TIME - Travel Industry Mentor Experience
TIME - Travel Industry Mentor Experience
The Transformative Power of Mentorship: Beyond 90 Minutes with Arnaud Michelin
Curious about the profound impact of mentorship on career growth? Join us as Arnaud and I unpack the transformative journey that began with a 90-minute mentoring session. He shares their experience of stepping outside familiar circles to seek guidance from industry expert Neil Agar, all prompted by significant organizational shifts. Our discussion covers not only the selection process for a mentor but also highlights the importance of diverse perspectives. With a sprinkle of humor and light-hearted jabs about my own availability for advice, we explore how our community facilitates these enriching interactions, leading to impactful professional development.
Our conversation then flows into the lasting power of mentorships beyond formal sessions, shedding light on the genuine commitment of mentors who volunteer their time purely for the joy of fostering mentee growth. Discover the mutual benefits of these relationships, including the exchange of fresh generational insights. We paint a vibrant picture of how spontaneous community support and mentorship can spark personal growth, touching on personal anecdotes that include upcoming birthdays and the creation of meaningful connections. Prepare for an engaging episode full of anecdotes, humor, and insightful discussion on professional and personal development within a supportive community.
Hello and welcome back to the Time Podcast. Today we have episode three of season number five, and today is a special for you because our special guest is also my co-host. Welcome back, anu. Hey, how are you? I'm great. It's actually pretty interesting to have you on the interviewee side and not on the interviewer side.
Speaker 2:Yeah, true, are you excited? Yeah, I'm excited, yeah, because the thing is that you and I have been speaking about this topic, um, for a little while now and, um, yeah, I'm actually, you know, excited to talk about this new experience that I've had with time recently.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, that's absolutely fantastic. And for those of you listening who do not know what we talk about, as part of the time, community offers perks, whatever you want to call it. After your graduation, you still have an annual 90-minute session with some very senior industry people to help you guide along your pathway, to bounce ideas off, whatever you want to use those 90 minutes for. And in fact, arno and I have spoken about this since season three, I think, and we both kind of said, oh yeah, I do it this year, I do it this year, I do it this year and for whatever reason, we got distracted with other things, but Arno has finally managed to do it and was blown away. So maybe Anu tell us, besides us talking about it, why did you think now's the time for 90 minutes? Insights, structured insights, from a other mentor.
Speaker 2:So there was a lot of reason. Well, first of all, because I wanted you and I to be able to talk about this on the podcast, so that was that was a motivator. But I mean that aside, you know there's there had been a few changes in my organization and I thought, okay, so maybe now it's time to check in with someone just to after the change that had been implemented in my organization. I had like taken some steps in order to navigate through those changes and I was like, okay, well, because there's no one now in my company that can provide that kind of guidance. You know, the perfect opportunity is to is to seek it outside of work. And yeah, and that's mainly the main driver, I would say, for that, and that was a good experience.
Speaker 1:That's great to hear, and I just want to clarify again for those listening the 90 minutes that you have after your graduation is not necessarily with your previous mentor. It's a complete new person. So how did you approach that? Did you just throw the dices, or why did you inquire about first of all? Who did you ask for help and why did you inquire particularly about that person?
Speaker 2:So what I did is I sent an email to Marie. I've asked her to give me the list of all the mentors that were available for these type of sessions. She sent me a very comprehensive list of a lot of mentors, some of which I didn't really know, and what she's asked me to do is to do a top three of the mentors that I wanted to to catch up with, and so I don't know from her side the way she proceeds once she's received. She received my top three, but she I think she probably went like through the top of the list number one. She contacted the mentor and that's how she put us in in contact.
Speaker 2:So the mentor that I'd chosen that was top of my list was Neil Agar. There was a lot of reasons why I chose him as top of my list. First, I think, neil, he has a similar kind of experience than me in the travel industry because he's worked in airlines for a long time. He's got this very strong airline background and even though now I'm in cruising, you know like, I thought that it would be probably a more natural fit, um, you know, to have a chat with him. I was also very impressed of Neil's patience. Um, you know, at certain like graduation, graduation ceremonies that we've been to, and so I thought, well, you know, this guy seems to be really nice in terms of like his approach. He's got that kind of like gentle touch and so, yeah, that's the reason why I chose him mainly.
Speaker 1:On the other hand. So my name is also on that list, so why did you?
Speaker 2:disregard me. I didn't disregard you. I don't want you to think that I disregarded you, also because reaching out to you is a lot simpler. I just need to send you a text and then you know we can talk. So, for the purpose of that exercise, for you and I to talk about what it is to use that 90 minute mentoring um, you know session annually I didn't think that it was. You know it was necessary to do that with you Cause I can. I have those 90 minutes every week interesting.
