Navigating to Greatness: How to Lead Through a Recovering Economy

By D. Michael Abrashoff, Former Navy Commander and Author, "It's Your Ship"

As the worst economic downturn in many generations appears to be abating, we realize it will take some time before returning to “normal.” Many have been forced to downsize, working harder and doing more with less. In these times it would be easy to get discouraged and allow ourselves to become disheartened.

Several years ago, I was fortunate to gain command of a guided missile destroyer in the U.S. Navy. The USS Benfold wasn’t the worst ship in the Pacific Fleet but we were pretty close to the bottom. What’s worse, I couldn’t replace any crewmembers and I couldn’t pick and choose the missions we were assigned. At one point, I even had a crew - member tell me the crew didn’t feel safe. Here was an organization whose mission was to keep the country safe and yet those protecting didn’t feel protected. Talk about discouraging! I thought my career was over.

I refused to allow myself to become discouraged. Instead, I tried to use every event or process as a learning experience. I would keep a list of traits I liked and would try to replicate as well as a list of behaviors I despised and promised to avoid. I would add things to my list; take others off and did this all on an old ratty note card I kept in my wallet. My list would eventually come to form what I call Grassroots Leadership: the art of empowering people to lead and take control of their own destiny regardless of title or rank. Over time, these traits were narrowed down to ten:

1. Lead by Example
2. Create a Climate of Trust
3. Listen Aggressively
4. Communicate Purpose and Meaning
5. Look For Results, Not Salutes
6. Take Calculated Risks
7. Go Beyond Standard Operating Procedures
8. Strengthen Others
9. Generate Unity
10. Cultivate Quality of Life

For the first time in my career, I decided to stop focusing on the things I couldn’t influence and focus only on the things I could. I would engage the crew using my principles of Grassroots Leadership and chart a course to keep us all safe.

Lead by Example

It’s important to remember how we learned to lead. Someone saw potential in us and then mentored and nurtured us. We had successes. We had some failures, too. But along the way, we learned and gained the confidence we needed to lead. Over time, we became an asset to our mentor and our organization by taking on greater responsibilities.

Through discussions with my crew I realized that not everyone knew how to succeed. They knew they didn’t want to lose, but many never had a role model who showed them how to win. The more time I spent mentoring my crew and showing them how to win, the more burdens were lifted from my shoulders. I realize very few managers have an excess of time today, but we create value by being a role model for those who follow us.

Create a Climate of Trust

I interviewed every sailor on the ship. Each one, individually. I got to know their name, their spouse’s name, where they were from and what their goals were. Then I tried to be seen as a resource as they worked to achieve their goals. Only one person in my entire career ever asked me what my goals were and it made me feel great. I figured that if it made me feel great, then my crew would appreciate it as well.

Listen Aggressively

I got the idea to view things not from my eyes, but the eyes of my crew one day when I was walking the ship. I was talking to the sailors, trying to figure out what was wrong and how we could fix it. For the first time, I was truly listening to those who were actually doing the work. I tried to put myself in their shoes and understand what they were experiencing. I realized they were honest, hard - working men and women who desired to do their best. They simply struggled because we weren’t communicating with them properly. On that day, I started viewing everything through their eyes and communicating to them in their language about where we were going and how that path was going to keep us safe.

Communicate Purpose and Meaning

While interviewing the sailors, I quickly realized how smart they were. I added three questions: What do you like most about the Benfold? What do you like least? What would you change if you were Captain of this ship? I also added, “Don’t even think of changing the Captain!” I suggested they be responsible for their recommendations. I didn’t want ideas that were going to cost five million dollars. I didn’t want anyone to try to change the rest of the Navy. I wanted them to focus only on our own little piece of it.

The creativity started flowing. One sailor came to me with a great idea he had never implemented. When I asked him why, he said “they will not let us do it.” So many times, we have a “we” versus “they” mentality within our own organizations. I took these interviews as an opportunity to drive the point home, we are they! We need to collaborate better. We need to communicate better and we need to coordinate better.

Look For Results, Not Salutes

I got the whole crew together and told them we were only into results and not salutes. “I don’t care what your rank is. I don’t care how old you are. I don’t care how long you’ve been in the organization. Come to work every day and challenge every aspect of our operation. There are no sacred cows. We need everyone at their best and to be the best.”

One of the greatest tools we used to drive performance was one we lifted from the U.S. Army called the After Action Review or AAR. After every process, event and mission on the ship, everyone involved would gather around my chair on the bridge wing to review what it was we were attempting to accomplish. During this time everyone stood, including me, so it didn’t drag on. The goal was to be direct and to the point. We reviewed what it was we were trying to do. What the conditions were at the time. What worked, what didn’t work and what we would do differently next time to get an even better result.

