On Leadership the Royal Navy had a slim textbook on it.
Some Quotes:
Better an army of stags led by a lion than an army of lions led by a stag.
Ten good soldiers wisely led
Will beat a hundred without a head.
Euripides.
The textbook is only 30 pages and goes through direction of subordinates, responsibility for welfare, giving orders and trust in subordinates.
The book finishes by stating that of the many quotations in the book few were by Admirals. This was not because of a shortage of quotable sayings by Admirals but to demonstrate that the problems and mysteries of leadership have exercised the minds of many. Leadership is not just a requirement of the services.
A lion, that seems to me to be shooting to high, Most of us are just Joe Shmoe that are just looking for smooth ship operations.
As a first rule I agree with @DamnYankee, do no harm. Second need to get rid of the blame culture, otherwise itâs difficult to learn and improve. Third, need to increase the incentives for the crew to cooperate.
Finally some crew members will want to hinder, not help and they will never change, they need to be gotten rid of without hesitation.
1 Like
That was my mantra. . .those that couldnât take up the slack were gone. . . .
1 Like
Merchant marine academies make one product: thirds. The product is of variable quality, produced to a minimum standard, as are most products. For example, bolts.
With a bolt, as long as the threads arenât bunged up, itâs good to go. It fits the purpose. Corrosion resistance, additional tensile strengthâthese improvements cost money, and are no guarantee that the threads arenât bunged up.
If you want all bolts to be produced with corrosion resistance, or additional tensile strengthâor leadership skillsâyouâll have to pay extra, and shipping companies are all about making money, not spending it. Imbuing all thirds with true leadership skills would drive up the cost of academy tuition considerably. It would also mean flunking all students incapable of being leaders.
When the military orders bolts they are all to mil spec, and they think nothing of paying $200 for a 1/2â NC stovepipe bolt.
With bolts, if you do need additional features, you can always sort through the box of bolts you have. Youâll usually find one that works, in the short term anyways, kinda-sorta. But time is money, and you generally work with the bolts you have.
2 Likes
My question how such do such shitty products whether thru the hawsepipe or academy get promoted? THAT is a failure of leadership. Some people are promoted because they did well in a previous job but then once more responsibility is upon them they canât handle it and are incompetent. Itâs the Peter Principle of old school management training which states eventually people are promoted to their level of incompetence. That the promoter doesnât recognize their mistake and correct it is a serious lack of leadership. They are loathe to admit their mistakes in my experience.
Management never makes mistakes. They only "find new opportunities for synergyâ. 
6 Likes
Hate that term. Itâs one of the buzzwords people use that are really obnoxious. I have been in video conference calls where the leader would say,âLetâs take this off lineâ Which means I donât want the people I am sitting with to know how I really feel. The tacky phrase 'moving forward" annoyed me also. WTF who moves backwards? Why donât you just say ânextâ or we got to do this soon? The one that REALLY annoys me is ârevertâ. Now I was always taught revert means to return to a previous state. So when some Sigma 6 genius sends me an email telling me to revert so the team is sure we are on the same page I get annoyed. Revert to what? We going back to the old way of doing things? What page is that on?
If you have no original thoughts to express just STFU.
2 Likes
I looked it up and the reference to a lion is odd these days but it was an old proverb, probably advice for the captain of a trireme. The booklet covers pretty well all the things that have been suggested in the forum.
1 Like
You make some good points at this time. Thanks for your valuable input. Letâs run that up the flagpole and see who salutes, and we can regroup later, look at the dashboard, and maybe kick the ball around some more.
2 Likes
I think thatâs correct.
The nature of the task of operating a commercial cargo ship (for example) has changed over the last 100 years.
Imagine a big sailing vessel getting into bad weather. Look at the language.
Capt comes on deck and needs to change things up. He knows what needs to happen but he canât do it alone because he only has two hands
So whatâs he do? He gets more hands. First he calls all hands. Once all hands are on deck he gives them commands and deck hands comply.
The situation today is far different. An engine department, capt being directed ashore via email, weather routing, ECDIS, ARPA, VTS, Port Control, SOLAS, Port State Control, etc etc.
Captain standing on deck shouting out commands doesnât fit anymore.
At the risk of missing the point of a really good rantâŚ
I knew a captain who used to say âit is what it isâ during turnovers. I never knew what it meant but now from the context I think itâs a rhetorical means to control the tense (past or future) of the discussion.
The past is about blame, the future is about choice. At some point itâs time to stop sorting out what happened, who did what and start talking about what to do in the future, or âmoving forwardâ.
This is my source.
Good book, enjoyable read.
1 Like
I recommend this book too.
1 Like
This one was good too. Maybe better from a practical standpoint.
Short repetitive messages, I had a C/E tell me I was good at brainwashing.
What! No âSafety Cultureâ. Thatâs a maritime corporate hallmarkâŚ
Terms go through a cycle. Old terms get worn out and we have to find new ones to replace. Or some words come with assumptions or preconceptions.
Synergy is a good example, once a perfectly good word from the Greek work + together. Now a punch line to be avoided.
I want a bingo card with âlube oil consumptionâ and the like.
1 Like
Because the industry and regulators have made them a commodity. (thank me for not writing âcommoditizedâ)
Like any other commodity, there are a lot to choose from and unless you have read a review or know the product you take it off the shelf and give it a try. Buyer beware.
1 Like
