define problem solving under shipboard leadership

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• Problem Solving

Problem Solving is a component of Ownership. Within Problem Solving, we also cover key topics including Spotlight on Problem Solving Tools and Techniques, Spotlight on Gap Analysis and Spotlight on Intuition Problem Solving.

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• Dimensions of Leadership

Leadership Essentials: Problem Solving

It is often easy to overlook or misunderstand the true nature and cause of problems in the workplace. This can lead to missed learning opportunities, the wrong problem being dealt with, or the symptom being removed but not the cause of the underlying problem. You need to diagnose the situation so that the real problem is accurately identified, and if you define problems accurately you will make them easier and less costly to solve. 

‘Leadership Essentials: Problem-Solving’ provides an overview of why problem-solving is essential for leadership capability and includes ‘Top Tips’ on how effective problem-solving can help you become a better leader. The Essentials leaflet is supported by three Spotlights that look at problem-solving in more detail to help you improve your leadership skills:

• Defining the Problem
• Gap Analysis
• Intuition in Problem-Solving

09 February 2018

Spotlight on Gap Analysis

Spotlight on Intuition in Problem Solving

"My own experience is that you get as much information as you can and then you pay attention to your intuition, to your informed instinct"

Colin Powell  (Former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff)

Spotlight on Problem Solving Tools and Techniques

"If I were given one hour to save the world, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute resolving it." Attributed to Albert Einstein

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The Leader’s 5-Step Process for Solving Any Problem

This blog post has been adapted from Dr. John Maxwell’s leadership resource, Developing the Leader Within You 2.0. John Maxwell has been one of the world’s foremost leadership and personal growth experts for more than 40 years, and this guidebook for leadership development contains invaluable insights. You can pick up a copy here .

Albert Einstein said, “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

Not everyone sees things this way. Some are presented with tough problems or hard choices and throw up their hands in frustration. But viewing a challenge as an obstacle, rather than an opportunity, does not prevent us from having the problem – it only affects our ability to solve it.

Any leader who can shift his or her thinking from Is there an answer? to There is always an answer to There must be a good answer has the potential to become not only a fantastic problem solver, but also a change agent for opportunity.

Not Problems, But Possibilities

Leadership author and speaker Glenn Llopis has written about the power of this problem-solving perspective. He quoted Karl Popper: “All life is problem solving.” Then he went on to say, “The best leaders are the best problem solvers. They have the patience to step back and see the problem at-hand through broadened observation… The most effective leaders approach problems through a lens of opportunity.”

So how can leaders look at problems through the lens of opportunity? Try these 5 perspective-shifting approaches:

1. RECOGNIZE A POTENTIAL PROBLEM BEFORE IT BECOMES A REAL PROBLEM.

Great leaders are rarely blindsided. Like boxers, they recognize that the punch that knocks them out is usually the one they didn’t see coming. For that reason they are always looking for signs and indicators that will give them insight into any potential problems ahead. Every problem is like the one faced by the trespasser at an Indiana farm who saw a sign on a fence post that said, “If you cross this field, you’d better do it in 9.8 seconds. The bull can do it in 10 seconds.”

Good leaders anticipate problems so they can position themselves and those who follow them for success. What potential problems do you see in your world, and what is your game plan to fix them when they happen? Downsides rarely have an upside unless you are ready for them on the front end.

2. GET A CLEAR PICTURE OF THE PROBLEM.

Have you ever heard the saying “Assumption is the mother of mess-ups”? If assumptions create mess-ups in everyday life, they create trainwrecks in leadership. The place to start is by getting a clear picture of the problem you face. Financier and business titan J. P. Morgan asserted, “No problem can be solved until it is reduced to some simple form. The changing of a vague difficulty into a specific, concrete form is a very essential element in thinking.”

That process begins by identifying what constitutes a problem. Author Bobb Biehl defines a problem as “a situation that’s counter to your intentions or expectations.” So what must a leader do when they find themselves facing one of these counter-situations? They must follow the advice of author Max De Pree, who said, “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality.”

3. ASK QUESTIONS TO HELP YOU SOLVE PROBLEMS.

Questions are a vital resource for problem solving. Not only do they help leaders gather information and seek solutions, but they also enable us to understand what people think and feel before we lead them. Many leaders are too quick to talk and lead, and too slow to ask questions and listen.

