Munich, 17. March 2013 Henrik Weller von Ahlefeld Sailing How it Contributes to my Personal and Professional Development
Oct 30, 2014
Munich, 17. March 2013
Henrik Weller von Ahlefeld
Sailing How it Contributes to my Personal and
Professional Development
Page 2
About me
Background
Name, Age: Henrik, 22 Hobbies: Sailing, Skiing and Football Likes: Friends, Family, Baked Beans Dislikes: Prejudice, Violence and No-go
attitude Motto: Have the serenity to accept the
things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference.
I enjoy sailing in competitions and for fun
Who What
Competition Satisfaction of winning Feedback on my abilities A great team effort and experience
For fun Close to nature – epicenter of wind and water Meditative focus – forgetting stress Quality time with friends
Where Why
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Successful sailing
Teamwork Any crew, small or large needs
the interaction of crew members and their individual roles that integrate into one movement
Leadership Mastering the boat means
responsibility for the safety and success of the crew
Focus Full commitment to
assigned role to reach maximum potential
Always a “third” eye on team mates and changes in the set-up
Communication Everyone must be aligned
and made aware of next move to ensure a fast manoeuvre execution
Key characteristics needed for successful sailing
The 4 Characteristics > Sailing
Teamwork, Leadership , Communication and Focus make up 4 key characteristics the crew members need to build in order to be able to sail successfully
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Teamwork
The 4 Characteristics > Teamwork
Successful Sailing
Teamwork
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Teamwork
The 4 Characteristics > Teamwork
Teamwork
Sailing
Boats that are too big to sail by oneself need crew interaction
Crew members assume interdependent roles
Swan 45: 11 members
Every individual contributes to the overall performance of the boat by fulfilling his assigned role
Communication among crew vital to optimize the team interaction a prerequisite for top performance be aware of the boat’s capacity of each parameter
Professional development
Understand that one cannot take charge of all tasks, must focus on one's assigned role and interact with the team
Learning importance of understanding hierarchies and who to approach in what kind of situations
Understand that one's role in an organization is to maximize organization's benefit
Sailing
Crew may react too slow to circumstances when many members need to be consulted
Responsibility for the performance of the whole team only as good as the weakest link
Business
Work teams may include too many members, resulting in need to consult others while situation calls for swift decision
Sailing
Roles can be distributed so that team members' talents match their tasks
Spirit: everyone feels own contribution to be vital for boats competitiveness
Business
Team member roles can be allocated to buildon strengths of each member
Everyone feels part of overall performance
Strengths
Pitfalls
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Leadership
The 4 Characteristics > Leadership
Successful Sailing
Leadership
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Leadership
The 4 Characteristics > Leadership
Leadership
Sailing
Every boat needs a captain to command it
Leader must be able to assume ultimate responsibility for crew
Coordination of crew needed
Dangerous situations need fast decisions
Captain is often free from micro managing all roles and can concentrate on the strategic path
A leader must be democratic yet authoritarian
Business
Teams benefit from having a leader
As a team leader one is responsible for the team’s performance, and must accept this responsibility
A leader needs to coordinate talents to make processes more efficient & effective
If the team does not share an opinion the leader can break the stalemate
If situations need to be solved quickly, consulting every team member may slow down the reaction
A leader must have the trust of his team
Sailing
The captain may be over occupied with concentrating on the strategic path of the boat
The captain may not consult his crew sufficiently and thereby lose credibility among his crew
Business
Leader may be pre-occupied with himselfand frustrates team members by ignoring their input
Sailing
The captain can coordinate a team and assign duties to avoid chaos
The captain can save a boat from imminent danger by making quick decisions
Business
A leader must coordinate his subordinates to allocate members to their most suitable role to best contribute to the overall success
Strengths
Pitfalls
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Communication
The 4 Characteristics > Communication
Successful Sailing
Communication
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Communication
The 4 Characteristics > Communication
Communication
Sailing
Crew members need to communicate in order to facilitate teamwork
Feedback is necessary for captain to adjust boat
The captain needs to issue commands to coordinate the crew
Crew must be receptive towards instructions
Communication ensures everyone is informed of next manoeuvre for a swift execution
Briefing and debriefing important for performance
Business
Feedback is necessary for the team leader to be able to make informed decisions
A feedback loop lets the leader know where strengths and weaknesses are
Understand that proactive and clear communication is better than keeping quiet
Lively communication flags potential problems earlier and raises chance of avoiding the problem
Briefing and debriefing important for performance
Sailing
Over-relying on feedback and communication may prove fatal when in extreme situations
Business
Too many communication channels may confuse team members and cause a breakdown
Communication may slow down the decisionmaking process
Sailing
Communication helps captain understand situation better to adjust the strategic path of the boat
Feedback helps crew understand where their strengths and weaknesses are
Business
Communication and feedback helps teammembers and leaders to adjust and balancetheir weaknesses and strengths
Strengths
Pitfalls
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Focus
The 4 Characteristics > Focus
Successful Sailing
Focus
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Focus
The 4 Characteristics > Focus
Focus
Sailing
External factors change constantly and boat needs to be dynamically adjusted to these changes
High pressure on members during manoeuvres
Must block out pressure and purely focus on task
Predict, anticipate, train, build routine, to be ready for sudden change in circumstances and succeed
Business
Business environment changes constantly and the business may need to be adjusted accordingly
One cannot let pressure distract oneself from the task at hand, this wastes critical time and raises clumsiness and risk of failure
Focus particularly in beginnings of projects
The more dimensions one knows, the better one is able to execute a decision
Clear communication, task, training, scenario building ensures one does not fall behind
Sailing
Focus on own task makes member unaware of full chain of events and how to take over another task in times of urgency
Business
Narrow specialisation makes employee less knowledgeable to assign to other tasks
Less approachable for colleagues / sub-ordinates when too focused on own tasks
Sailing
When everyone is focused, boat can be sailed faster and increases performance through flawless execution
Business
Employees have a good understanding oftasks and are dedicated to execution of tasks
Strengths
Pitfalls
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Successful organization
Key characteristics needed for a successful business
The 4 Characteristics > Professional and Personal development
Teamwork, Focus, Communication and Leadership also make up 4 key characteristics employees must build for a successful business
Teamwork Bigger organizations need more
employees that need to cooperate for the goal of the company
Leadership Steering a business area means
responsibility for subordinates and the performance of that area
Focus Full commitment to assigned
role to reach maximum potential
Constant awareness of external and internal factors
Communication Employees must be on the
same page and contribute towards same strategy
Feedback is important to align everyone
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Thank you for your attention
The End
Pictures taken on personal sailing trips