Bridgewater Group’s Director Agnes Butterworth shares the management lessons she learned while on a sailing holiday in Croatia this summer.
I have just returned from my sailing holiday in Croatia. I took on the responsibility of Skipper as my husband and I chartered a yacht to sail around Croatian islands in the North Adriatic. While I’m far from being an expert, I love sailing, the challenges it presents and the way it can shape you as a person. The power and unpredictability of the sea often tests your patience, resilience and self-control. And when you’re sailing, it’s just you, your crew and the elements.
I often recognise many parallels between sailing and management. Whether it be a business, team or department that you manage, it’s always you, your team and the ‘elements’.
Here’s what I learned while sailing this year.
1. Perspective
When you’re out at sea, it amazes me how much distance can affect what you’re looking at. You see a lighthouse in the distance and you’re perfectly convinced that it’s on the shore. But as you get closer you realise it’s actually 200 yards from the coast on a little island.
I know that as a manager it is all too easy to get caught up in the way that you see things and how you feel about them. Many Managers are strong-minded (I definitely fall into that category) and when you are, you can often forget to think about how other people see things. While you’re by the shore looking at the lighthouse, they might be way out a sea, they may not have even seen it yet.
I think this highlights the importance of taking numerous perspectives into consideration. Whatever the situation, making an effort to understand others will help you to see the full picture and to make a better-informed decision.
2. Engage the whole team
One morning my husband decided that he could do it all by himself. He felt that he could prepare the boat for sea and cast off without my help. I thought, well who am I to intervene if he’s decided that he’s capable?
I was below deck sorting something out when the boat began to move. A few moments later I could hear and feel that something wasn’t working right. The engine wasn’t engaging properly and the bow of the boat was veering the wrong way. The next thing I hear is my husband shouting for help. I ran straight out of the cabin and up onto deck where our situation was not looking good. By working together and after a bit of a struggle we managed to restart the engine and navigate our boat out of the marina. With hindsight, I thought we could have saved ourselves a lot of stress and embarrassment if we had just communicated well and worked together from the start.
This reminded me that whether it’s your crew or your team, to get the job done well, everyone needs to be engaged and committed. Often driven and ambitious individuals want to do it all because they believe that they can do the best job. I’m guilty of it myself! But you can’t do everything on your own. Having a strong team around you will allow you to achieve more and it should also make life more enjoyable.
3. Re-evaluate your plan
I’m organised and I love planning! Wherever I go on my holidays, I usually like there to be some form of road or sea trip and to make sure I’m fully prepared and in control, I develop a well-formulated and well-researched plan.
This holiday was no different and before arriving in Croatia I had already prepared a perfect sailing route with great views, open water passages, beautiful marinas and exciting towns to explore at night. Day 1 and 2 ran smoothly with everything running to plan. But on the third day, we fell in love with Cres, the town we were visiting, and decided that we wanted to stay another day.
We adapted our original plan, thinking we can make up the distance over the next few days. However, when we woke up the following morning we were met with forecasts of gale force winds that were to last for the remainder of our trip. But what about my plan?! I thought, What about all of the marinas, towns, coves and bays we still had to visit? I was extremely disappointed and wanted to throw caution to the wind and plow on with what I had planned anyway.
We set out from the marina and were instantly faced with strong winds and huge waves. It was only a snapshot of what was to come and we knew in seconds that we had to change our plan. We decided to brave the choppy sea and voyage back to our home marina which would take us 10 hours. By the time we arrived we were exhausted and sick of the sea but we knew we had made the right decision. This was further confirmed when we witnessed the thunderstorms and gales the following day.
Being adaptable and prepared to review and change your plans when necessary is also key in business. Plan 1 doesn’t always work and there’s no point in sticking with it if it’s going to sink your ship. With my recruitment business, I took a number of Trainees on last year. I made business plans and revenue targets early in the year that relied on having a certain number of fully-trained Consultants. I then realised that 2 of our trainees just weren’t going to make it and I needed to change the plan. With a reduced workforce, hitting the targets I’d set earlier in the year was not going to be feasible. I had to adapt by reducing targets and focusing on maximising profitability.
If you’re an optimist like me, making these decisions is rarely easy. But I think that being able to recognise when it’s time to make a change, review plans and set a new course is an extremely valuable skill in business.
I often find that holidays are the perfect opportunity to learn and reflect. When you go on your next holiday, have a think about what career and management lessons you can learn from your personal life’s adventures and let me know.
