Opinion: Leader must rise above this disturbing debate

So what attributes will they be looking for in their next leader? It made me think about some of the personality traits and values that are important to me when I think about leadership.

They need to be able to inspire – through their actions and in how they lead, and through innovative and creative solutions. Who would win that debate? Hilary or “the Donald?”

They need to be trustworthy and this should be demonstrated in an open and transparent manner, with the ability to take people on a journey with them. And they need to be able to engage credibly at all levels, with every demographic, race, gender, generation and ethnicity. We operate in a global world and the ability to reach out to a wider audience is key.

I find it pretty disturbing that such a major decision on who is going to lead the US powerhouse has seen some of the most divisive, ungracious and impertinent debates ever witnessed in the world of politics.

Shouting, ridiculing, lambasting one another achieves nothing. Conducting yourself respectfully and demonstrating how you care about those who you lead will pay dividends and speak far more loudly.

What if the travel industry conducted itself in such a manner? As business leaders we can’t always agree with one another, but this creates healthy debate and competition, which is good and keeps us all on our toes. It also gives us the opportunity to develop new concepts and ideas.

What if industry leaders did not come together to champion major topics and deal with catastrophes? Examples that spring to mind are the ash crisis, major failures and regulation.

Our industry partners such as Abta – and indeed TTG – galvanise industry representatives to debate and discuss matters of wide industry relevance. This allows us all to have a voice on key matters.

Most recently, Advantage took the lead on speaking out about fraud in our industry, and together with other like-minded organisations there is now a collective approach working with fraud specialist Profit (Prevention of Fraud in Travel) on creating a watch list in an attempt to combat fraudsters taking advantage of loopholes that may currently exist.

On Tuesday November 8 the 58th quadrennial presidential election of the US will take place and the world will wake up to the news of who will be the country’s new leader. I just hope that whoever is honoured with this position genuinely possesses the qualities that makes a leader inspiring, trustworthy, engaging and caring.

Julia Lo Bue-Said is managing director at Advantage Travel Partnership