Friday, May 11th, 2012
I spent some time with a submariner recently. But he wouldn’t put it like that. He sails boats, but not surface boats. And he talk about life at the bottom of the ocean, and I thought he made ten really good points about workplaces that we could all learn from.
1. Team work rules supreme.
2. This is a trust environment.
3. Everyone does his or her job to the best of their ability but they are flexible. When needs arise what is required gets done.
4.Only one person can tell you where you in which direction you are headed and you have to believe that person. He or she is certainly not the captain!
5. In such a small physical environment everyone knows everyone but privacy and personal space are sacrosanct.
6. Everyone is working towards the same goals, there is no room (literally) for mixed agendas.
7. Tours of duty come to an end! Then it is time to relax and party.
8. Everyone debriefs before handing on a task.
9. No one hoards knowledge: everyone sees the bigger picture and the need to share.
10. Expertise is respected, but challenge is allowed.
In many ways we are all on submarines with no clear sense of direction. A strong team makes it feel like we are moving forward and that our simple contribution is respected and valued.