AWARDS IN NOVEMBER.
I joined Flight Centre after a few years of travelling and it was only meant to be a stepping stone to becoming a travel journalist and not the end game. Fast forward 10 years and I took the leap to join TravelManagers as one of the first half dozen home-based personal travel managers. Another decade on, I am loving the industry more than ever.
I think it is important to extend yourself as it is a critical part of your own personal growth and development. If you always stay where you are, with what you know, then you can never grow. You must dare yourself to do better each day.
Working together with others is incredibly important. I believe you are only as good as the people you surround yourself with. Getting the balance right is also key. A few years ago when I was pregnant with our second child I realised that I was not maintaining a healthy work/life balance and something had to give. It was important to me to continue having a profitable business as well as raising a family. Through this experience I discovered conquering time is the key to success and this spurred me to write my first book: Tick Tock, Time Management for mobile or home office workers.
In terms of leadership, it’s not about being right all the time or knowing everything. For me, leadership is about knowing how to solve a problem or knowing where to go and who to ask to get the best resolution. The best leaders point the ship in the direction it needs to go yet allow the crew to do their best to get to the destination.
My best piece of advice is to never be afraid of being creative and bringing your personality to your role – sometimes the worn path is not always the right one to take.
Travel Weekly is proud to present the Women in Travel Awards in Sydney on 17 November, and are calling on women from any level across the industry to enter.
You don’t have to be nominated to enter, it’s open to all women at any level, and entries are FREE.
Or, if you know or work with any exceptional Women in Travel, be proactive and acknowledge excellence in their field by nominating them to enter.
Click here to Nominate Now
The 18 categories are NOW OPEN and individuals can enter in more than one category.
Winners will be announced at a gala awards ceremony on 17 November in Sydney. Earlybird tickets are on sale.
Read other Women in Travel interviews in this series:
