The buck stops here (with the leader)

I just came back from a cruise and was unimpressed with some of the gaffes that occurred during it: at the first port, there were not enough launches to get the passengers to land, making people wait hours; the newsletter had a number of errors, including telling passengers the wrong date when to change dates; one of our cabins had the luggage and clothing from the previous passengers...they were continuing it on the same ship but in a different cabin. It led me to think: why so many issues?

I sincerely think it starts and stops with the captain and the senior leadership. If gaffes like these are acceptable, they will occur. If the expectations and support are for exceptional execution, that is what will happen.

Don't believe me? Read CPT Michael Abrashoff's It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy on how he turned one of the worse destroyers in the US Navy to one of the best in about 18 months! You can find it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, as well as many other bookstores. I highly recommend this book as a way of introducing the importance of leadership and how to apply it in your organization.

Photo

What is Leadership?

I've been trying to address and get others to understand this question for the last few years. We all know it when we see it, but it doesn't mean we know how to do it or what it entails. How do you figure out how to build your leadership skills?

The typical answer: come to my class and I'll teach you. Not quite. A lot more is needed. Things such as practicing leadership (leadership is like swimming or driving. Are you ready just by sitting in a class and hearing about it? No!). And then you have to get some feedback.

I've found a number of excellent sources of information, some good books, etc. I'll be sharing some of these, as well as other things, as time goes on.

Let me know your thoughts on leadership?

BTW, a typical answer to what is leadership is "the ability to get other(s) to do something willingly." The last part is key, as we are all familiar with the drill sergeant style of leadership (or lack thereof!)