Introduction
The book talks about a tale of Captain Abrashoff and his command of USS Benfold, which has turned out to be renowned outside and inside the Navy (Abrashoff, 2002). Abrashoff gives his enthralling account of top-down transformation for any individual who is trying to navigate in today’s indeterminate business seas. At a time when Abrashoff assumed the place of a commander of USS Benfold, a ship which was equipped would include good systems, he equates it as a business which had in place all the latest technologies but only small production. Understanding the duty to improve performance was solely his, he noted that he had to improve his leadership expertise before he could steer his ship. In few months he came up with a crew of inspired and confident problem solvers who were ready to assume responsibility for the course of actions. From that point, the slogan became “it is your ship” since then Benfold grow into renowned wide and far as a classic of naval efficiency. From gaining amazing cost saving to winning the uppermost gunnery marks in the Pacific fleet, his unique campaign sent shock waves across the Navy of America.
We continuously engage and invest in latest systems and technologies, but let’s not forget that they are just but facilitators. The personnel behind the technologies are what gives a company a competitive advantage. There is a gap and loss of way when we have to help our personnel grow. Just like the Navy, the business community is obligated to help them in their advancement. The uniform challenges that every leader has been acquiring the best out of his or her team. The latter is dependent on three key variables: the organization’s environment, leader’s needs and the groups’ potential competence. From his experience, leadership is not designated but rather earned. It is true that assisting people to realize their full potential can result in goals attainment which would not be possible to accomplish via a command and control approach.
Therefore, in his book, he detailed some of techniques and ideas that he embraced to secure the trust of sailors and finally their passionate commitment to the collaborative efforts of making their ship the best among the fleet. The book narrates episodes in Benfold two year journey through unexplored waters of management. “It’s your ship,” depicts to be an organization in which workers assume ownership, and that is the organization that beats its competitors. Companies should give a reward to risk takers, even at times when they fall insufficient at times. It is elaborated that promotions and praises should be directed to pioneers and innovators other than those people who are afraid of improving something. Abrashoff believes it is the only way to maintain an organization younger, rising, important and prosperous.
Take command
In Captains, top roles, what is of importance is being effective, trusted and respected rather than just being likable. The biggest challenge of twenty-first-century leadership is attracting and maintaining talented staffs, and how to motivate them to deliver with passion, enthusiasm, and energy. However, few persons with skills, brains, and initiative do surface. The challenge in the real world is to assist the less-talented persons to overcome their confines. According to a survey, most individuals were quitting Navy not for reasons of pay. Employees could leave because of issues like; not being handled with dignity and respect, prevention from making some impacts on the firm, not listened to and lack of recognition for their efforts.
According to Abrashoff, his principle on organizing was to see the ship from the perspective of a crew if one wanted to become an effective skipper. He argues that there is always a better way of doing things and that the crew’s perspective might be more profound compared to the captain’s. In his second supposition, the top-secret to an enduring change is by the implementation of a course that everyone will enjoy doing. In a business setting, he connotes that no one is in a better position to make all the decision. Therefore there was a need to empower more individuals to think and make decisions independently. Empowerment according to his perspective is setting up perimeters in which individuals are permitted to operate and then give them freedom. With the right environment, there are number limits through which people can achieve.
Leading by example
Real leadership should be undertaken not by precepts bur through setting an example. At the point when Abrashoff could not achieve the results that he desired, he could hold his horses and reevaluate to see if he might have been the problem. He advocates that we should never forget our effect on people. There is a need for leaders to understand how they impact people, how their pessimism or optimism is infectious to every individual around them. Never flop the Washington post-test, which surrounds ethical shortcuts. The biggest question that Abrashoff could ask before undertaking anything was, what if what he was about to do resurfaced on the front page of new, would it be of embarrassment or making him proud?
Obey even when not in agreement. At some point your superior may come up with policies that you don’t agree with, it is your responsibility to execute them. He advocated that it was wise to let the dissatisfaction be addressed in privacy with the right people. In case, the argument is lost then one needs to carry out its execution as if he or she gave it a 100% support. In any organization, you juniors need to be convinced that you are in full support of the chain of command. If the contrary is felt, then it will also be difficult for them also to support.
Listening aggressively
Power of word magic, leaders need to go practical on what they preach because their words do create self-fulfilling foresight. His belief was that, his people to have trust that their ship was the super among the navy. Communicate resolution and meaning. The entire idea of handling a company is to articulate a joint that motivates a diverse cluster of individuals to work very hard in unison. Another approach is by making your teammates believe that they are well able to do various things. Just like any other organization, employees would be happy when talked to, sharing one on one about what every employee stands to gain. People are ready to absorb anything if they are not arrogantly threatened or deceived.
Communicate purposes and meaning
The secret to successful management of any firm is its ability to articulate the uniting goals which bring people together. Open n, proper and effective communication of goals, instructions, and expectations can spell the difference. The more people can understand your objectives, the better the results can be achieved. Arrogance, lies, and arrogance create an environment which poison and productivity and creativity. Open up the channels which are blocked. One should focus on creating communication that passes information. It is true that there is coexistence between the crew’s understanding of the plan and how perfectly they executed it. After an awesome brand, one has to defend it because freedom creates discipline. When workers feel that they own the organizations, they undertake their roles effectively and with a lot of care. Therefore, with a good leadership disciple is not weakened by freedom but rather it strengthens. People who have freedom possess power incentives not to mess up their work.
