Transforming maritime leaders

maritime leaders

The reality is we’ve never lived in more uncertain and volatile times. The sands are shifting faster than we can re-place our feet and what was once a stable foundation on which to build is quickly becoming anything but. Leaders today have a very tough job to do. They need to apply adaptive and innovative thinking to new situations, every single day.

Spinnaker believe that in today’s workplace, developing maritime leaders is not just about increasing what you know, but transforming what you do and the culture within which you work.

Our Maritime Leadership Development Programme was introduced in 2016 to develop managers that are highly effective in key management moments which matter.

Run as both open programmes and in house solutions, what sets our programmes apart is our ability to get to the heart of what makes a great manager. Whether new to management or an experienced senior leader, working in Commercial Operations or Corporate Services, we don’t just tell managers how to be the best version of themselves. We support them to change their behaviours in a practical, sustainable way so they don’t return to their previous habits.

One participant, having recently returned to shore said:

“The programme came at the right time for me, transitioning from sea to shore, expanding to a different world where I am not constrained by the limits of the ship”

Others are preparing to take the next step in their career:

“I was personally in a stage of growth within the company, taking on new responsibility, so it was very insightful……”

Our approach is more self-sustaining than traditional management training. We give managers the confidence to uncover what’s happening in their personal ‘Management Moment’, and what’s blocking their progress. We equip managers with the skills to analyse real-world situations, so they can always do the right thing in their day-to-day role.

The programme is delivered across three key stages:

  1. Pre-programme assessment with Facet5 personality profiling – providing employees with a moment for self-reflection and to agree their personal development objectives to work on during the programme.

“I was taken aback by the Facet5 results – found it excellent”

  • 2 day group workshop – focussing on ‘knowing and managing myself as a leader’, and ‘leading and managing others’.

“The examples provided during the workshop were very useful, and can be applied to our day to day work”

  • One to one coaching support – three further 1:1 coaching sessions providing on-going support at an individual level to encourage progress against personal goals and embed lessons learnt.

 “Added real value, kept me on track and wish there were more”

One client – a world-leading mining company – said:

“We used the maritime leadership development programme to give the participant an opportunity to develop leadership knowledge and skills and prepare them for future development and career growth.  The programme exceeded our original objectives and we noticed a positive change in the individuals’ behaviour since completing the programme”

Click here to find out more about our open programmes or get in touch to discuss in house solutions by email or on +44(0) 1702 481660.

Working from home – top tips

working from home

As home working becomes the new normal for us during the coronavirus pandemic, it’s important to take a look at what working remotely means for individuals and companies, some of whom might be doing it for the first time.

Stay connected

Home is full of distractions: family, housework, Netflix… but working from home can also mean you’re incredibly productive. The first thing is to make sure you’re fully connected. Whether it’s via Skype, Zoom, Teams or WhatsApp, it’s never been easier to stay connected with your colleagues. Here at Spinnaker, our staff are now working remotely as per the UK government’s guidelines and from day one we were training new people over video chat and are fully keeping up to date with conference calls. For many of our staff, it is a normal day in the office – just without the office!

Speaking of distractions, background noise, for example a radio playing, helps break the quiet – or just the sound of the keyboard.

Get dressed!

It’s important to get properly dressed as though you would for going into work, this can really help get you into the right headspace for ‘work’.  Especially if you are video conferencing. Also when video calling: remember what’s in the background! Keep your space tidy for both your own mental health and to minimise judgement of your colleagues. You don’t want anyone looking at your washing drying on an airer behind you.

Your workspace

Something important is to keep your home space light and airy – pull back the curtains, open a window, and keep the space fresh as you’ll be in the same place all day.  Now – your work station. Some of you may be lucky enough to have a desk or dining table to work from (or even a fully prepped home office!), but others might just be working from the sofa. You need to get your work station as comfortable as possible. Look around your home and see if you have the option of setting aside a space which can be left set up for working.

Keep your routines

If your normal office hours are 9-5 and that works for you, stick to them. Or are you an early bird? Sometimes it’s more productive to get the coffee on and get cracking early, great if your company allows flexible hours. This can be helpful for those who have partners also working from home so you’re not both doing exactly the same hours. When you’re out of the normal office routine, it can suddenly be 1pm and you’ve not yet thought about lunch. Make sure you still make time to have coffee breaks and eat well to give you energy for the rest of the day.

Set yourself targets for the day

List out what you want to get achieved, break it down into chunks, morning and afternoon.  This will give you a good sense of satisfaction when it comes to the end of the day, and if you don’t manage to achieve them all take a look at the reasons why, and try to change things for the following day.

Socialise regularly

The social element of going into the office can be greatly missed, so make an effort to speak to colleagues using Teams, WhatsApp and so on.  It is important to keep feeling like you are part of a team even when working alone.

Move!

Also: get up! Take breaks! Move! You’re in the comfort of your own home so get up, move around, get those limbs stretched. Think about how often you get up from your desk at work: to make a coffee, go into meetings or pop to a colleague’s desk. Try to get up just as much at home. Do a spot of yoga in the living room at lunchtime. Go for a walk or run around the block to get some fresh air as part of your solo daily exercise that has been permitted within the UK lockdown.

Self sufficiency

There’s a natural absence of general feedback while you’re home working no matter how connected you all are remotely, so you’ll need to be able to work consistently and get into your own rhythm. Working out your own system for how you work at home can be incredibly helpful. Whether it’s writing lists, or setting reminders, figuring out how you work best when left to your own devices is key. And communicate!  Managers will want to hear from you, remember how often you speak with them during the day – and sometimes it’s good to list out what you’re doing to help you get your own head around it.

In these uncertain times, there’s comfort in knowing that many other people are in the same position. If all your colleagues are working remotely, you might find that communication increases and that you’re checking in with your workmates more than ever. Keep taking breaks, keep focused, and keep connected.

Remember working from home doesn’t suit everyone, so if you feel you are struggling – speak to someone about it, let them give you their tips to help make it work better for you.