Abrashoff Leadership Concepts: A Book Review on Practical Leadership Concepts
“It is Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy” by Abrashoff, 2008.
In his book, “It is Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy,” Abrashoff shares some of the most practical leadership concepts that drastically impact organizational performance. He starts by expounding on the importance of empowerment in an organization in his first concept of taking command.
According to Abrashoff, many employers fear talking about empowerment because they think it gives employees the freedom to do what they want. He states that empowerment offers people the freedom to operate as they want within an environment with defined limits.
Leadership by example is another concept well propounded by Abrashoff. A leader must realize that they significantly influence how people behave in the organization. Leaders set the tone and the standards in the organization.
A leader, therefore, has to recognize his weaknesses and try to minimize their impacts on the rest of the workforce. Similarly, a leader should examine his thoughts before implementing them. Abrashoff states that if inaction is made public, for instance, published by Washington Post, and the leader is ashamed, they should never put it into action.
A leader who portrays confidence in achieving goals makes a workforce confident in creativity and innovation. Obedience to the senior chain of command is another thing that Abrashoff emphasizes in leading by example. He does not only encourage leaders to be obedient to their seniors when they agree but also when they disagree.
An effective leader privately makes his opinion known to his seniors. When the argument does not favor him, he implements the policy as if they never argued against it. This is important because it helps followers not revolt against the leader when they disagree with his ideas.
Abrashoff also underscores the role of communicating purpose and meaning. According to him, an effective leader understands the undisputed role of communication in management. For communication to act as an impetus for results, leaders must expound on common goals and a clear vision for the organization, inspiring employees to desire where they are going.
Leaders should only brag about their great dreams if all the employees understand and own them. Communication also involves creating the freedom for people to speak up. Encouraging employees to share their views freely enables the organization to identify new viable ideas and mistakes that would have proven costly.
Another central leadership concept propounded by Abrashoff is building a climate of trust. He says trust is the only factor that can help companies gain a competitive advantage. Trust means being confident in the abilities of your employees and creating room for them to do it on their own. It implies creating a big room for mistakes and showing confidence in their ability to come back.
Employees must be assured that their managers will intervene to help whenever they need that help. Another way of building trust is by protecting your followers from seniors who are not humane. This is important because it shows followers that their welfare matters to you.
Going beyond standard procedures is another crucial leadership concept emphasized by Abrashoff. He believes continuous improvement and innovation are the keys to sustainable competitive advantage. Consequently, influential leaders have the role of encouraging their followers to be creative in finding new, improved ways of performing routine tasks.
Lastly, Abrashoff also explains that leadership is about building up your people. Building up people involves appreciating and recognizing the efforts the employees are putting in to realize agreed goals. It goes beyond just praising the subordinate employees.
Still, it includes identifying the actions of senior management and helping them solve problems at the top management level without demanding credit. In so doing, Abrashoff keenly notes that it improves job satisfaction and makes one quite indispensable within the organization.
Reference
Abrashoff, M. D. (2008). It’s your ship: Management techniques from the best damn ship in the navy. New York. Hachette Book Group.