Speaker 1:So you're saying, you're pretty much saying I'm too available, but that's not a problem at all. Um, that's fine, that's fine. I know who would take it personally.
Speaker 2:That would be ridiculous you know the millions of listeners that we have now. They know that. You know it's really easy to reach out to you, so it's actually really good. So for all the potential mentees that want to have a one-on-one session with you, they know that they can really easily get access to you.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, absolutely. That's true. And considering that what I learned last week when I met you in the park with your friends and none of your friends is listening to our podcast, while all of my friends do listen to the podcast.
Speaker 2:They don't.
Speaker 1:Just slightly disappointing to learn that that's. That's a discussion for another time. So back to the 90 minutes um a mentoring session that you have organized with neil.
Speaker 2:So maria has confirmed me for you what were the next steps so essentially she's given, she's exchanged the email addresses and neil and I, you know like, communicated via email to try to find a time when he was available and that was also compatible with my schedule. So that was very, very simple. But you know, like I'm I'm quite of an organized guy, do a lot of backwards and forwards, you know, with people. I'm like okay, so these are the times when I'm available next week. Is there a time out of these times that is suitable? And? And then you know like, so it was a very easy process in that sense.
Speaker 1:So then tell me that's great. So you've organized the meeting you meet. Now how can 90 minutes change your life? Tell?
Speaker 2:They have actually changed my life, to be honest, it's true, truly. Look, the way we did it and that was probably more suitable to my style is that it was quite informal. We just caught up, you know, in a coffee shop in between, like halfway through between his office and my office, so somewhere convenient. It was a busy morning on a Wednesday, and you know, and we sat down and then, basically, you know, we had a conversation, you know, and it's like how's work going? How's work going, and then you know, and then one thing leads to another, but then, you know, the thing is that one thing led to another, and then all the questions that are out for him, you know, came about in the conversation.
Speaker 2:And that's what I really appreciate with that catch-up was that, you know, all the questioning that I had in the back of my mind, like is my thought process on track?
Speaker 2:Are the steps that I've been taking since? You know, all these changes at work have been happening, they're the right things to do, and you know he's been able to reassure me that I was on the right track, and you know he's been able to reassure me that I was on the right track. He's been able to, you know, give me a little bit more of insights in terms of, you know, when he's been in similar situations that mine and how we managed to navigate through that as well, which was really insightful. But also he's given me some pointers and you know, like not necessarily another direction, but also he's given me some pointers and you know, like not necessarily another direction, but other avenues for me to be able to go through those changes at work which actually were very, very useful. So the setup was very informal, but we managed to, during that time, to cover all the questions that are hard.
Speaker 1:Amazing. Just to re-emphasize the informal preference that Arnaud brings to the table. He's just sitting here in his wife beater shirt, you know, playing with his muzzles all the time trying to distract me from the interview. It's not working, by the way. I'm very focused, but I appreciate the. I don't even know what to say.
Speaker 2:I appreciate the openness that you bring to the camera I was not doing anything, I was just talking to you maybe.
Speaker 1:Maybe you do it subconsciously, you know you just rip your. Okay, yeah, not a bad thing. I'm just highlighting. You know, I'm very much under control right, it's really.
Speaker 2:It's really. Um, yeah, it's going to be great for all the people that are not watching the podcast.
Speaker 1:Because we don't publish video anymore since the 40 plus, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Exactly, so yeah, great.
Speaker 1:And it's in the best interest for everyone. No one can complain about that.
Speaker 2:Awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I'm just wondering.
Speaker 2:You know, if everyone listening to us is thinking is thinking oh my god, like this guy, what? What does he wear? Because when you meet me at events, you know like I'm always dressed. When I caught up with neil, I just reassure everyone, I was wearing a nice suit, like I do every day when I go to work, right? So there was, it was nothing different no, no.
Speaker 1:Every time I meet you accidentally somewhere, you're also dressed yeah, wait, I do not necessarily in a suit, but you're dressed appropriately.
Speaker 1:Yes, I have to highlight that he's only having the wife beater shirt scenario when he's at home, and he went home. It's a very warm day. Yes, exactly, fair enough. Thank you for clarifying that. I know this was very important to you and I'm not sure the audience is also very interested in the clarification of this. It's really life-changing information. Thank you, arno, but back to your 90 minutes. So what was the life-changing outcome for you? Did it encourage you to make a decision? Did it just reignite your passion to do whatever you do? What was the actual outcome?
Speaker 2:Look, the outcome was very, very positive. So you know, it's not going to be any secret, by the time this podcast is going to be aired, that I have taken another professional opportunity in the travel industry and you know, I just wanted to get that reassurance from him that I was, you know, like. I said, like I was on the right track and I was taking the right steps and yeah, it's been really successful because I've been off in a row and then I'm going to start in the next few weeks. So that's a very positive outcome in that sense. Again, I think it's the same thing for everyone else in that time journey.