Consider these clarifying questions next time you’re faced with difficulty:

• Who knows the most about this problem?
• Who knows what I need to know?
• Who wants to tackle this problem?
• Who needs to buy in, and how long will that take?

4. ALWAYS COME UP WITH MORE THAN ONE SOLUTION.

As you seek to solve problems, list as many solutions to a problem as possible. The more, the better. Keep in mind that seldom is there just one way to solve a problem. The more options the better, because problems continually shift and change. Leaders who don’t have backup solutions soon find themselves in trouble.

The truth is that big ideas don’t appear—they evolve. But that only happens when you are determined to explore ideas and look for more and better solutions.

5. INSPIRE ACTION.

One of the greatest dangers for a thoughtful person is to spend too much time on problem solving and too little time on solution implementing. Leaders who don’t or can’t follow through are in danger of thinking, Ready, aim, aim, aim… but never fire!

The solution is to develop a bias for action. Don’t think, Can I? Instead think, How can I? Then start moving forward. The moment you confront and act on a problem, you begin to solve it. If great inventors and explorers hadn’t taken tangible, deliberate steps forward, would they have made the contributions they’re known for? No! Their belief prompted action and their action created results. Ideas evolve as you move, and better solutions come into view as you move forward. Ultimately, you can’t wish or wait your way through difficulties. You must work your way through them.

How do great leaders improve? One way is by committing to always improving their leadership skills and surrounding themselves with like-minded people.

Maxwell Leadership is proud to present Day to Grow… a one-day leadership development conference in Orlando, Florida, on August 14th , featuring incredible speakers like John C. Maxwell, Atomic Habits author James Clear, Juliet Funt, and Ryan Leak. Ready to reserve your seat at Day to Grow? Click here to register .

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The Ship Board: Management Styles and Leadership Case Study

Introduction.

The analysis of the Ship Board management highlights the ways in which effective and proper management has an overall impact on the ability of an organization to meet its goals effectively. Management should be thoroughly aware of how their practice affects the dynamics that create a healthy working environment in which the employees are motivated and are proud to identify themselves with (Rose 2013). Unfortunately, from the case study, it was evident that the Captain and his leadership were not equipped with appropriate management mettle.

Organizational Hierarchy

Management theories evoke a sentiment of skepticism, as they are perceived by those in practical management practice to be unrelated to what actually happens in the real management practice. However, the proponents of management theories are individuals who are well read in the field of management (Lunenburg 2010). The Captain gained his managerial prowess by rising through the ranks during his career, through which he accumulated knowledge and experience. While this is not a bad learning experience, the knowledge scope may be too narrow as it is derived from a singular setting. Some practices may, therefore, not be very effective.

General Management Theory

General Management Theory is a culmination of all management theories and includes Scientific Management, Bureaucracy, and Administration (Thenmozhi 2010).

A lack of planning was evidenced by the absence of set standards for performance. Captain, Charles Xavier gave the Chief Officer the task of management of the ship and then made himself inaccessible.

When the Captain delegated the task of running the ship to the Chief Officer, the Chief Officer became overwhelmed by the numerous tasks that he was appointed to accomplish. He distributed some of his workload to the junior officers and cadets to perform these tasks. This did not order well with the Second and Third Officers. If the Captain had given the management responsibility to the Chief Officer with a clear work plan, he would not have been overwhelmed.

The management style that can be observed in this context is a combination of laissez faire management and autocratic management. Laissez faire style of management is completely hands off, and subordinates are allowed to make all the decisions. Captain Charles Xavier left the management of the ship to the Chief Officer. He was then rarely seen, or heard from. Responsibility of running the ship fell squarely on the Chief Officer’s shoulders.

Autocratic management on the other hand, is evidenced by the inability of the Chief Officer to approach the Captain when he became overwhelmed with running the ship. It is an indication that whatever the management decides has to be obeyed and is not open for deliberation.

Leadership and Motivation

Motivation can be defined as the level at which perpetual effort is geared towards an ideal outcome. The autocratic style of leadership, which entails the “do as I say”, is the concept that has a negative impact on motivation. This type of leadership compels the employees to execute their duties. Motivation is in form of coercion and threats. As a result, there is no employee commitment, innovation or creativity. This causes unsalvageable damage to an organization (Chen, Sharma, Edinger, Shapiro & Farh 2011).

The crew on the ship did not seem motivated in the sense of exerting effort towards their duties. An instance of de-motivation was highlighted when a cadet on the ship wished to quit his position, as life was tough on the ship. This is indicative that his constant output did not yield any ideal outcomes. Master turned down his request and advised him to toughen up. Making a mockery of the plight of employees creates a notion to the employee that they do not matter to the organization, and it is highly demotivating. However, the Chief Officer took up the matter and assigned the cadet lesser duties. Organizations’ management systems should consider the plight of employees within reasonable parameters because human resources are the most valuable of all resources that an organization possesses. Without work force, the assets, investments and finances are pointless.

In a similar case, the Third Engineer requested transfer to another ship. He felt that he was not acquiring sufficient experience and mentorship to equip him with the skills to advance to the position of Second Engineer. The Second Engineer was willing and capable of training the Third Engineer. The Chief Engineer disapproved of this arrangement because according to him, the effort to learn and progress was futile since the junior officers would never progress in rank. When the Third Engineer tried to take up the matter with the Master, he was dismissed.

The Second Engineer was also discouraged from helping the junior officers with their studies. If he was allowed to help them advance in their studies, the valuable time spent on recreational and sporting activities with the cook and other members would instead have been utilized towards studying which is more beneficial to the junior officers and the organization.

Human and Group Behavior

Employee and group attitudes can be used to gauge the success of an organization. The employee attitudes on this ship were those of resentment towards the senior officers. The environment was not conducive for career progression or learning.

The working relationship between the Captain and Chief Officer was strained. There was obviously a lot of tension between them. The Chief Officer kept to himself and the Captain did not monitor his progress, or how he handled the management of the ship.

The Master’s rigidity in his leadership style, coupled with the Captain’s disappearing act on delegating all authority to the Chief Officer, stifling of advancement opportunities for the crew and junior officers, demeaning of the junior officers and disapproval of the informal working groups only worked towards exacerbating of the strained, dysfunctional working relationships.

Informal Grouping

Formal and informal groups sometimes overlap depending on the cohesiveness, communication structures and presence of the members. An Informal group usually emanates within the organizational structure, but its constitution is not governed by that of the organization (Chen, Sharma, Edinger, Shapiro & Farh 2011).

It can be observed from the ship that informal groups prevailed over the formal groups, when they came together to engage in recreational activities outside working hours. Despite the fact that informal groups are not governed by organizational policies, they have a lot of positive attributes. Group members may come up as planners and organizers because there are few inhibitions in the informal setting.

Management can work together with such informal group leaders to motivate employees and promote the organization’s agenda through them.

The Chief Engineer discouraged the second engineer from adopting the third engineer as an understudy. The Chief Engineer was of the perception that junior officers supplied by the agency in Philippines could not rise to higher ranks. This was misplaced because often, perception is a function of personal judgment that is sometimes distorted by incomplete facts or selective perception where one only sees what they want to see (Thenmozhi 2010). The Chief engineer did not know for sure the learning and leadership potential of the third engineer. He judged his capacity based on the agency that hired him.

Conflict Resolution

When the Chief Officer got overwhelmed with his responsibilities and distributed some of the responsibilities to the Second and Third Officers, they became displeased. The Chief Engineer sensed conflict and took up the matter with the Master, who dismissed him and asked him to manage his department. A lack of a conflict resolution channels in an organization stirred contempt among employees.

Avoiding conflict altogether may seem like an ideal strategy, but it is not. The Captain of the ship, in an effort to motivate the employees, threw parties every Sunday evening, which ran late. However, the crew got too tired and was not able to carry out their duties effectively on Monday morning. The Chief Officer chose Mondays for training and drill exercises. Although the parties were counterproductive, the Chief Officer did not express his concern to the Captain in order to avoid a conflict. Valuable time was spent on training instead of engaging in tasks that were more productive. This could have been rectified, if the Chief Officer had not avoided stirring up a possible conflict.

An entire absence of conflict leads to an apathetic workforce (Rose 2013). Too much conflict is indicative of lack of cohesion and detachment from peers.

Problem Solving

There is evidence of lack in problem solving skills on the part of the Chief Officer, Captain and Chief Engineer. The Chief Officer could not broach the issue of work overload to the Captain, and the Chief Engineer could not quell the problem of poor delegation of duties. The steps to problem solving include: definition of the issue causing conflict, creating alternative solutions for the issues, establishing the most favorable alternatives to the problem and incorporating the best solution (Rose 2013). If these steps could have been taken, there would be no resultant feelings of resentment when conflicts arose.

