This weekend I had the pleasure of meeting Michael Abrashoff, author of “It’s Your Ship,” a book on leadership. Mr. Abrashoff was the guest speaker at a company sponsored trip I was awarded for my outstanding leadership and performance excellence for 2014. The following is my personal account from listening to Mr. Abrashoff’s speech and his words are paraphrased based on my notes.
Shortly after accepting the position of Commander on a Navy Fleet ship, Mr. Abrashoff asked himself a simple question, “How am I showing up to the people I’m leading?” This question sparked a change in how Mr. Abrashoff interacted with everyone in his crew, from the cook to the commanding officers on deck. He took time talking and listening to each member of his crew, asking them three questions. One of the questions asked “what would they change about the ship?” His intent was to lead differently by getting the crew engaged and having accountability as members of the ship.
He was able to turn around what was once the worst ship in the fleet to become the best ship in just a short 12 months, using the same crew of over 300 people from when he first took over the ship. This was a tremendous feat because the ship previously was plagued with high turnover and low morale. Mr. Abrashoff believed that as a leader you must be willing to ask the tough questions and be ready to hear the not so pretty answer. He talked about connecting people to purpose and focusing on constant improvements. He shared a story of an 18 year old that joined the Navy because her family couldn’t afford college; after hearing similar stories from other sailors he implemented monthly SAT testing sessions on the ship to help those interested in enrolling into college.
He also shared the story of a 24 year old sailor that stayed up all night reworking launching procedures which weren’t updated by the Navy in over a hundred years, all because the sailor felt empowered, he wasn’t asked to do it. Mr. Abrashoff took a chance on the sailor and called his boss to share the new launching procedures. To his surprise the young sailor was right and the new procedures were then implemented throughout the entire Navy.
Mr. Abrashoff led with purpose and wasn’t afraid to take chances that benefited his crew regardless of how those chances might impact his Navy career personally. He trusted his crew and using transformational leadership was able to connect with them on a new more personal level . He not only learned about his crew, he learned about their families, their hopes and dreams, their long-term goals. His view on leadership was refreshing and sparked a renewed sense of responsibility in me. I am more inclined to ask the difficult question of myself, “What could I have done differently?” before expecting changes from my team.
I will end with these words from Mr. Abrashoff, “Stop worrying about the salutes and focus on the results.”
References:
Abrashoff, M. (n.d.) The One Variable Leaders can Control. Retrieved on April 20, 2015 from YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDLRNgc53To
Lojie Martin says
What a great example of a leader! Aside from transformational leadership, I would even argue that he is an example of servant leadership. I say that because it seems he really listens, empathizes with his employees and strives for organizational success -which are all characteristics of servant leadership.
Regardless, I’ve had personal experiences with leaders who have never asked themselves how they appear to their followers. As a matter of fact, they have gone as far as reacting negatively to employee feedback, even if the suggestion was eventually implemented. It seems that an overlapping characteristic between the two theories is having an interest in their followers and their organizations success over concerns for personal success.
References
Northouse, P.G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications
Justin Colby Hennighan says
That was a great video clip. I am glad that you got to attend a conference where he was.
I wondered what kind of leadership style you think best describes Michael Abrashoff.
To me, he sounds like as transformational leader. Abrashoff transformed not only the ship’s performance but the sailors’ lives as well. He empowered them to perform in ways that they either just could not or did not believe that they could. The example of instituting a SAT test demonstrates one way that he appreciated the full lives of those aboard his ship. Just from your stories and the video, it seems as if he has covered the 4 I’s (Northouse, 2013).
One could probably make a case for other styles. What do you think?
References
Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications