A true story of a young servant-leader who transformed the hearts and minds of 310 sailors taking the ship with the worst performance in the Navy to the very top in less than two years!
By Ann McGee-Cooper
So you think you’ve got it bad. Imagine being the youngest leader assigned to the ship with the worst record of performance and retention in an organization famous for its intimidating command-and-control culture. This is the Navy so you can’t fire and hire. Who you’ve got is who you’ve got. And your crew for the most part is very young sailors coming from backgrounds of broken homes and meager financial resources, having been “scorned at home and squashed at school”.
I just finished a second reading of this fascinating book which is a great “how to” story for anyone who aspires to become an effective and transforming servant-leader. This young commander took the 310 sailors aboard the USS Benfold, a guided missile destroyer and won their trust and respect, taking them from the worst performance and retention record to the best in the Navy within two years. Most of us would like to believe that we struggle as leaders because of those entrusted to us to lead. We imagine that if we had better qualified people with better attitudes we could be successful. Or we make excuses about those above us. If only they were servant-leaders, then we could also succeed as servant-leaders. What I like most about this true story is how this leader had the humility and courage to begin by listening to and caring about his crew and being open to their ideas. He “asked the right questions” and then put resources behind their ideas. He learned about their hopes and dreams and found creative ways to help them succeed. He worked hard to build up their confidence by letting their family know when they did a good job, thanking them for their accomplishments with specific praise and trusting them with challenging assignments that inspired them to believe in themselves. And he showed humility, by being the last in the lunch line and choosing to eat with the crew rather than top officers.
Whether you are new to servant leadership or have been practicing it for awhile, this story of problems becoming opportunities to win the hearts and minds of his crew and then achieve the best ever performance levels while cutting their budget by 25% by questioning conventional wisdom and dreaming up better ways to do their jobs. For example, they returned $600,000 of the Ship’s $2.4 million maintenance budget and $800,00 of its $3 million repair budget, all while improving the overall performance of the ship and its crew!
Another impressive metric was the ship’s retention rate which jumped from 28% to 100 percent and stayed there. All of Benfold’s career sailors reenlisted for an additional tour! “Empowering means defining the parameters in which people are allowed to operate, and then setting them free.” Again and again, Captain Abrashoff found ways to inspire and motivate his sailors and then put resources behind their best ideas. He set extremely high expectations and his crew achieved or exceeded them repeatedly. “On USS Benfold, the secret of good work was good play.” From pumpkin carving contests to special vans for R&R, he put his crews needs first and taught them how to become successful ambassadors on shore so that they earned even more leave time.
Ten chapters spell out how he implemented servant leadership (which he calls Grassroots Leadership). Things like, lead by example, listen aggressively, communicate purpose and meaning, create a climate of trust and look for results not salutes demonstrate his approach. And at the end of the book he confesses where he fell short in choosing to compete with his peers rather than collaborate. This demonstrates his willingness to keep learning rather than basking in unprecedented success.
He speaks with great respect about the majority of his sailors who came from challenging family backgrounds, few financial resources and painful, unsafe childhoods yet each held the possibility of significant teamwork and personal achievement. Repeatedly he tells stories of a young sailor who might easily have been labeled negatively and held back being given an opportunity to make a significant contribution and succeeding beyond what anyone thought possible. He took many personal risks to open these doors. Yet he saw this as his responsibility.
In both readings I took away fresh insight to improve my performance as a teammate and servant leader. I highly recommend this resource.
"Ann McGee-Cooper teaches us that 'work' and 'drudgery' are not synonymous. She shows how a job can be a source of fellowship, zest, pride, fun, and individual expression. If we follow her precepts, we will return home refreshed, not jaded, and inspired rather than debilitated, at the end of our 'fun day,' not our 'work day.' We will also collectively be a more productive, competitive, and healthy society. I believe in what she says."