Communication

The most basic requirement for efficient functioning of the organization is the ability to communicate effectively (Lunenburg 2010). Emotional barriers take place where the initiator of the message is apprehensive about putting the message across due to various reasons. Interpersonal barriers are evidenced where communication is hampered due to a strained relationship or tension.

The perceptual barrier is highlighted where the cadet was dismissed on requesting to be relieved of his duties. The response given to him by the master was unprofessional and disrespectful. For communication to flow, the participants must adopt a listening habit.

Management styles and leadership practices may not have a perceived impact on the paper. However, this case study demonstrates the opposite. The practice of management and the concepts that pertain to them make insurmountable differences to organizations and people, depending on whether they are applied effectively. There is no right or wrong style of leadership. The most important thing is the context in which that leadership style is practiced.

Reference List

Chen, G, Sharma, P, Edinger, K, Shapiro, D, & Farh, J 2011, Motivating and de-motivating forces in teams: cross-level influences of empowering leadership and relationship conflict, Journal of Applied Psychology , vol. 96. no. 3, pp. 541. Web.

Lunenburg, F 2010, Communication: The Process, Barriers, and Improving Effectiveness . Web.

Rose, A 2013, Human behavior and social processes: An interactionist approach , Routledge, London. Web.

Thenmozhi, M 2010, Evolution of Management Theory. Web .

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IvyPanda. (2020, June 3). The Ship Board: Management Styles and Leadership. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-ship-board-management-styles-and-leadership/

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Human Element and Leadership: The Key to Crew Management and Safe Operations

In the maritime industry, the human element plays a crucial role in the safety and efficiency of ship operations. While modern ships are equipped with advanced technology and automated systems, it is ultimately the human crew that ensures the vessel is navigated safely, cargo is handled correctly, and emergencies are managed effectively. Therefore, developing strong leadership skills and understanding human factors are essential for ship officers. Human Element and Leadership is a vital part of maritime education, preparing officers to manage crews, mitigate fatigue, and enhance communication on board.

This article explores the critical elements of crew resource management, fatigue prevention, human factors in maritime safety, and leadership skills that navigation ship officers must develop to lead their teams and ensure safe and efficient operations.

Crew Resource Management (CRM)

Crew Resource Management (CRM) focuses on the effective use of all available resources—human and technological—to achieve safe and efficient ship operations. It emphasizes teamwork, communication, decision-making, and problem-solving, ensuring that all members of the crew work together toward common goals.

Fatigue Management and Human Factors

One of the most significant challenges in maritime operations is managing crew fatigue. Long hours, shift work, and stressful conditions can lead to physical and mental exhaustion, which directly impacts safety. Fatigue management is, therefore, a critical component of human element training.

Leadership Skills in Maritime Operations

Leadership is a critical skill for ship officers, as they are responsible for managing the crew, ensuring compliance with regulations, and maintaining the safety and efficiency of ship operations. Leadership in the maritime context requires a balance of authority, empathy, and the ability to motivate and guide the team.

Leadership During Emergencies

Leadership during emergencies is a critical skill for maritime officers. In high-pressure situations such as a fire, collision, or engine failure, the officer in charge must lead the crew in responding effectively, ensuring that everyone knows their roles and acts quickly.

The human element and leadership are at the core of successful ship operations, playing a crucial role in ensuring safety, efficiency, and crew well-being. By focusing on crew resource management, fatigue mitigation, human factors in safety, and leadership development, maritime officers are well-equipped to lead their teams, maintain high operational standards, and respond effectively to emergencies. As the shipping industry evolves with new technologies and greater emphasis on safety and sustainability, the importance of strong leadership and an understanding of the human element will continue to grow. Officers who excel in these areas will not only ensure the smooth operation of their ships but also contribute to a safer and more efficient global maritime industry.

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The Power of Leaders Who Focus on Solving Problems

by Deborah Ancona and Hal Gregersen

Summary .   

In front of a packed room of MIT students and alumni, Vivienne Ming is holding forth in a style all her own. “Embrace cyborgs,” she calls out, as she clicks to a slide that raises eyebrows even in this tech-smitten crowd. “ Really . Fifteen to 25 years from now, cognitive neuroprosthetics will fundamentally change the definition of what it means to be human.”

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