Feature: The power of interaction
24 | Seaways | May 2019 Read Seaways online at http://www.nautinst.org/seaways
Being a successful manager requires an understanding of how the crew works as a whole
The power of interaction
Captain Mladen Simicic MSc
AFNI
T
hose of us with three to four decades of seafaring behind
us have witnessed great changes in many aspects of our
industry. In addition to notable technological advancements
and the development of environmental consciousness,
we have seen many changes in ships’ leadership and management.
The further back we look, the more rigid and more vertical was the
hierarchical structure. Today, in addition to rational and quantifiable
performance metrics, much more attention is paid to non-quantifiable
elements such as job satisfaction, emotions, values and vision and how
they influence our life and our work. We allow for the possibility that
quantifiable facts are not the only force that will guide us to better
performance.
Ship leadership and management are still directed to efficiency
and profit, just as they always were. Lately, however, companies
have understood that profit alone itself is not enough, and that there
is a need for wider social and environmental responsibility and
sustainability. The shipping industry is increasingly focused on the
human element and its characteristics. This is no surprise because
humans make and handle commercial profits and losses and have the
power to affect and control environmental impact.
There is no doubt that human nature is better understood and more
frequently taken into consideration today than it was just a few decades
ago. This shift in direction is evident in the many certifications,
conventions and training courses covering human resources issues,
and in our contemporary pursuit of safety. The classic authoritative
and hierarchical models of leadership and management are being
challenged.
That challenge has changed the nature of the working environment
at sea, which is today:
O Cooperative and interactive: Very close cooperation within ship’s
departments and with shore;
O Consensual: Meetings, discussions and agreements about the best
solutions;
O Less hierarchical: Wider range of crew members and departments
involved in sharing of information and decision making;
O Always evolving: Always introducing, changing and updating
procedures;
O Complex: Covers a wide range of considerations;
O Holistic: Considers the common good and environment, not profit
only.
There is an ongoing debate between behavioural economists
about the advantages and disadvantages of collective and individual
decision making. The shipping industry emphasises the importance
of teamwork, sharing of information and team empowerment. The
sheer quantity of work to be performed and the variety of competences
needed to make the ship operate imply that teamwork is indispensable.
The ability to work in a team and to get the best from that team is
considered a skill in itself. The truth is somewhere in the saying ‘strong
individuals make a strong team’.
Every crew member regardless of rank has the potential to improve
or to harm both themselves and the business as a whole. That implies
that nobody should be underestimated. Together, all 20 crew members
have potential in their joint experience, creativity and diversity of
thinking. People working together know more and have more resources
than the same people working singly, so there are always more views,
approaches, or options to solve a problem. The whole is greater than
the sum of the parts. Working as a team, we can deliver more than
would be possible as individuals. It would be unreasonable not to
utilise that potential to benefit the seafarer, the company and the
common good.
Of course individual decision making and responsibilities are still a
key part of our job specifications. Interaction with the team is one of
the most important sources of information on which we base collective
and individual decision making.
It is evident that in order to achieve all the benefits of teamwork in
the workplace we must cooperate and interact. Intensive interaction
is necessary for the vessel to run efficiently – or at all. Also, research
has shown that social interaction in general is important for health as
physical activity or diet. But while interacting with others, what do we
encounter? What factors influence and determine our interaction?
What do we need to ensure effective interaction? I believe that the
same qualities that define us and make us unique – that make us
ourselves – also determine the quality of our interactions.Knowledge, emotion, vision
Danah Zohar posits in her book Quantum Leader that there are three
‘levels of self’; mental, emotional and spiritual. To me this simple
statement allows us to create a structured approach to our work and to
teamwork. All three levels affect our life and our work at sea:- Knowledge
Working at the level of the rational mind means thinking and
performing measurably, being straightforward/pragmatic. At this level,
we deal with skills, priorities, physical and environmental situational
awareness and competences i.e. the ability to solve problems and
achieve goals. We work efficiently, using known facts and rules to allow
us to calculate, plan and to predict. This is a mechanistic approach
to reality. If this is neglected, we can find ourselves without the
information we need to perform tasks efficiently. When set a task, the
rational mind responds with questions. ‘How should I carry out this
work? What do I need to do?’
Some say that this level is all we need to perform. This is not entirely
correct, because as human beings we have emotional and spiritual
responses too.
Terrel and Hughes (2007) show that technical competence is no