What Travel Teaches Us About Leading the Next Generation

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Travel is no longer just something we do, it’s how we live. For the Silent Generation, it was rare and reserved. Boomers turned it into an occassional family tradition. Gen X made it practical. Millennials made it personal. And Gen Z? They made it expected. What began as a privilege for the few has become a passport to identity for the many.

My family and I are no exception. I’ve flown more than a million miles with Delta. And yet the most remarkable part of that isn’t the miles themselves, it’s that my children, five and under, have already visited nearly half the United States and a handful of different countries. To them, air travel isn’t a luxury. It’s just how we get places. A plane seat is as ordinary as a car seat. That shift says a lot about where we’ve come as a society and where the next generation may take us.

From horse-drawn wagons to hyperloops, every leap in transportation has rewritten the boundaries of what's possible. But perhaps no leap has been as psychologically transformative as the one we’re in now. Supersonic travel is on the horizon again with the Concorde set to return to the skies as early as the next three years. Private space travel is edging toward commercial viability. And yet, the biggest revolution isn’t technical, it’s generational.

Younger generations, particularly Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha, are growing up in a world that no longer feels segmented by distance. The planet has shrunk, at least perceptually, and that transformation is reshaping not just how we move, but how we think. Travel is a part of that as is advanced communication.

A Shrinking World, An Expanding Mind

Historically, travel was a necessity, often grueling, sometimes dangerous. (Gen X and Millennials, remember that early computer game, Oregon Trail?) For the Silent Generation, long-distance movement meant trains, ships, and eventually the first commercial jets, often reserved for the wealthy or business elite. Travel was something one prepared for weeks or months in advance. It was formal, infrequent, and purpose-driven.

By contrast, Millennials and Gen Z treat travel as lifestyle infrastructure. Surveys show that Millennials take an average of 35 travel days per year, nearly double what Gen X or Boomers reported at the same age (Mize, 2023). More importantly, they don’t just travel more, they travel differently. They seek meaning, experiences, and global immersion. Gen Z takes it further, exploring not just for escape but for connection, cultural understanding, and even justice.

Psychological research backs this up. A major study found that immersive travel experiences increase openness to new ideas, enhance creativity, and foster empathy —traits strongly associated with cross-cultural exposure (Maddux & Galinsky, 2009). Other findings suggest that individuals who study or live abroad demonstrate more complex thinking and are more adept at problem-solving across differences (Leung, Maddux, Galinsky, & Chiu, 2008).

Travel as a Social Accelerator

When Boomers began traveling in mass in the 1980s and 90s, thanks to airline deregulation and vacation packages, it marked the first wave of mass global tourism. But it was mainly leisure-focused. Today’s younger generations travel with a moral compass. According to AFAR Magazine, over 69% of Gen Z travelers prefer to support companies committed to sustainability and community impact (AFAR, 2024).

That global exposure also affects what they care about. A generation that grew up traveling to five countries by age ten is more likely to care about what happens across borders. Research from Pew shows that Gen Z and Millennials are more globally oriented and more supportive of international cooperation than older cohorts (Pew Research Center, 2020). It’s not hard to draw a connection: people who’ve shared meals in Morocco or navigated subway signs in Seoul are less likely to view global issues as abstract; they view them personally.

This also means younger workers bring different assumptions into the workplace. They expect diversity, not just demographically, but experientially. They assume a baseline level of cultural fluency. Often, when younger generations fail to see this global understanding in their superiors, they are likely to roll their eyes and dare I say, discredit their competence.

Millennials and even more so Gen Z are often more adaptable to different cultural scenarios, but this also makes them more idealistic. With that comes an increased likelihood to challenge leadership when values don’t align globally. In other words, travel has not just broadened their minds. It’s raised their expectations.

The Supersonic Symbolism

In 2003, the last Concorde flight marked the end of an era—flying from New York to London in under four hours had become economically unsustainable. But today, companies like Boom Supersonic are planning a revival, aiming to launch the next generation of supersonic commercial jets by 2029 (USA Today, 2025).

And beyond Earth’s atmosphere, the private space industry is surging. Gen Z isn’t asking if they’ll visit space, they’re wondering when. Articles in Fast Company and the World Economic Forum highlight how space technology, once the substance of fantasy, now impacts everything from weather forecasting to internet access, and young people know it (Fast Company, 2022; WEF, 2024).

For Gen Z and Gen Alpha, space tourism may not be a novelty. It may become an option on a vacation dropdown menu. The sheer accessibility of the world geographically, culturally, and even cosmically has transformed imagination into itinerary.

