Management Weekly

“Turning the Ship Round”

I watched a video of how US naval captain David Marquet turned around performance on his submarine in a major way. 

Here is what I learned:

- Get people to THINK. 150 THINKERS are better than 1 THINKER (the leader) and 149 DOERS.

- Give away control - let your staff find the answer. Think of parenting. Your child has to make mistakes to learn how to walk, talk or ride a bike.

How do you give away control?

• Literally sit your staff down in your chair and get them thinking

• Fast-forward 6 months from now. With benefit of hindsight: what decision would you make/would you have made, looking back?

• How much progress have you made - NOT - have you done everything?

• If I weren't here, what would you do?

- Change your tone – start to say “I intend to". Don't say "THEY ", say "WE”.

- You must have complete trust in your staff.  Tell them, “I believe that you’re doing the right thing.”

In today’s world, you have many successful organisations who adopt this style. And many more could become even more successful by giving away control.

In the end, I learned that you will find your organisation, your job and your life most fulfilling if:

- You are who you are

- You follow your passion

- You take a few risks

- You make a few mistakes (hopefully not serious mistakes!)

- You let go of control.

- You learn and continue to learn!

My thanks go to:-

http://www.davidmarquet.com/