Speaker 2:Everyone has different expectations from that mentoring session. From my side, it was more like, how do I make sure that my name is front of mind, you know, with recruiters? Like, am I doing the right stuff? Like, am I highlighting the way? You know my experience, what I can bring to the table, my transferable skills, all this sort of stuff. You know my experience, what I can bring to the table, my transferable skills, all these sort of stuff, you know.
Speaker 1:And yeah, his feedback was was very, very positive and, um and yeah, valuable it's pretty amazing to have that opportunity, to be honest, because every now and then we all have changes at work, or, yes, your, your responsibilities, have changed, or the world changes, customer expectations change, and it's just so nice to have someone who knows the industry but doesn't know the all-day intel from wherever you are, to just be able to organize the time with them and say, hey, I just want to hear your thoughts. And it brings so much clarity, I think yes, and probably lots of new ideas as well, and new, new energy into your daily professional life.
Speaker 2:I'd say absolutely agree, I absolutely agree, and also because it's a I don't know how to describe that kind of relationship, but it's a non-judgmental relationship, right? He's not involved in my day-to-day, he's not one of my work colleagues. Yes, we do work in the same industry, but when, when, when we both came into that session, it was just like, you know, a conversation from one professional in travel to another professional right, and that guidance is done there, and I thought that this is actually perfect because, um, yeah, you get the benefit of someone's experience and you know very broad knowledge of of a lot of areas. And um, yeah, there's no, yeah, they're not judging you for what you're doing and why, and you know yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:So what happens? Obviously we always ask the graduates what happens with your mentor. After they usually stay in contact. There's a bit of chit chat going on. Some actually continue to meet, not every fortnight, but I don't know every. Whatever it is, whatever their rhythm is, what about you and me? And now, after the 90 minute session, did you kind of call him after and say hey, thank you, I made my decision. Now that's the outcome, or yes?
Speaker 2:I did. I reached out to him like a couple of weeks ago or maybe last week, I think, and we were going to catch up, but he's away this week. So I think that maybe next week I'll catch up with him for a coffee or something like that. So, and it was, it was actually really lovely because he reached out to me like pretty much straight afterwards, like within 24 hours, and it's like look, I just want to check in. I really enjoy, you know, I catch up and I'd love to continue to catch up with you. So you know, I really appreciate that. Like you know, he's yeah, he's reaching out proactively without me prompting it, and I thought, oh, this is really nice. So I know that I will continue to see him. I really genuinely enjoy that catch up.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, and I think the beauty of that is you just said it's really nice of him and maybe not everyone is aware, but the mentors, they don't get any money, they don't get a bottle of champagne or anything after that. It's just purely really voluntarily dedicating their time to a graduate, a mentee's professional development. So that is actually really nice. I just wanted to highlight that because some people might think, oh, there's money involved or whatever. No, it's really free. Free giving back to the industry, because people believe in the industry and believe in the people and that's really beautiful. I really think that's beautiful I agree.
Speaker 2:And look, you know, it'd be interesting to get his take on it from the other side. I do generally believe but I mean this is probably something that you can probably give us insight on is from the mentor's side, there's probably a lot of satisfaction out of, you know, someone reaching out and asking guidance, you know, and on all sorts of levels, because also, I do believe that the mentors are learning something about you know what is being discussed, because in the end it's kind of like a there's it's from a professional to another professional right, and so there's probably some stuff that the mentors get out of. I mean, and so there's probably some stuff that the mentors get out of it. I mean, I'm sure that there's some stuff that the mentors get out of it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, absolutely. They definitely get something out of it, for my experience at least, and I hope when I was a mentee, Fiona Rouse, who was my mentor, I hope she also got something out of it. But I think the pure fact that for two hours you just remove yourself from your own world and you fully focus on someone else's complexity always connects a few dots that potentially you haven't thought of before. And I think potentially the bigger the age gap is, the more it helps you also to understand whatever the generation is thinking, what is more important for them at the moment. So I think there's definitely a learning for both involved for sure, except that in this case Neil is way younger than me.
Speaker 1:Look, look, I know it's not difficult to be way younger than you. No kidding, how old are you actually? Now tell the audience. No wonder I've never asked you that on air. I can't believe it, actually, it just come to my mind. How old are you?
Speaker 2:at the time that this podcast will be Ed, I will be 47 years old.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, do I hear? Your birthday is coming up.
Speaker 2:No, my birthday is in October. It's like a couple of days before yours.
Speaker 1:Let's play the game here, because I have never received an invitation, either to your housewarming or your birthday. Just letting you know Because I don't celebrate my birthday, it's because you just don't love me properly. That's why you never invite me.
