Improving Your Team Every Week
If you were able to implement the principles and lessons Mike used aboard Benfold in your own team, coming to work might be much different. By changing your team's attitudes and strengthening the internal relationships, you can improve performance and affect how people view their role in the company.
Hundreds of organizations have used It's Your Ship to make this change. By assigning weekly chapters to your team and discussing ways of improving the ways you operate, you will see how empowerment and accountability become the most powerful tools you have.
How: One chapter at a time – weekly – is all it takes. To begin, assign Chapter One this Friday and let your team know what you expect from weekly discussions. Let them know that they are the reason you're interested in changing the way things are done. After all, when your team is engaged, they perform at a higher level. Empower them to take charge within the team. Meet with your team on Monday afternoon for thirty minutes over coffee – and get their input. Internalize and follow the outline provided below for discussion points in each chapter if it helps. Take notes on ideas that can be used from the book to improve your teams, and be specific on how your team has decided to implement those actions. Then, summarize in an email to your team. The book's chapters will guide you through the rest of the process.
First Assignment: Chapter One – Taking Command
As we begin It's Your Ship and look at my personal leadership transformation, I'd like to share what it took for me to "Take Command" of my new ship, and discuss some lessons I learned along the way. I encourage you to share your own experiences and thoughts within your own group. I have provided some outlines for discussion points and key concepts throughout the chapter. These are just some ideas to get you started, but do what works best within your group, because after all – It's Your Ship!
"It is essential to be respected and trusted, in order to be effective. Listening to those raucous jeers, I realized I had a long way to go before I really took command of Benfold." (p.12)
As I took control of the Benfold, I realized I had quite a challenge in front of me. What is the most challenging leadership position you have seen within your own career thus far?
"The timeless challenge in the real world is to help less-talented people transcend their limitations." (p.13)
Although most leaders would love to attract and retain the very best employees, we are often faced with the challenge of making the teams we were dealt their very best. What are some ways your company might be able to help strengthen your employees?
"I assumed that low pay was the first reason [people left the military], but in fact it was the fifth. The top reason was that people were not being treated with respect or dignity; second, was that they were being prevented from making an impact on the organization; third, not being listened to; and fourth, not being rewarded with more responsibility." (p.13)
This list was a real shock to me. It also made me realize that I could work to make these top four reasons obsolete and therefore retain my crew. Of these reasons, what do you think is your company's number one challenge to maintaining high employee retention rates?
"I began with the idea there is always a better way to do things, and that contrary to tradition, the crew's insights might be more profound than even the captain's. Accordingly, we spent several months analyzing every process on the ship. I asked everyone, ‘Is there a better way to do what you do?' Time after time, the answer was yes…" (p.15)
After making that assumption, I followed up with the idea that the secret to making lasting change was to implement processes that people would enjoy carrying out. In short, making people's jobs not only more effective, but also fun. What are some better ways to do your job? How can you implement fun within your own workplace?
"…my sailors knew I was going to bat for them. I could do no less: They had done the same for me…" (p.17)
As a leader it is important for your crew to know that you are "in it for them." Your crew will only further respect you when they realize you have their best interest at heart. As a leader, when have you gone to bat for your crew? Or, when has a leader gone to bat for you?
"I believe any of us fortunate enough to come from stable families have a responsibility to try and understand the experiences of those growing up without support, security, or positive role models." (p. 20)
As a leader we have the opportunity to act as a role model to those around us. I was lucky enough to find role models within my family, such as my father, as well as outside of my family, such as Secretary Perry. Who are some of your role models for success and what have you learned from them?
"…most twenty-five year-olds don't get the opportunity to see how the organization runs at a senior level. It was good training, which businesses could give their up-an-coming young people by making them executive assistants to the top officers." (p.22)
The experience I had at such a young age, as an aide to Admiral Hugh Webster, prepared me for many situations interacting with senior officers later on. What opportunities does your company give to young up-and-comers within the organization?
"It was time to confront everything I had hated about the Navy as I climbed up through its ranks, and fix it all. Though the goal was presumptuous, I told myself it was important that I try to do this." (p.27)
Leaders should always look for opportunities to change things they think can be better. Remembering how things worked, or didn't work, at every level is a responsibility a leader must not take lightly. What are some opportunities for change you have seen within your own organization?
Key Points to Discuss & Remember from Chapter 1:
The key to being a successful leader is to see the ship through the eyes of the crew.
Your crew is more perceptive than you give them credit for, they always know the score—even when you don't want them to.
Empowerment means defining the parameters in which people are allowed to operate, and then setting them free.
