Essay: Essay on the book It's Your Ship (business)

Research Paper
This paper is going to be based upon the experiences of a crew on board of a dysfunctional ship belonging to the United States Navy. These examples are going to be taken from a book titled, It’s Your Ship, which was written by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff. This book is going to give examples that any leader can incorporate into any type of business today.
The first thing that leaders should do in any business is to find out how to improve morale in the workplace. To do this one would have to find out the reasons the people are unhappy. The top five reasons people were unhappy in their workplace was being treated without the respect they deserve, not being allowed to make proper organizational contributions, being denied the voice they deserve in the company, not receiving proper rewards they should have, and not receiving the compensation that they deserve (Abrashoff, 2002).
In order to turn things around in any business today leaders must gain the proper trust and support from their staff. Successful leadership comes over time and caring about their staff. To become successful one must also stand up for their crew and attempt to make their voices heard throughout the company. Once the crew knows that you have gone to bat for them, they will come to give the proper respect that is deserved.
Good leadership comes with time and commitment. To become this good leader people must prepare by doing their homework about the job and the people doing them. Leadership involves respect, not only of your crew but of yourself. All good leaders should also develop a form of integrity and discipline within the ranks of the business. Enthusiasm is also a key to successful leadership. Enthusiasm trickles downhill and if the leader shows poor skills, then the crew will also not evolve the way they should. Leadership styles should also include good morals and they should be courageous at what they do (Buckman, 2005).
The leadership role is something that I have not been involved with for very long, but I have found that by treating the crew with the respect they deserve and listening to their concerns does help very much in the end. Several of the crew I work with have asked me why I work by their side when I am the leader. My answer to them is that we are a team and I believe in teamwork, and that includes the leader. In our company, most of the people that are put in as leaders do not do anything to help when someone needs it. To me this is not the right way to do things.
A portion of this teamwork goes with not only working with the people in their jobs, but in the office. Once the leader has made it clear as to who is the boss, then comes the time to deal with what the crew may need to make their jobs easier. The best way to do this is to spark up conversations at the water cooler, or wherever, and simply ask what they need (Stanley, 1995). By finding out what they need to function better at their job and present this to the proper people in the company will also boost the trust between the leader and the crew.
In the fire service, or any business, there are transactional leaders, transformational leaders, and the laissez-faire leaders (Alyn, 2011). The easiest of all leader types to follow are the transformational leaders. These leaders touch on four areas of behavior: idealized influence, individualized consideration, intellectual stimulation, and inspirational motivation (Alyn, 2011).
What do these behavioral traits mean? Idealized influence is where leaders set role model examples to the crew. These leaders tend to have high levels of ethical standards and attempt to do what is best for the crew. These leaders have been noted as being loyal, humble, positive, honest, and competent (Alyn, 2011).
Individualized consideration is where leaders identify and support their followers’ needs. These are the leaders who tend to assist their crew in meeting their goals. The crew is developed by mentoring, training, and coaching. These leaders look at the individual needs of the entire crew and find ways to help them grow (Alyn, 2011).
Intellectual stimulation helps train the crew to challenge processes. The crew is given the proper tools and training to become more creative in problem solving (Alyn, 2011).
Inspirational motivation is noted by leaders who demonstrate a clear, inspiring, and engaging vision to their crew. These type leaders show an ability to gain support for their vision and values (Alyn, 2011).
Transformational leadership is easiest to demonstrate, as well as follow. I would tend to consider myself in this category most of all. I attempt to meet the classifications set forth in the description of each segment. These segments set the standards for good leadership. Any other type of leadership will not be as easy to follow and will probably fail.
We have had a couple of leaders in our company that basically were for themselves and nobody else’s opinions counted for anything. Nobody else had any say in what took place, so nobody made any suggestions on how to make things better or anything. It is too bad that these managers had not tried this transformational leadership approach. If they had done this method, they may still have been employed with our company today.
Leaders in any department must know their leading roles and responsibilities very well. They need to understand the situation of the departments they are leading as well. They need to enforce any of the policies that are in place unless there can be significant cause to possibly change them. As an effective leader you will have to come to realize what type of influence you have on your crew members.
Good leaders attempt to make the best department they can with what they are given to work with. One major issue to remember is that if someone makes a mistake, do not try and cover it up. This is one thing we stress very seriously in our department. Honest mistakes happen so come forward when mistakes are made. As a leader you are responsible for attempting to prevent mistakes from happening. If the leaders are caught trying to cover up mistakes, the crew will do the same thing. Always remember that what you do as leaders will be followed by the crew at some point in time.
Another trait to becoming a good leader is to be an efficient listener. When someone in your crew comes to you with concerns, pay attention to them. In a lot of cases what your crew is telling you will be painting a pretty good picture as to what is happening within the department. This will enable you to take a good look at your department and take note of how efficient it is being run. Your crew members can come up with some very good ideas that can possibly save some valuable finances for you. As with most department, financing comes very tough and any time someone can save money for you is a good thing.
When dealing with public service the work you do is very important for you as well as the department. One major issue for your survival here would be to make sure that your crew knows this importance and to know that what they do is beneficial to all involved. If people know that what they do has great community significance, they will more than likely work harder for you. The best way to do this is to maintain an open door policy with your crew. Your crew will be receptive to you if they know you will be listening to them with their concerns.
Use every call and training as a learning tool. These will become your best strategy for making your department better. Our department has sit down meetings for the more serious calls we go out on. We should be sitting down and having these discussions after every fire call we do, including training. People want to make sure they do their best at the job they do every time they go out. They also want to be as safe at it as possible making sure that we do not get hurt or so we do not hurt the other people around us.
Trust is a real big concern to any department. Leaders must be able to give their crew the responsibilities they would like them to achieve and let them go to perform them accordingly. Leaders, or any member, of the department must earn this new form of trust in each other as they learn to work together. All members, as well as leaders, must have self-confidence in themselves for what they do in order to achieve the best possible results. Everyone should also make sure to treat each other with the respect they deserve at all times (Abrashoff, 2002). Good leadership involves assisting their crew in confidence building and help them feel like they are important to the department and also a part of the team that the department becomes.
Any time your members have problems they must notify their leaders immediately. Most concerns can be dealt with, if done so in a timely manner. Good leaders will welcome these concerns in order to end them as quickly as possible so to not disrupt the entire department. Problem solving is something that our department has got to work on. One of the biggest issues we have to overcome is the disruptions during meetings. Our chief tends to let everyone discuss whatever they want to and this is not proper procedures for learning. Meeting are for learning new techniques and tactics for better job performance and safety procedures. These will not only benefit the department, but the communities we serve.
Effective leadership is about gaining effective demands on the correct match up of leadership styles of interaction with the crew and the degree that the leader could control or situational influence (Bouwsema, n.d.).
Effective leadership is present if three conditions exist: good leader-member relationship, a bond of trust and respect between leaders and their crew, and that level of confidence of the crew in their leader (Bouwsema, n.d.).
Task structuring will be more favorable allowing the achievement of goals. Job assignments are clearly wrote out and understood with set performance standards as well as an accountability level. Well trained fire department personnel are what allows this to happen. Fire scenes that are well established will produce the most positive results (Bouwsema, n.d.).
Fire department leaders have the responsibility to gain the knowledge and skills to properly do their job. The crew of the department permits the leader to have the access needed to achieve the legitimate power they need, but the leaders themselves must keep this position through expert power (Bouwsema, n.d.).
Leadership styles will vary between any department and at any scene you may be involved with. This will be determined by what is found at the scene when you arrive. Good leaders will make great efforts to guarantee that their department has the proper equipment to do their job to the best of their ability.
Other key factors that lead to good leadership skills is to mingle with the crew throughout the day. Getting to know the crew is something that Captain Abrashoff and the other officers aboard did. This led to trust in each other and got the crew confident enough to speak up when things needed to be dealt with.
Once the crew and the officers got comfortable with each other, the crew members started to open up and offer some suggestions that could make some major improvements. In order for these suggestions to make any difference, the captain or officers have to listen respectfully and offer input when necessary.
Suggestions were made about how to make improvements to the training process in this book. When the final outcome had been achieved the crew was awarded some quality time for their efforts. Rewarding people with quality items is something that people will make great efforts to gain.
Good leaders allow their crew the opportunity to grow and develop their skills. In order to do this they will have to let them do the new tasks themselves. This can be hard to do without intervening during the process. Training is something that we do at our facility for the new people and I am one of the trainers. To me it is quite difficult to just explain what has to be done and walk away to leave them alone trying to figure it out. I have found that this is not fair for them, especially if they have questions about the process they are trying to learn. Good trainers never leave their trainees alone to fend for themselves.
