It’s Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff

I read this book while working through the superintendent certification program and still continue many of the leadership ideas shared by Captain Abrashoff.

Summarization of Reading

Captain Abrashoff commanded the USS Benfold and developed a unique management style that catapulted his ship and crew to be one of the top performers in the US Navy. From his own professional experiences he concluded that micromanagement was counter productive and stifled the good decision-making that was critical to the battle readiness of a ship and crew. He instituted management techniques that were against standard protocol and contrary to decades of Navy operating procedure, he questioned why things were done a certain way and always tied it back to the battle readiness of the ship, he moved beyond business as usual and empowered his crew to make decisions that were best for the ship and its mission. In doing so, his crew adopted the motto of being, “The Best Damn Ship” in the Navy.

He led the crew with a personalized approach to leadership. He sought out the goals, dreams, and needs of each crew member and helped developed each to reach his/her potential. He took input from everyone on the crew, not just the officers, and put into action ideas that were in the best interests of the mission and crew. He developed a crew of leaders who were anchored in doing what was best for the ship.

Implications for district leadership & the most relevant concepts presented

Many of the management techniques delineated in this book have a correlation to a public school system and leadership position. The key concept to understanding each of these techniques is that you must develop the leaders around you as the Superintendent. In doing so you will create a personal, vested interest on the part of each team member that will aid in all decision-making.

• Three Questions: When you aren’t getting the results you want as the Supt. there are three questions you can ask yourself: 1. Did I clearly articulate the goals? 2. Did I give people enough time and resources to accomplish the task? 3. Did I give them enough training? This process will help you to determine what to do next to improve the situation.
• Listen Aggressively: Interview each member of your team and find out more about him or her. What do they like about the district, what would they improve? Then share your vision for the district. It’s critical that each staff member understand where the district is going and the vision for the future. Only then will they make decisions that support this vision.
• Freedom Creates Discipline: When reviewing data, or evaluating performance after an action it’s important to remember to check your ego at the door. Be open to criticism so that the best solution can be identified, even if it’s not yours. Conduct an AAR (After Action Review) following all critical situations and never make the same mistake twice. Free your people to say what needs to be said so the organization can improve.
• Create a Climate of Trust: One of the key points from this chapter was to welcome the bad-news messenger. As the Superintendent, you must be open to those that bring you problems. The distinction here is that you coach them to bring you the problems that they cannot solve on their own. People need to know that you trust them to make decisions that fall under their area of responsibility and that you are there when they have a problem that needs the Supt.’s attention.
• Look for Results: This doesn’t mean perfection. It means that results are the bottom line, but the process is critical to obtaining the bottom line. Sometime you will fail, but that is the opportunity for innovation and growth. Capt. Abrashoff created a climate where any sailor could approach him and make a suggestion on something that would improve the ship’s results. Everyone was encouraged to be innovative and take calculated risks. As the Supt. I will need to encourage everyone to look critically at how we do business and find a better way to meet the needs of all students. We must be a data driven district that takes these calculated risks.
• Generate Unity: Each school district has a level of diversity among staff and students. We have many opportunities throughout the year to celebrate the uniqueness and culture of each group and that’s important to maintain. However, each and every day of the year we should also continue to build unity throughout the district. This can be thought of as school-district spirit. The school system is of the best PR tools the city has in brining people to the community.

Topics for future research

One of the concepts discussed in the book was the idea of customized training to meet the individual needs of the team member. As the budget for education continues to diminish, we face the challenge of providing meaningful professional development that meets individual needs. As the Supt. it will be even more critical to identify best practices in professional development since your district dollar will need to go much further in the future. We will need to embrace online professional development and other means of job-embedded professional development. Further study is needed to determine the most effective delivery system. It’s possible that a hybrid system of online and in-classroom coaching would be best, or the option to choose purely online, or purely face-to-face session might be best for some.