Carla DiBello On How Being A World Traveller Has Helped Her Become A Better Leader And Businesswoman
“Travel is actually a key component to understanding everyday life”
I used to consider travel an escape from everyday life. But the more I’ve done it, the more I have realised that travel is actually a key component to understanding everyday life. From expanding our perspective to challenging ourselves in new directions, travel forces growth in ways that are difficult to do staying in one place. Another thing I love about travel (as well as living in different countries), is it offers insights into new ways of thinking that are applicable to our personal lives as well as our careers.
One of the best things about this world we live in is that it has so many variations of the same thing. Different environments offer different ecosystems, from culture to business to politics. The biggest takeaway I have from immersing myself in so many worlds is that different environments call for different approaches. Experiencing the corporate world in the United States, including its systems of operation, values, and priorities, provided an incredible learning opportunity. It wasn’t until I moved to the Middle East that I realised that my time in the United States was actually just a base to build upon. In Dubai, I learned a new way of working, interacting, and collaborating with colleagues. While many aspects were the same, others were completely different. And the advantage of experiencing both meant that I got to choose which approach was best for me personally.
Different situations call for different leadership styles. While a democracy may work for some countries, a more singular style of leadership can, at times, be better suited. I have seen firsthand how cultural emphasis on individualism and self-reliance has taken a two[1]party system intended to protect multiple voices of its people and turned it into a divisive culture where people can no longer hear each other. I’ve also seen firsthand how a political focus on collectivism under singular leadership (while often misunderstood from the West) can bring different walks of people together as one. One clear example that I’ve mentioned here in the past that highlights this point is how incredible it was to experience Dubai’s approach to Covid compared to the United States.
The same goes for business. I’ve found that business culture within the United States feels more transactional and rushed, whereas working in the Middle East begins and ends with relationships. The United States is more singular in reaching specific goals, whereas it’s perfectly natural for common ground and respect to be the priority in the Middle East. While I draw from and fully respect the American way of doing business, I’ve found that I identify much more with the Middle Eastern way of not forcing the pace and spending time to invest in a person and not solely what they can bring to the table. One of the biggest surprises about approaching business in this style is that it has offered me much more insight when it comes to seeing the big picture. And in my opinion, that ability to see the big picture is a significant factor to long-term success in business.
Most of the leaders I admire most are global leaders who engage with diverse groups of people, regions, colleagues, and organisational structures. They are able to see groups as individuals as well as the collective.
They’re also able to lead from behind – to empower those beneath them not to only take decisive action, but to be innovative as well. It reminds me of Aesop’s tale where the sun and the wind compare their strength by seeing who can remove a traveller’s coat first. The wind blows with all its might, but the traveller just pulls his coat closed. The harder the wind blows, the more tightly the traveller holds his coat. In comparison, the sun’s method is more slow and gentle, embracing the traveller with its warm rays until the traveller decides to remove his coat of his own volition. To lead successfully, sometimes it is more important to first understand before one takes action.
Photography: Efraim Evidor. Styling: Imogene Legrand.
Carla Wears: Kaftan, Dhs4,000, Taller Marmo. Shoes, Carla’s Own. Hair: Sisters Beauty Lounge. Make-up: Sarah Saya.
With Thanks To Five Palm Jumeirah
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s April 2023 issue