Good leaders will take some sort of risks for their crew, especially if they feel there is a valid point to be made. Just because something is written a specific way does not mean it can never be changed. We have policies and procedures in place for just about everything we do, some we like and others we do not. We have had several of these changed due to ideas that people have had to improve them and make them more user-friendly. This is the reason for constantly striving for continued success.
It is always good to have policies in place, as every department should. The one thing that departments should do is prepare to go above and beyond these policies. Look ahead at what can be done above the policies to make things better for them and the company. There will always be challenges made to your department and you must be ready for them obstacles. When these do happen we will always have to think outside of the box and these will not be covered under your policies. Preparing in advance for these unforeseen circumstances will prove to be much better for everyone involved.
One way to defend against these unforeseen events will be to make sure all of the crew members are well trained in every aspect of the department. Every department needs personnel to do what needs to be done. Employees must be cross-trained in all positions in case others are not able to fill them. This type of training is what will lead to the best possible outcome for everyone, including the company. Give the newer people the chance to see what it is like in the roles of the leaders for a day to appreciate what is done.
Whenever your crew members do their best at these jobs, tell them so. When congratulating people for jobs well done, do it in person not by computer. It will mean more if it is done in person. It would also be a good gesture to award with some form of achievement award or small token of appreciation. This does not have to be done with expensive items. Small tokens of appreciation show that you care and do appreciate everything they do for you.
Lower level members are just as important to any business as the leaders who run the business. Some of the newer members will have the ability to do some very good things for your department given the proper opportunity to do so. Good leaders must have the ability to trust their employees in what they do. Do not be afraid to utilize new members in some key roles when needed. If you do not, this could be a missed opportunity to find some of your future prospects in the company.
Leadership is about learning about your crew, personally and professionally. Learn their hobbies and what they are interested in doing. Nurture them to their full potential so they will be a great benefit to you and your department when the time is of the essence. Any employee who is struggling will need that extra push of confidence to get them on track and sometimes this is what is needed, so patience is another key asset to good leadership.
Nurturing your crew members also entails having honesty. This is one of the best features that good leaders could ever develop. Always be up front with your crew and constantly explain their actions, good or bad. If they are doing things that do not quite meet the expectations they should be, explain how to improve that. It also good to touch on the good points they are doing as well. Focusing on the good deeds they do will help keep morale high among them.
Spending quality time while on assignments is also a good feature. People that work together for long periods of time should be able to get along very well and overcome any obstacle that is thrown at them. Small groups are no place for high tensions between crew members. All this does is to cause disruption between the entire crew, and that is not acceptable.
One way to spend some of this quality time together is to instill some form of competition between crew members or between departments. Fire departments can initiate hose competitions where they have to knock down targets. This could also initiate the pump operators, because without them there would be no water for the hose team. This could also be used to bring area departments in to play along in the games.
Showing off your department to the community and the surrounding communities could also be a good thing to do. If people can see the equipment and facilities they are supporting with taxpayer money is always good. Have an open house day and allow them the chance to maybe participate in some events that your department does so they can see what it would be like. Put them on the pump or on the end of a hose and let them experience it from your side. This will make them appreciate what you do that much more.
Every leader should have to read this book about how Capt. Abrashoff turned the Benfold into the best ship and role model of the Navy department. It was amazing how this transformation took place by such simple little changes that were made. Some of the risks that were taken and some of the outcomes that could have happened if the results were different.
Any chief that can take command of the department he is leading will achieve the best results for that department in the end. Good leaders can take command and observe their people, while letting them act on their strengths producing the best results in the end.
A good chief will lead by example. This will make life in the fire service a meaningful one, since these leaders will not do things that they do not want their crew to do. Leading by example is one of the best traits a leader can instill in their crew. This will ensure that the entire crew will be looking out for each other all the time.
Aggressive listening is also a great feature to have as a leader. Your department personnel will have some very good input. It is up to you to pick up on this and learn what to use and what not to use and also when to use it. Always let your crew voice their concerns.
Communicating the effectiveness and purpose of the crew will also get you some very good results in the end. A department that knows what direction they are heading in will be the best in the end. This is because they will be doing things right the first time and not having to repeat steps over all the time.
Trust is something that every leader and crew should work together to achieve. This should be done right in the beginning so as to get off to a good start. Any crew that starts off on the wrong foot will be destined for failure.
Making decisions for the department while maintaining the integrity of the department is always for the best interest of everyone in the department and in the entire communities that they serve. Always do the proper training with your department in order to achieve the best possible outcomes for everyone.