Creating an environment of trust
The only way to maintain an organization or a ship on a path to success is through, assigning all duties to crews in line with their capabilities and then watch. Trust is an element that one has to earn, it is earned only by offering it back. Abrashoff learned that, when an organization achieves great, it is all the members who have achieved it and therefore no one should be set aside as a loser. Another perspective was, even the worst mess up, it can be corrected. Leaders are supposed to understand that, staffs are keen to observe their cause of action. If employees realize that their leader has given up on something, they conclude that there is no hope and they might be the next to tool down. Another approach is that leaders should be ready and welcome to the bad-news messenger. It is crucial if an issue is critical, an employee should bring to the attention of their boss but if it’s pretty the inverse applies. Also, it is the responsibility of a leader to safeguard his people against mad bosses. Some of the bosses are inhuman, but they effectively deliver therefore they can be tolerated. However, others are worse and should not be condoned. Shielding your employees as a leader from such bully seniors calls for moral bravery, and failure to act is a moral timidity. The popular belief is, being the best comes with it a responsibility, and there is need to stay put.
Aim at getting results and not salutes
The latter is attained by allowing your employees to speak up freely. In an organization, a leader should create an environment where employees can give their opinions. In times when managers make decisions without wide consultations or their orders are not subject to questioning then those conditions brew up a disaster. Aiming at results, employees need to be trained on how to assume decisions. Therefore some soft skills to the employees if trained, they will be to their advantage and the good of the organization. The other aspect is nurturing the free will to fail. Employees need to be empowered and given guidance within which they are free to roam. Every staff should try and beat will to address any problem that arises in the business. Keeping on trying takes off grit, breeds courage and builds skills. Therefore all leaders should be willing to nurture the free will of failure.
Adopt calculated risks
A company that aims at staying strong and alive, it has to recognize and appreciate risk-takers even if they do not succeed all the time. Moreover, the common practice with the most of organizations aims at promoting staffs who never made an error. The following are some of the uncertainties that can be bet on; bet on individuals who only think about themselves. Secondly, take a chance on a promising sailor and lastly is if by any chance a rule does not make any sense, then one is at liberty to break it.
Move beyond ordinary procedure
If a team prepares itself for the greatest challenging situations, chances are better that they will be well prepared for the unforeseen. The practice encourages staffs to maintain their priorities in focus. Another approach to go above the ordinary is through remaining ahead of the race. The point is to always take responsibility as a company; the reason is how well positioned a crew is and it also reflected by the leader takes the lead. Finally, working smart is the key but not working hard. There is a power of information. Therefore staffs who understand how every organization division works is to their advantages. The only problem is getting an incentive which can motivate staffs to aim at a desire to acquire such information.
Shape up your people
Praises are productive compared to punishment. However, few leaders value this big virtual. That means that as a leader, never tear down staffs but rather assist them to develop strongly. As a team member, if you have to get something done in a bureaucracy, find your way to the bosses’ mind. Project what they might need before they can think they require it. Assume all their shortcoming and make them look good that it becomes hard for you to be dismissed at any point in time.
Small gestures added up to a supportive and friendly environment, yield great benefits. That is to say; small things account for huge success. Social interactions are disappearing in a digital world that has taken the place of face to face communication. Therefore employer should be keen to encourage its staffs by paying a visit. Secondly, when people are trusted, they are likely to improve and also progress in the hierarchy. Thirdly, newcomers in an organization because they rekindle the team morale and therefore they out to be treated well. The only way to go up is through building up employees to be bosses by being a team player rather than elevating oneself. Finally, undertake a continuous and honest evaluation. The key to successful evaluation is if or not your employees will be surprised that time you give them their scores.
Generate unity
The role of a leader is to bring together the best talent possible, train it and then find out the best approach to engage the members in working jointly for the benefit of the organization. To generate unity, a leader needs to forget about diversity and train for the unit. When addressing discipline issues, strictly punish but do it fairly. The unit is all about maximizing on uniqueness and divert that towards a common goal of the organization. Treating employees with respect and dignity is a highly productive and practical approach to achieve a morally right team. Therefore unit becomes the foundation for of any leadership model. Training for unit sets a level playing ground for all the team regardless of one’s diversity. It is true that everyone has got a weakness and strengths. Therefore no one has perfected the organization’s game. As a leader, you out to appreciate the team for their strengths and then help them deal with their shortcomings. The ground role, therefore, remains, to treat everyone with respect and dignity.
Advance the quality of life for the employees
Being always tied to work everywhere, can be good but in excess takes away the innermost reservoir of the zeal that individuals need to use when life becomes hard. Staffs who enjoy and look forward to going for their jobs a more likely to be productive and also fulfilled. A leader can build a positive work environment by allowing the team to interact freely and make fun. Secondly, the team has had fun because fun brings happiness to an organization or a ship. The underlying understanding is, enjoying with friends creates infinite social fabric for any company compared to other forms of compensations. Thirdly, to improve the life quality of employees, better food should be prioritized. Food raises psyche, and it is an ingredient of transformation for any company. It may be seen as a worthless approach but it works, with the satisfied and comfortable team then their productivity also increases. Forth I through allowing staff to show off their ship. Corporates should empower their staffs to perceive their workplace with pride rather than seeing it as hostile territory. Therefore, if employees could have such perception towards their organization, then some of the challenges related to labor would be a by-gone. Finally, good play is the secret to great work. When as a leader you do away with formality and give freedom to people to have life on company’s time, then it will turn to be the time of their good lives. Hence, in Abrashoff the secret to good work was hinged on a good play.
References
Abrashoff, D. M. (2002). It’s your ship: Management techniques from the best damn ship in the navy. New York: Warner Books
