Female bosses in travel, leadership roles and the Me Too movement

Janine Salame, managing director Global Touring, Back-Roads Touring and Topdeck Travel, shares her thoughts ahead of International Women’s Day

What are the biggest challenges you’ve faced as a female leader?
In the early years of my career (currently going onto 20 years with Flight Centre) the challenge was breaking through the perception of who can and cannot be successful in the workplace that is not defined by the norms of what society is used to. At the age of 29 I was the only female managing director in FCTG and that in its own had its challenges.  One was being taken seriously,  and two, having a voice around the table that could cut through the noise

What advice would you give other women who are looking to get into leadership roles in the travel industry?
Have your purpose as to why you do what you do and what it means to lead and serve your people.There is no wrong or right time to take the leap. Today, tomorrow, next year, next three years – just back yourself and lean into the opportunity when it presents itself. Leadership is about continuous learning.

What advice would you give to other female leaders to help their team to thrive?
Allow flexibility, but most importantly, responsibility. Ownership and accountability are key to getting the best out of people. The lessons I’ve learnt as a leader are that you are only as good as the people around you. And you don’t have to be the smartest person in the room to drive successful teams. You need ‘people smarts’ and ‘street smarts’ more often than ‘book smarts’. Recruit the right people for the right roles so that the team can bring the right expertise to the table in order to thrive as a team.

What advice would you give to other female leaders about the best way to manage a large team?
A clear purpose as to why this team exists. A clear vision of where the team is headed. And most importantly allow people in larger teams to have the autonomy and ownership to drive key outcomes within their control. Empower them and let them run with it.

What extra qualities/skills can a woman bring to a leadership role?
EQ and self-awareness. My opinion is that sometimes we are in tune a little bit more to what’s really happening on the ground. Being more socially aware of people, behaviours and cultural limitations.

How does this advice differ from the advice you would give to your male colleagues?
What works well with male colleagues is they don’t overthink things and their risk-taking appetite can be advantageous to the overall leadership team.

In your experience, how does the travel sector compare with other sectors with regards to the number of women in leadership positions?
I think at a manager level the industry fares well with female representation. But the challenge is as you go further up to senior leadership and executive levels where this may not be the case.

Is this changing and how?
I genuinely believe more women are taking risks and putting themselves out there (even when they question themselves and whether they are ready or not for a position). As leaders we need to push people more – get them out their comfort zone and also back them up to take the leap.

What would your top tips be for women starting out in the travel sector?
Never stop learning about the industry – customer, product, people, behaviours and leadership styles.
Use your EQ (emotional quotient) as much as IQ (intelligence quotient). Be street smart too. Some textbooks don’t really teach you everything. Life experience is what teaches you the most.

What would your advice be for women returning to the sector after taking time out (perhaps to have a child or take a career break)?
Well done and get straight back into what makes you happy and that will serve your career and the people around you. A break is a great thing – your fresh pair of eyes will help transform the business.

What’s your take on the ‘Me Too’ movement? Have you or any of your female colleagues/friends (in or outside the travel sector) experienced any ‘Me Too’ situations and how did they deal with them? 
Over the past five years I’ve seen more and more people speaking up and reporting behaviours that previously people would either accept as the ‘norm’ or be too afraid to speak out as it could be ‘career limiting’. Whistleblowing is one avenue that has been used and secondly people directly standing up and speaking out against behaviour that is unacceptable to senior leadership. My advice here is take action and don’t be afraid to speak up and speak out. Leaders should be accountable to their people and part of the role of the leader is to take action when situations arise that compromise people and the businesses integrity. You are only as good as the people around you. Hire with integrity, but also don’t be afraid to let go of people that don’t fit in culturally with what’s right for your business and the people they are in charge of."