The complete chief officer 19 leadership and attitude

19 Leadership and Attitude
You may have had pre-sea training on a traditional training ship or shore establishment
that gave you some leadership training and an understanding of it. However, it is more
likely that you will not have had this advantage and, during your time as Third and
Second Officer, you might have had little to do with leading the crew except for at
stations in and out of ports.
A lot of leadership is about having confidence in yourself. You don't have to know every
answer to every situation, just have confidence to ask others their advice and use that
with your own knowledge and abilities to produce a feasible resolution. Most, if not all,
of your crew onboard want to be led, which makes it easier. I understand the difficulties
perceived by younger officers dealing with older people, and different nationalities
when dealing with each other. There exists a certain embarrassment, possibly a
feeling that it should be the other way around. If this exists, it is likely to be in your mind,
not theirs. If your orders are sensible and properly given in a pleasant manner, then
you will find that those receiving them have no difficulty in carrying them out.
Resentment comes not from age, race or nationality, but from being given orders in an
unpleasant way or that are stupid.
Your general attitude while on the ship is, therefore, most important. On every ship
there are those who seem to make a hobby of complaining regardless of their
circumstances. It is essential that this is not you. Obviously, you cannot be cheerful all
the time, and if you go around with a perpetual grin on your face the crew will consider
you a clown that doesn't know what is going on. But if you can be generally cheerful
with a ready word and smile for those onboard, you set an example to others. Carry
this further and be ready with a word of praise for those who do their work properly,
rather than taking them for granted. Not only will you find that this helps the ship,
particularly when in difficult circumstances, but the respect for you will grow, and rightly
so.
Finally, never shout at or argue with your men.

19.1 Delegation

You will know, and probably are quite tired of being told, of all the differing tasks and
responsibilities associated with the ship that used to be carried out by the junior
officers and cadets. Chief Engineers could leave the engine room for days before
going down for a walk around. Captains and Chief Officers could go ashore without too
many concerns about the ship. The watch on the bridge would rarely have to be
checked on, even in the busiest of traffic. The Master only went on the bridge to keep a
watchful eye on the situation in case an officer needed his advice. So what has
happened? We still have the Second and Third Officers and
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we are told by countless administrations and ship operators that their quality is still the
same. If that is the case, then why are the company, the Master and even you not willing
to delegate to these officers the responsibilities they once held, making them accountable
for their actions?
A number of companies now try to insist that either the Master or the Chief Officer must be
onboard the ship at all times. This is a gross interference with the ship and the Master's
authority. We are content to let an officer have charge of the bridge for eight hours a day
yet when in port, where the ship is far safer, he cannot be entrusted to run the ship? Is a
company that makes such rules stating that not only do they not trust their Second or
Third Officers, but that they do not trust the Master or Chief Officer to make a reasoned
judgement as to when they can leave the vessel? Surely if the officers are not capable of
assuming such responsibilities they should not be on the ship in the first place?
However, in many cases it is us who are unwilling to delegate responsibility. While this is
understandable, it does neither you nor the officer any favours. If you do not delegate
duties and accountability to an officer, how will they to learn to grow into position.

19.2 Morale
The morale on a ship depends on many factors, some of which you have no control
over. However, the morale onboard or, if you prefer, the level of contentment or

happiness, does affect the work, safety and efficiency of the ship. Because we cannot
quantify this in a financial way, it can often be hard to convince operators of the need
for their interest in the maintenance of morale.

While you cannot have control over the ports of call, the availability of shore leave, the
weather, the equipment onboard or, often regrettably, the personality of the

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Captain, there are things that you can do that will assist in either maintaining good
morale or raising it. As the Chief Officer of the ship you must consider this as part of your
function.
We discussed entertainment, such as the provision of DVDs, books, etc, as being part
of your job, but you should also be able to order stores items such as dartboards, gym
equipment and similar.
The quality of the food and cooking will have a very large bearing on the morale of the
crew and if there is any discontentment regarding this you should bring it to the attention
of the Captain.

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