• Turn The Ship Around Workbook Pdf
• Turn The Ship Around Chapter Notes

Leadership should mean giving control rather than taking co. Read Book.Different edition. David Marquet, an experienced Navy officer, was used to giving orders. (as opposed to the traditional leader-follower) and the three pillars upon which it. Pretty good read explaining the story of turning leadership style from.

Turn the Ship Around! By Captain L. David MarquetIn the military world where following orders is the primary requirement, Marquet has demonstrated that it is possible to change the leader-follower environment to that of leader-leader management, even in the case of an expensive, complex nuclear submarine. Marquet realized that he needed mechanisms in place to achieve excellence. His mechanisms were changes implemented to foster CONTROL (giving responsibility and authority to those working in a particular area), COMPETENCE, and CLARITY in communication. He couldn’t just keep the same mechanisms and expect a different outcome.

Marquet used short, interesting stories to introduce his goals and mechanisms. The book was encouraging because Marquet didn’t just transform himself or the ship overnight, but by gradually tweaking the “genetic code” of their processes, excellence emerged.When Marquet was assigned to the Santa Fe, the sub was ranked last in the fleet technically, operationally, and emotionally. Few of the crew ever asked to be reassigned to the Santa Fe. He had experienced occasions on previous ships when he had been given responsibility and freedom for a particular operation, and the experience had been life-changing for him. During his first command, he had tried to inspire and empower his crew, but it had failed, and he returned to just issuing orders.

With his new assignment to the Santa Fe, he was determined not to fall into old patterns. “Within a year, the situation was totally turned around.

We went from worst to first in most measures of performance, including the one I valued most—our ability to retail our sailors and officers.” (p. Xxix)One of the most significant points that Marquet made related to empowerment. “It seemed inherently contradictory to have an empowerment program whereby I would empower my subordinates and my boss would empower me. I felt my power came from within, and attempts to empower me felt like manipulation.” (p. He recognized that just performing a list of tasks would never be empowering. Real empowerment comes from real authority.

He wanted to command in a way that he received it best—“given specific goals but broad latitude in how to accomplish them.” The leader-follower model was not empowering. If we can get power from someone else, then they can take it away, too.I see many situations in which these principles can be applied—family life, businesses, schools, and other organizations. In some schools, teachers are given little control over how they accomplish goals and are distracted by too many evaluating and monitoring procedures and paperwork. This book should be required reading for people in management, especially in complex and ever-changing situations.Summary:Usually a submarine captain is assigned to a ship a year in advance so that they can learn all there is about the ship and prepare for its deployment. Marquet’s assignment was switched in mid-year, so he had only half the usual amount of time with a crew that was already demoralized and operating at minimum quality. On his first day on board the Santa Fe, Marquet was not familiar with the technology specific to the ship, which turned out to be an advantage. It forced him to ask questions out of curiosity and to focus on the crew and their interactions.

He learned that many of the problems were procedural. Paperwork for promotions and leave were always delayed. It was clear that the men were frustrated, that initiative was discouraged, and that their main task was to avoid mistakes. Unfortunately, “The best way to not make a mistake is not to do anything or make any decisions.” (p.

Marquet wanted to achieve great things. “Reducing mistakes would be an important side benefit to attaining our primary goal, achieving excellence.” (p. 44).Marquet worked to move authority, decision-making, and control down the chain of command. “A submarine has a built-in structure whereby information is channeled up the chain of command to decision makers.” The new standard was “Don’t move information to authority; move authority to the information.” He wanted to “turn passive followers into active leaders.” (p.

The captain recognized that even though many officers had lectured on taking initiative, the mechanisms to allow that weren’t in place and the behavior was not rewarded. There was a heavy focus on following procedure, which can be limiting, especially in the complex and ever-changing events of warfare. He wanted his officers to take charge.These changes required much honest conversation with his officers. They began by simplifying procedures for leave by six steps.

That was a mechanism for chiefs to be in charge of their men. This small step made them responsible for many other things in their divisions as well. It wasn’t an empowerment program.

Turn The Ship Around Workbook Pdf

“It’s changing the way the organization controls decisions in an enduring, personal way.” (p. They rewrote the “genetic code.”Another change that Marquet implemented was to encourage short, early conversations to improve communication and make the work more efficient. In many cases, men were relieved that they finally had a voice in what was happening, and that they had significant contributions to make in achieving excellence on board.

Mechanisms for CLARITY in communication were set up. These conversations helped leaders retain CONTROL of the situations and solutions in their divisions. “Supervisors needed to recognize that the demand for perfect products the first time they see them results in significant waste and frustration throughout their organization.” (p. 75).Captain Marquet wanted successful inspections to be the outcome of being excellent, not the goal for all activity.

