Monday, November 23rd, 2020
OnboardOnline asked a number of company bosses to share an example of great leadership and how it impacts the way they do business today. Amongst them was Mikaela Zehnder – European Director at Edge Yachts. Here’s what Mikaela had to say.
We so often look at leadership as being someone above us or in a more powerful position. We label our bosses and managers as leaders and look to them for direction. Instead, what if we saw leadership as coming together on equal grounds and working together? Leadership is less about taking control and more about influence.
This is the way we try to operate in yacht management every day, working with a range of leaders from the captain and HOD’s to the yacht owner and family offices. There’s always the potential for conflict as they all have directive positions with opinions and set ways of operating, so effective communication is key so that all the leaders feel empowered and can work together on equal ground.
Working together in this way we experience less conflict and a greater sense of unity among the team which has a positive impact on the whole operation.
Recently there have been so many great examples of what I call leadership equality. As I think about leaders in my own life, one that stands out is a captain I worked with when I first joined the yachting industry. I was hired as sole stew on a new build and I felt so uncertain but he gave me responsibility and the confidence to grow in my role. He led the team with respect for each of us and he helped us find our strengths and drive. With that style of leadership, we formed a team built on trust and confidence and we worked together very well. That experience created a solid foundation for how I wanted to lead in my future roles on board and ashore as I developed my career.
You can read the entire article on the OnboardOnline website.