What This Means for Leaders

All of this begs the question: How should leaders respond?

1. Perspective Isn’t Optional, It’s Expected

   Younger generations don’t just value diversity; they expect a diversity of worldviews. Whether through travel, media, or relationships, they’ve encountered global experiences that differ from their own. Many younger generations have internalized the notion that your way isn’t the only way. Leaders who have only lived and worked inside a single culture or who default to “how we’ve always done it” can be viewed as narrow or outdated. Effective multi-generational leaders in today’s climate can demonstrate an ability to adapt, understand nuance, and, most importantly, withhold judgment when someone approaches life or work differently. That last one is hard. However, as a leader, your credibility with younger generations often depends on your ability to demonstrate curiosity and flexibility in navigating cultural differences. And that is not exclusively global cultural differences, but even generational cultural differences. Your ability to be empathetic and understand the shifting trends culturally (in all senses of the word) is how you can lead successfully in a multi-generational workplace.

2. Discomfort Is a Leadership Accelerator

   The younger generations are not only more mobile, but they’re also more impressionable, shaped by constant exposure to differences. This hasn’t just expanded their empathy, it’s heightened their sensitivity to social cues and unspoken norms. Despite the labels, that sensitivity isn’t inherently a flaw; it can be a feature. It comes from having been the outsider in someone else’s country or culture. Leaders who have never felt truly out of place, who haven’t navigated unfamiliar languages, customs, or expectations, are often less emotionally agile. The next generation picks up on that. Discomfort stretches us. It challenges us to think differently and to see differently. Many Millennials and Gen Zers have been thrust into cross-cultural experiences, where they have been compelled to view the world from a different perspective. As a result, they often admire leaders who’ve sat on the dirt floor in a developing country, trekked through rainforests with a guide who didn’t speak their language, and experienced exotic foods in an open-air market. They are far less impressed with your previous list of C-suite hats you’ve worn. If you want to build trust with these generations, get uncomfortable on purpose. The empathy you gain from navigating differences will earn you their respect more than authority ever could.

3. Their Drive Comes from Exposure, Not Entitlement

   What some leaders interpret as entitlement is often something else: expanded awareness. Younger generations have seen how different systems work, how other societies prioritize relationships, family, food, time, and rest. They've smelled the markets, tasted the food, met the families, experienced weddings or religious ceremonies, navigated foreign ways of life. They’ve watched how other people livem and come back wondering: Why do we do it this way?

   They’re not necessarily entitled. They’re aware. They’ve seen alternatives, and they’re asking better questions. Don’t shut down alternative thinking as disrespectful. Engage with it as a leader willing to be challenged, and possibly changed, by the expanded worldview your team brings.

4. Emotional Intelligence Is Now Cultural Intelligence

   Younger generations view cultural awareness as a sign of emotional maturity. They’re hyper-aware of how words, tone, policies, and symbols land in different contexts, because they’ve seen what happens when they don’t. For them, a lack of cultural intelligence feels like laziness at best, harm at worst. If you want to lead younger generations well, you need to read more than the room; you need to read the cultural landscape. This means listening without ego and considering how your company’s actions will resonate globally, not just within departments. It doesn’t mean you have to adapt corporate policies and expand internationally, but be aware that younger generations are often bringing this perspective, and your leadership decisions will be scrutinized through a global lens.

5. Sensitivity Is a Signal, Not a Liability

   As I mentioned earlier, younger generations are often labeled “too sensitive” by more seasoned leaders. But what you’re seeing is not necessarily fragility, it’s more likely sensitivity. When you’ve navigated a city where you don’t speak the language or had to unlearn your norms to avoid offense, you develop a radar, and that radar doesn’t turn off in the office. It makes you more attuned. That said, there’s also a maturity component. Sensitivity can sometimes manifest as resistance to authority or even emotional outbursts. The way younger generations express their hyper-awareness isn’t always refined. But that’s precisely where leadership comes in. This is your opportunity to recognize the perspective behind the passion and help younger employees learn how to channel it so it doesn’t show up as a rant, but as reasoned influence. Don’t view sensitivity as fragility. View it as a signal of responsiveness. These generations will challenge what’s always been and that makes them invaluable in a changing world.

In the end, this isn't just a story about planes or space capsules. It’s a story about perception. The Earth hasn’t changed size. But in the eyes of younger generations, it has never felt smaller or more full of possibility.

And as the next generation boards their flights, perhaps even bound for space, the question for leaders is: Will your worldview keep pace with theirs?

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