Sometimes things have to be done for reasons that may be out of our control. This is where we have to take risks, sometimes they will be good and other times they may not be as good. In most cases if you have valid reasons for your decision the outcome will be good for all involved.
Whenever there are standards in place people will follow them. It would be wise for the chief to encourage his people to always look for ways to improve upon these standards and go above them. Thinking outside of the box will help to make them better. Challenge what you have in place to make them better. There is always room for improvement.
All of these things can be done effectively by building up your people. People always want to hear words of encouragement and when they do they will perform that much better. Praise for the crew is always a good thing and they will become better for it.
Working together is always a good boost for the department. Good leaders find ways to encourage unity in the department. Leaders can find out some of the things that the crew have in common and incorporate them into the daily activities in many ways, such as through the games and competitions that we discussed earlier.
We have a very good department overall, but we lack a little in training and cooperation. When the time comes to work a fire scene we work together, but we could do it better if we had better training. When it comes to training meetings there is a lot of different things going on that causes distractions for those willing to learn. The best training sessions we have are those when we train with our neighboring towns on mutual aid calls. If is always interesting to learn how the other departments do things as opposed to the way we do them in our department.
One articles in firerescue1news that really stands out to me is that of ‘New Company Officers: 10 Things You Need to Do.’ This article covers such things as training, conflict development, political realities, knowing your equipment, clear expectations, leading by example, careful writing, career planning, do not forget where you began, and time to relax.
Training is one of the best things that departments can ever do to obtain better results. Never think that you know everything there is to know.as you change in rank and move up the ladder, the more training you should be getting. Use this training to improve your skills and remember to never be afraid of making mistakes (Willing, 2009).
Conflict is something that will always pop up from time to time. Learning how to deal with conflict does not come naturally to anyone. People need to develop skills for this and the best ways to do this is to take classes and read articles (Willing, 2009). This comes over time, not overnight.
Learning about the political influences in your community and how they could affect the department is always a good thing to do. This is especially true when dealing with budgets for the department, especially when trying to get new equipment or new training classes. These things come with a price and you have to be able to defend your decisions when it comes to obtaining funding for these items.
As you move up the corporate ladder to new ranks never stop training with the crew. Always keep an open mind as to where the equipment is located on the trucks and never forget how to use it. This same thing holds true to your community. Get out and just drive around learning the road names as you do so. Over time these road names have changed. In our town alone we have road names now that I still do not know where they are located without some form of book to look them up in. we have our bible of roads in our trucks just for this occasion.
Clear expectations of the crew should be established right away. The crew should always know what is to be expected of them at all times. You do not want the department rolling out to a call and not have any idea of what to do first when they arrive on scene. Just because you set these expectations, do not take them for granted. You actually have to practice them more than once a year to remember them. This should part of your continuous improvement plan.
Remember to lead by example. Things you do could possibly come back to haunt you in the end. This is where it is important to skip over the bad things that you do not want your department members doing. If they see you doing things, they will think it fine for them to do it as well (Willing, 2009).
Writing is something that does not come easy for everyone. People need help in writing from time to time, so do not be afraid to ask for it when you need it. The higher up the ladder you go means more writing you will have to do.
One of the big things I tend to notice is that people forget where they started out in their journey. Treat your crew with the respect they deserve and give them the chance they need to prove themselves. This is something that someone did for you when you began and they deserve the same chance.
These are all things that I really like and try to hold on to them when dealing with new people in our workplace. I truly believe that we are all in the same playing field and have got to train together and learn new things as we go. Everyone is encouraged to train in whatever they feel more confident in whenever they get the opportunity. Learning is something that we are never too old to stop doing. The more we learn the better we will all be at making it safer for us and the community.
The things that Linda wrote about in her article can be used in any workplace, not just the fire service. I can see where they could be incorporated into my full time place of employment as well. This is where I try to use these standards when training new people and they are things that I would expect if I were the one being trained in a new job.
References
Abrashoff, Capt. M. D. (2002). It’s Your Ship: Management techniques from the best damn ship in the Navy
Alyn, K. (2011). Transformational leadership in the fire service. www.firerescue1.com
Bouwsema, B. (n.d.). Leadership: The right tool for the job. www.firefightingincanada.com
Buckman III, J. M. (2005). Leadership 201. Fire Engineering, 158 (8), 57-62
Stanley, M. F. (1995). Servant leadership in the fire service: It’s never lonely at the top when you’re leading. Fire Engineering, 148 (8), 30.
Willing, L. (2009). New Company Officers: 10 Things You Need to Do. www.firerescue1.com