Speaker 2:I love you, timo, you know that You're just saying please, oh my God, you have to say it on air that you know, oh my God, you're just fishing for it.
Speaker 1:Not at all. No, not at all Excellent. Well, thank you for sharing that. Not at all excellent. Well, thank you for uh for sharing that. We actually said we only do a 10 to 12 minute podcast.
Speaker 1:we are already like 33 percent over time, reaching 19 minutes I really enjoyed hearing that and hopefully, um, I I was actually thinking because obviously I'm in the opening process of my hotel and I was actually thinking maybe using my 90 minutes to get some insights for for a pathway there as well, absolutely, absolutely. So you definitely inspired me again.
Speaker 2:Okay, and what about you? In terms of like, have you been approached by some mentees to do a one-on-one session once a year?
Speaker 1:Actually not yet. No, I have been obviously paired up with my mentee last year, where we also made a beautiful little podcast about it yes, but since then, no, I think, and this is why I think it's so important to talk about the 90 minutes, because so many are not actually aware of it, potentially don't understand what a 90-minute session can actually have, what an impact the 90-minute session can have for someone, and hence we finally were able to talk about this. So thank you for doing this and hopefully it will inspire a lot more people to do it and doesn't have to be with me, obviously, but there's so many absolutely beautiful, fantastic people in the time community that have wonderful ideas and I just want to highlight after our February meeting. I observed I didn't comment our February meeting. I observed it. I didn't comment on it, but I observed it from the side. We went down, we're waiting for an Uber. Our way was waiting for their Ubers.
Speaker 1:One person was showing the other person what they want to post on LinkedIn and the other person happened to be a social media expert and she said oh, can I just give you some feedback and recommendations? And, like on the spot, there for three minutes you gave a little brief. Oh, if you make a post like this and this and this, it will be more successful because of blah, blah, blah. And it was just a sight. No, it was just so beautiful to observe. It was just a classic example of time just being there to help you On the spot. Small things and without having any issues to ask or to share that in a very professional and supportive way. Like there was no, oh no, I have to do it like this. You know, it was just so beautiful. I was standing there observing it and I'm thinking like, yep, that's what I love about this community. It's just that.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And a lot of other things of course, I know, but that's what it is and that's also what time is all about, you know, like giving time for the community, because this is, I believe, this is an industry that we genuinely love and also we want the new generations to be passionate about it. And, you know, I do think that other industries you know can really take a lot of examples from what we do, because that's a good way of, you know, attracting people to wanting to join travel.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. And look, there's friendships growing out of it. We still talk, you know, every now and then at least, and so many more actually. People have actually built personal friendships out of the time program. Anyhow, I just wanted to quickly highlight that. Thank you for your time, Arno. I know we have many more recordings coming and I can't wait for this, to have you back on my side of the table and I'm sure we'll have lots of fun. And just before we finish up the podcast, there's obviously the always pending question towards the end what is your latest dark secret about you?
Speaker 2:My latest dark secret? I don't really. I don't know. We've talked about my running and my this and my that Dark secret. I don't really have one. We talked about the fact that I worked in TV.
Speaker 1:What's one thing if you could change about you immediately, that you would change.
Speaker 2:That I would change about me immediately. That I would change about me immediately and it has to be okay, something tangible.
Speaker 1:It can be a behaviorism or a thought pattern that you have. I don't know something like that.
Speaker 2:Whatever you feel, I mean, you know I'm all about change and you know I always like to change things around and you know so there's a lot of change happening in my life. So you know, like usually in September I just ended it up to my birthday in October I always plan on, you know, the new goals that I want to have for, like the following year. So I prepare everything in advance. So I'm not the kind of like resolution is first of january, this is what we're doing. It's kind of like a gradual build up on that.
Speaker 2:So this year I had a lot of things that I wanted to change. I wanted to change not necessarily my diet, but the way I approach diet, mainly in the goal of the fueling of the running that I do because, as everyone knows, I run a lot. So that's a change that I've operated. Um, and it can't be really immediate because it's like you know, in the long run I change the way I approach running as well, in different cycles of running and all that sort of stuff. I've also changed the way I trained.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so, if I want, if there was something that I would want to change immediately is, yeah, I don't know like any of these things and it was a fantastic example how to not answer a question at all but talk for two and a half minutes. Thank you. I know we've learned something again here there you go.
Speaker 2:Now you're gonna make it 25 minutes and look for people who are driving home and if that's the average time that they spend, you know, driving back home 25 minutes is perfect to listen to a podcast so it's 32.
Speaker 1:But anyhow, let's cut it there. Well, thank you, arno, thank you everyone for listening and we hear you soon. Happy time day.