He changed the format for communication on the Santa Fe. Rather than issuing detailed orders to every department head, he had them declare their plans with, “I intend to,” and he would answer, “Very well.” He found that those few words “profoundly shifted ownership of the plan to the officersThe officers and crew loved itIt caused them to think at the next higher level” and prepare for leadership required in advanced ranks.

81-83).At one point, Marquet issued an important order without explaining his assumptions and reasons for his decision, and then he went to bed. Several things occurred during the night in an unpredictable and complex situation, but he had not communicated sufficiently for his men to adapt rather than revert to avoiding errors. He recommends: “Resist the urge to provide solutions,” which takes back the CONTROL from the people who should have it.Top-down monitoring systems were eliminated as much as possible, because officers and men spent more time responding to monitoring and not getting the work done. This was another mechanism for giving CONTROL to the crew.

Marquet recounts the influence that W. Edwards Demings had on him.

“It showed me how efforts to improve the process made the organization more efficient, while efforts to monitor the process made the organization less efficient. What I hadn’t understood was the pernicious effect that ‘We are checking up on you’ has on initiative, vitality, and passion until I saw it in action on Santa Fe.”After an important inspection many weeks before deployment, Marquet realized that all too often he had reverted to leader-follower mode. He met with his department heads to discuss some problems, and came up with some causes:. Perspective—the crew forgot why they did what they did. They got caught up in avoiding errors. Informal communication was absent.

This had helped the crew to anticipate needs. They called it “thinking out loud.” This is a mechanism for CLARITY. 106).Back in the harbor, the crew had an error which required informing supervisors and more inspection. The Santa Fe team developed an “embrace the inspectors” perspective as a mechanism for CONTROL.

“We viewed the inspectors as advocates to share our good practices with and sources of information and solutions. This created an atmosphere of learning and curiosity” rather than defensiveness and external control.

111).Along with CLARITY, COMPETENCE is necessary to support internal CONTROL and empowerment. The mechanisms for COMPETENCE are “Take deliberate action. We learn (everywhere, all the time). Don’t brief, certify. Continually and consistently repeat the message. Specify goals, not methods.” (p.

115).When a serious breach in safety procedures occurred, the crew expected yelling, more training, or more supervision. Instead, the captain and his officers spent seven hours figuring out how to avoid the same thing happening again. The outcome of that meeting was to “take deliberate action” as a mechanism for COMPETENCE. “This meant that prior to any action, the operator paused and vocalized and gestured toward what he was about to do, and only after taking a deliberate pause would he execute the action. Our intent was to eliminate those ‘automatic’ mistakes.” Captain Marquet felt that taking “deliberate action” was the “single most powerful mechanismfor reducing mistakes and making the Santa Fe excellent.” (p. Other shipmates could see what was about to happen, and monitors could be in place to intervene if needed.

During a subsequent inspection of reactor operations, the inspector said, “You guys tried to make the same mistakes as everyone else. But the mistakes never happened because of deliberate action.” (p. 124).Marquet and his officers and chiefs codified the philosophy of the Santa Fe that begins:What do we do on a day-to-day basis? Why is learning a better word than “training”?

Training implies passivitylearning is active. What do we learn? We learn how to prepare a submarine for success in combat.There are several questions and answers about submarines. Then: Therefore, our vision of our command is a learning and competence factory.

What do you expect me to do? I expect you to learn to be a better submariner each day.They began to see training as a “key enabler that allowed us to pass decision-making authority to lower levels on Santa Fe.” (p. This “will naturally result in greater engagement, motivation, and initiative.” (p. 132).Ongoing learning is a mechanism for COMPETENCE.While working on reducing the time required to submerge, the crew found ingenious ways to shorten the time by seconds or minutes. During their first dive after being in port for many weeks, things went wrong, even though a briefing had occurred. But no one had been listening.

The mechanism he implemented was “Don’t brief, certify.” Briefing is passive. In a certification, the Chief in Charge asked questions and then decides if the team is ready to perform the task. It shifts responsibility to the participants. This is a mechanism for COMPETENCE.When one sailor when AWOL, the officers looked at why this had occurred, what mechanism (the qualification program) was broken, and what needed to be fixed.Another mechanism for COMPETENCE that the captain realized was needed was repeating the message continually and consistently. He had to say again that the chiefs were responsible for the needs as well as the actions of their men. It was hard for them to visualize the new scheme, especially after years and decades of the old modes of leadership. “They just are not picturing what you are picturing.” (p.

