Fast Company, April 1999 Grassroots Leadership by Polly LaBarre p. 115-126

The USS Benfold is a guided-missle destroyer with the reputation as the best ship in the Pacific fleet. Its commander felt that "the most important thing a captain can do is to see the ship from the eyes of the crew". With an outlook like that it's not surprising that Commander D. Michael Abrashoff was able to create a progressive model of leadership which helped such things as: cut turnover rate, save the Navy's budget, etc. He felt that incredible results could come from combining innovative practices with true empowerment. His attitude of putting his staff before his career allowed him to do some creative tinkering to old dye-in-the-wool concepts. How ironic that in doing that he unintentionally gained a promotion for doing such good work commanding his ship.

Abrashoff's recognition was so on target that it's the little guys who are doing the work and not the people high up and if you concentrate on performance over obedience your end product is far superior. How often that is true in any organization and yet the staff on the lower rungs of the ladder are rarely listened to or acknowledged. Instead they are frequently ignored. It's also unfortunate that frequently it's the administrators who get the big salary increases and benefits and yet the secretaries and grunt workers who carry the burden of doing the chores reap very little of the benefits.

Because Abrashoff listened to his crew, he was able to make changes and improvements. He gave 2 insights about change: things can always be done a better way and the more people enjoyed the process of change the better the results. It was remarkably novel how open-minded Abrashoff was about change. With that kind of attitude it's no wonder his fleet had 100% retention compared to the average of 54%. He followed 6 principles to make his grassroots leadership work.

1. Don't just take command. Communicate purpose.

2. Leaders listen without prejudice. You discover so much more when you listen with an open mind.

3. Practice discipline without formalism. It is about supporting the staff and not yourself just because you're the boss. True innovation comes about when people who do the work know that they have the last word. It is treating people with respect and dignity.

4. The best captains hand out responsibility, not orders. When you give people the responsibility to make decisions you end up with real decision makers and not just order takers.

5. Successful crews perform with devotion. Paying attention to the quality of life and enhancing it has its payback. It is both having an environment where people are able to do well and also where people want to do well. it is the paying of attention to things that cause dissatisfaction and changing them.

6. True change is permanent.

Many of the principles outlined in the article can be easily adapted and applied to any level at an organization. Unfortunately many so-called "leaders" are so afraid of change that they prefer to stick to the old policies and the "it can't be done because this is the way it's always been done" way of doing things. How refreshing it was to read about an innovator who was willing to break away from the traditional mold and was able to make a difference to the people under his command.

-- Anonymous, February 22, 2000