Leadership Is a Term That Can Mean Essay

Leadership is a term that can mean many things to many people in many situations. It can refer to a sergeant in the U.S. Army leading his men through minefields to track down enemy combatants in Afghanistan. It can mean the fastest car in a NASCAR race and it can allude to the young man in a Sunday School class who takes over competently when the regular teacher is unable to be present.

When discussing leadership it is helpful to use examples of people who showed leadership in various ways. The best-selling book by Michael Abrashoff (It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy) offers a wonderful glimpse into how a captain took over a Navy ship that was ranked very low in its capabilities because of a number of serious problems with personnel, with equipment, and obviously with leadership.

In Abrashoff's book the author reviews the many steps he took to transform that Navy ship from a very poor example of efficiency to a top-ranked Navy vessel. The way in which Abrashoff treated his crew is a very positive example of how leadership should play out in any workplace environment. To Abrashoff, who may seem like he was boasting a bit in some of the narrative, the key was building a good and trusting relationship with his crew. He listened very intently and sincerely to each sailor's story. He personally met and interviewed each of the several hundred members of his crew, showing all of them that he really cared and was interested in what they had to say.

In fact, to me it shows tremendous leadership to take certain employees who failed elsewhere -- as Abrashoff did on his Navy ship -- and train them, mold them, even push them into becoming the best they can be. Abrashoff took some of the misfits on his ship and with his leadership (he was a very good role model) he turned them into competent, confident crew members. He also was willing to change the rules if his sailors would come up with a better idea, which is a classic example of leadership. Any CEO or other executive with a corporation or with a nonprofit organization that fails to be flexible when his employees or volunteers come up with a better idea for the success of the organization is showing the opposite of what good leadership should be.

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