Captain Abrashoff was one of the captains of the USS Benfold, who embraced a novel approach to commanding to make his crew a top-performing team. Previously, the USS Benfold was one of the worst-ranked ships in the navy, which translated into numerous problems on board. For instance, the crew engaged in largely useless tasks such as regular painting of the ship instead of training and becoming better sailors. Moreover, the morale of the crew was low, and there was no trust between the commanders and sailors. Captain Abrashoff saw the state of the ship and decided to act in order to make a positive change. First of all, Captain Abrashoff began allocating more time to the training of the crew and providing them with opportunities to hone their professional skills. Additionally, Captain Abrashoff was able to improve the efficiency of the crew by embracing new approaches such as using stainless steel bolts to reduce corrosion and, subsequently, the need for regular repainting. Finally, Captain Abrashoff made sure to get to know all sailors personally, and such efforts ultimately led to positive results, including being recognized as the best navy ship.
The approach of Captain Abrashoff was extremely effective because it was guided by the clear goal of making the USS Benfold the best ship in the navy. Captain Abrashoff was able to teach the goal to the crew and inspire them to try to achieve it. Moreover, he provided them with opportunities to reach the goal successfully and efficiently. Captain Abrashoff’s manner of commanding also worked because he was not afraid to innovate and adopt alternatives such as the use of steel bolts instead of paint. Essentially, Captain Abrashoff inspired his crew to become focused on the goal of improving and making all processes on the board of the USS Benfold better. Additionally, Captain Abrashoff relied on respect and trust, and in order to achieve it, he interacted with the crew members and talked to each person. The interpersonal communication helped Captain Abrashoff to persuade the crew members to commit themselves to improvement and the achievement of the goal of becoming the top-performing ship. Thus, the dedication to efficiency in every operation on the ship and trust became the main factors behind the success of Captain Abrashoff’s approach.
The manner of commanding proposed by Captain Abrashoff is universal and can be applied to any organization, including the Sheriff’s Office. First of all, the trust and respect among crew members promoted by Captain Abrashoff can positively affect the relationship of people working together and help them to build a stronger bond. The improved relationship enables people to cooperate more effectively and share knowledge and expertise with one another, which contributes to the advancement of their skills. Moreover, when people maintain positive communication, they can plan and set goals together, such as making their Sheriff’s Office the best one in the state. The high level of cooperation built on trust and respect will facilitate the efforts of the staff to reach such a goal through. Additionally, continuous improvement in order to achieve the highest efficiency possible is an approach which can certainly be embraced by Sheriff’s Offices. In other words, experimenting with the organizational processes and choosing the best methods will enhance the ability of the staff to work effectively. It is also important not to repress the initiatives of the staff and let them offer their ideas.