Last week my fam took our summer vacation to Washington D.C. Our kids have never been to our nation’s capital, and the timing felt important for them to learn more about our country’s whole story (because it matters, right?).
There were SO many highlights and leadership lessons, but here are five I wanted to share with you:
1️⃣ Travel expands your worldview. Eating local food. Meeting people different from you. Touring local sites. Turning off your email. Practicing flexibility with delays and different modes of transportation. All of that can transform you into a more empathetic, inclusive, and effective leader!
2️⃣ Women make history, even if they aren’t given credit. My three favorite museums were the African-American History & Culture, American Indian, and Holocaust. In each museum I was blown away by the stories of women who did so much with so little and have dramatically shaped our current reality. Many of them I’d NEVER heard of, but made meaningful contributions to build a more just, equitable, and whole society. Here is a short IG reel I shared about why it matters.
3️⃣ Learn from your past or repeat it. My fam was gifted with a private, exclusive 2+ hour tour with a Capitol Police Officer who was on duty during the January 6th Insurrection. The two policer officers who died that day were on his team. 💔 Walking through the tunnels, posing behind the press podium (pic above), and standing on the House of Representative floor where the President gives the SOTU and Congress makes decisions for the people, I was acutely aware of how our past provides perspective so that we can forge a better future, especially for those most marginalized and oppressed. Without that deliberate reflection, we are doomed to do the same things over and get the same/worse results. #insanity
4️⃣ Female metaphors PREACH! I was struck by how Mother Nature (creation), Justice, Freedom, and Wisdom are all personified as female. We need more of that in this world, and it’s a distinctively powerful contribution women can make to this world. Can I get an AMEN?!
5️⃣ Disrupt your routine for fresh vision. Your routines can limit your growth. You go on autopilot and forget to review if those routines are still serving you well. Healthy habits are critical for effective leadership, but it’s equally important to throw those out the window for a week and shake up your schedule. You’ll discover what you want to start, stop, or shift when you get back home.
I hope you got a chance to get away this summer. What benefits do you experience when you travel?