Health Medical Homework Help. AU Mod 8 Captain Michael Abrashoff Leadership in the USS Benfold Discussion
MIKE ABRASHOFF, author of It’s Your Ship, faced when he became the youngest commander in the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet at age 36. The ship was the USS Benfold, and it ranked near the bottom of the performance rating in the fleet. Its safety record was abysmal, morale was worse, and its re-enlistment rate ranked at an embarrassing 8%.
As he settled into his command, there was one thing Mike Abrashoff quickly realized: he needed to reinvent his leadership style to have any hope of surviving, let alone succeeding. “The one thing in my control was my leadership approach and the culture it created. But nothing I’d done to that point had prepared me for this challenge. If things were going to change on the ship, the change needed to start with me,” he said.
I began asking each sailor three questions in my interviews 1) what do you like most about the USS Benfold; 2) what do you like least; and 3) what one thing would you change (except for the captain!) if you could? The idea was to take all of their intelligence and bring it to bear on our goals. As they came to know and trust me, they realized I’d listen to them and respect their opinion. On a ship, as with any organization, the captain only succeeds if everyone is committed to the same goals. As a captain, I can give orders, but I can’t order excellence.”
What Abrashoff wanted was to unleash the power of his crew to turn around a ship that had the potential to perform way beyond its current level.
At one of my first meetings with the crew I told them, I don’t care what your rank or how long you’ve been on the ship – if you have an idea how we can do something better, speak up. You can come to work every day and challenge every process, every procedure, every tradition, and every custom. The only rule was: it can’t cost more money. The budget was set. But if it’s a good idea, we’ll initiate it on the spot. As problems arose, crew members would come to me and I’d ask them – ‘What would you do? It’s your ship. You tell me.’ Soon they understood they had been empowered to come to work to think and make a difference. The feedback from the crew was extraordinarily positive. Many told me it was the first time in their careers that they looked forward to coming to work every day.”
In a short essay (500 to 1000 words), discuss the manner in which Captain Abrashoff commanded the crew of the USS Benfold. Why do you believe it was so effective? Do you believe his methods would be effective at your agency?