Take Calculated Risks

Every crisis, while excruciating for many, also brings opportunity. We can work longer hours of course, but most of us are already mentally and physically drained from the tremendous number of hours we are already working. Those bold enough to try new ways of doing business create a potential to gain market share through innovation.

Go Beyond Standard Operating Procedures

During one of my interviews, a sailor asked me if I knew how many times we had painted the ship in the last year. “Six times,” he said. “Every other month we paint the ship. Have you ever painted your home? It sucks doesn’t it?” He then proceeded to tell me all the things we were doing wrong and how I could fix them. I had to admit he had a point. We were spending a ton of time chipping and painting the ship. Even though we had been doing this for the past 234 years, it was menial work; ten-dollar per hour work if you will. I soon realized if we didn’t have to paint as often, we could spend the time saved doing hundred-dollar per hour work. We could train our crew to better defend ourselves and keep the ship safe.

We implemented the sailor’s ideas and did not have to paint the ship again for ten months. The Navy has since implemented this program on every ship saving thousands of dollars and man hours that were put to better use elsewhere.

Strengthen Others

I connected with my crew, instilling in them a passion and motivation for their work. That’s how the Benfold became a hotbed of creativity and innovation. That’s how we reduced operating expenses, and more importantly, that’s how we gained control of our own destiny. It’s also the reason people started taking greater accountability for the results. Previously, they were order takers. When things didn’t work out they would say “It’s not my fault. I was just doing what I was told to do.” Instead, they became owners with a stake in a successful outcome.

Generate Unity

On the Benfold, the underlying rule was to leave your ego at the door. There would be no retribution for what was said and anyone in the group could respectfully challenge anyone else. The lowest ranking seaman could challenge the Captain. If he thought I was doing something wrong, he could call me on it. If he was right, I would change. If he was wrong, it meant there was something about the process he didn’t understand. This gave me the opportunity to have a coachable moment about the restrictions I had to live under. We made our share of mistakes on the ship. We just never made the same mistake twice. In the process, we trained the next generation of leaders to step up to the plate.

Cultivate Quality of Life

We created a workplace that treated the crew with respect and dignity. In exchange for their dedication to our ship, we invested in their education and training. It was my goal to create something I had rarely seen before — a workplace where I would want my own family members to come be a part. It doesn’t have to be any more complicated than that. What Happened? Without changing one crewmember, within a year, we were named the best ship in the Pacific Fleet. Most importantly, we felt safe, no matter what was thrown at us. No matter what the challenge, we were going to not just get by, we were going to prevail convincingly and thereby control our own destiny

Grassroots Leadership – A Case Study

In the early part of 2005, I got an email from the owner of a small professional services firm who had just finished reading my first book, “It’s Your Ship.” His firm was successful. With 20 employees he made a healthy profit, but he was working from four in the morning until ten at night, six days a week. The man never understood why his best employees left him every year. It wasn’t until he was reading about my experiences that it struck him how many hours a day he was spending doing ten-dollar per hour work; the work his team was supposed to be doing. This was not the fault of his employees but his own for not forcing himself to leave his comfort zone and become a better leader. He felt he was successful and believed by working longer and harder, he would make even more money. It wasn’t until he came to the realization that he should be doing, what he called five-hundred-dollar per hour work like spending more time with his high value clients, that he would be able to become more profitable and retain his employees.

He asked his whole team to read the book. Every week they focused on a new chapter. Within a year, they doubled revenue and not one associate left. This was all because he was not content with doing things the way he had always done them. He constantly challenged himself and his team to become better.

I called him in October 2009 to ask him how business was going. His reply, “We’re up 30% so far this year and taking market share.” Similar to how I ran my ship through the eyes of my crew, he led his team to constantly put themselves in the shoes of the clients. He and his team listen aggressively to their clients and try to understand where they’re experiencing pain. What they have found is their clients are hurting just like everyone else, having to do more with less. The goal of his team is to do everything in their power to alleviate each client’s pain. The client then comes to view them not as a cost, but as a profit center that helps to keep their business growing and progressing.

Since I left the Navy eight years ago, I have had many opportunities to work with outstanding professionals in the accounting and finance industry. I understand the pressures you are facing and the long hours you work. I know your clients are facing their own challenges as well. It is through combining your professional skills and knowledgebase with great leadership skills that you will yield the best results in the midst of these tough times. It’s also how you get your employees and clients to become loyal, dedicated and committed to you. That’s how you grow market share. That’s how you control your destiny.

After all, It’s Your Ship!

Learn more about Grassroots Leadership at www.grassrootsleadership.com

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