150).In Chapter 20, the Santa Fe experiences a fire drill which pointed to the problem of the procedure being the master. There was no incentive to put out a simulated fire quickly. “We authorized the drill monitor at the scene to adapt the drill based on the crew’s responseunencumbered by administrative disincentives and distractions.” The captain explained that the goal (mechanism for CLARITY) was to put out the fire, not avoid procedural errors. They developed a language to describe what they were seeing, a mechanism for CLARITY. They would later be recognized for their responses to damage drills.The practice of an officer searching out the cause for unnecessary noise on the ship (a potentially lethal problem in war) was replaced by the offender notifying the chief of the watch on his own, without penalty or criticism. Many self-reported even though it didn’t show up on sonar, and the ship became quieter.The final section of the book is about the importance of CLARITY in communication.

The mechanisms that Marquet describes for CLARITY are: “Achieve excellence; don’t just avoid errors. Build trust and take care of your people. Use your legacy for inspiration. Use guiding principles for decision criteria.

Turn The Ship Around Chapter Notes

Use immediate recognition to reinforce desired behaviors. Begin with the end in mind. Encourage a questioning attitude over blind obedience.”The crew of the Santa Fe was ready for deployment two weeks early! During their first days at sea, the captain set about to establish goals for the ship as well as to encourage the crew to establish personal goals for obtaining college credits, preparing for promotion exams, and staying physically fit.

The goals for the ship were for increased empowerment (responsibility and authority) down the command chain, improved efficiency on board, and increased tactical excellence in preparation for combat. Marquet realized that he had not done enough to enable men to achieve promotions, and that the men didn’t really understand the promotion system. The captain studied the figures and realized that the difference between people who had been promoted those who had not was the exam score, which was something they could control. The crew figured out what they needed to study, made their own practice exams, and integrated their study into the operations of the sub. “Now our interests were aligned.” (p. In one year, 40% of the enlisted crew achieved an advancement.

“By explaining the process to the crew and giving them the tools to improve their performance, we empowered them to determine their own success.” (p. 171).By working hard to help his crew advance, Marquet put in place the next mechanism for CLARITY—building trust and taking care of your own people. He found that his men accepted criticism because they knew they were on the same team. He also learned to use the legacy of the Navy for inspiration as a mechanism for CLARITY of purpose and motivation to pursue excellence. When he set about to develop some guiding principles, he wanted them to do just that for the crew—“provide guidance on decisions.” (p.

The guiding principles that emerged from the officers was: initiative encouraged by leaders, innovation that tolerated failure, technical knowledge, courage, commitment, continuous improvement, integrity, empowerment that communicates goals and allows flexibility in the way they are reached, teamwork, open communication, timeliness, and leadership at every level. Whenever a crew member was honored in evaluations and awards, the words were always in the language of the guiding principles.

They became a mechanism for CLARITY, woven into the fabric of operations and speech. “They have to accurately represent the principles of the real organization, not the imagined organization.” (p. Captain Marquet worked at providing immediate reinforcement for desired behaviors, another mechanism for CLARITY. He didn’t pit his men against each other, but rather “man-versus-nature.” It was the team working toward a common goal.

“Simply providing data to the teams on their relative performance results in a natural desire to improve.” (p. 187).The author worked with his men on long-term goals, even what awards they hoped to earn by the end of their three-year tour of duty. He asked them to write out their own performance evaluation for the following year.

They collected hard data, such as the number of citations, and kept track of new comparative data to measure their success. Marquet believes these figures motivated the crew and helped them to attain advanced ranks.

“Beginning with the end in mind was a mechanism for CLARITY.” (p. He also encouraged a questioning attitude over blind obedience as a mechanism for CLARITY.This attitude worked especially well in a crisis situation because each man in his division of responsibility was the leader and took charge of his area. The mission would not have been ready on time if each officer had to wait for instructions from the captain. During the maneuver one officer even told the captain, “You’re wrong.” If the crew had just blindly obeyed the captain’s order, they would have failed and several men might have died.In Chapter 27, Marquet lists the accomplishments of the first year’s deployment, and a percentage chart measuring improvements. He attributes the success of the Santa Fe to the leader-leader management model he employed on board.

“I continued to see benefits of deliberate action It reduced errors and was a mechanism for teamworkas well as for signaling intent.” (p. On page 205, he includes a helpful list of what to do and not to do, and on pages 206 and 207, he listed the mechanisms outlined in the book that contributed to CONTROL, COMPETENCE, and CLARITY.

He emphasized that empowerment alone is not enough. “Empowerment does not work without the attributes of competence and clarity.

He also prefers the term “emancipation” rather than empowerment, by which we are “recognizing the inherent genius, energy, and creativity in all people, and allowing those talents to emerge.”Two long-term results of the leader-leader standard aboard the Santa Fe was that the ship continued to excel after Marquet departed. They also “developed additional leaders in numbers widely disproportionate to the statistical probabilities,” or compared to any other ship. This is in addition to repeated years of top ratings in all naval operations and activities. Marquet has seen some of his methods spread to other ships in the navy, and he has taught his approach to other organizations and businesses using the same principles.