by Teresa Peacock*
The traditional career path for shipping professionals is well established. Gain experience at sea, go ashore, and eventually into a senior management role. On paper, it is a logical and even laudable career progression. Who better to lead a shipping business than someone who has spent their career at sea, immersed in the very business they are now running?
Whilst experience at sea is invaluable, it is not, however, without limitation. It does not necessarily translate into leadership ashore. As shipping becomes more complex, more regulated, and more commercially focused, the gap between experience at sea and leadership ashore is becoming harder to ignore.
The Strengths and Limitations of this path
There is no doubt that those with time at sea possess great strength for a position on land. They have an understanding of how things operate on a vessel and what it means to work in a tough industry.
The idea that time at sea alone qualifies someone to be an executive-level leader is an outdated notion.
The skills required to run a vessel and run a business are very different. Running a vessel is about precision and control. Running a business is about strategy and stakeholder management.
What we see in the market today is an overemphasis on how important time at sea is for someone to be a good leader. It is important, but it is not enough.
New wave of seafarers
It’s estimated that there are around 1.5 million to 2 million active seafarers globally and whilst working on the water has many benefits, many seafarers leave sea work early due to family reasons, health or looking for a better work-life balance. Research shows that the length of a seagoing career is reducing as younger entrants increasingly expect to switch ashore within 10–15 years rather than stay at sea until traditional retirement age. With this in mind it is essential that they are equipped with the skills for a shore-based role.
A Poorly Structured Transition
A major part of the problem is how the industry handles the transition from sea to shore. This is often a very abrupt transition, with little formal preparation for the commercial, managerial, or interpersonal demands of the new role. From here, career progression into more senior positions is often based on experience or time served, rather than a formal development program.
Unlike other industries, shipping has traditionally not invested as much in leadership training and succession planning. The assumption was that competence would somehow develop naturally over time. This is now incredibly risky in today’s business environment. Taking this into consideration, Spinnaker has, for the last 10 years, been running a leadership development program for people in the shipping industry. The participants of this program are often ex-seafarers who have recently moved from a leadership role at sea into a leadership role on shore. The program uses the personality tool Facet5 and challenges participants to think about what they need to do to be their best version of themselves. It also helps participants understand who they are and how they can lead and influence other people.
The Cost of Getting It Wrong
Ineffective leadership in hiring for senior-level positions has considerable consequences. The least severe of these is inefficiency and a lack of speed in decision-making. The most severe is misalignment of strategy, stagnation of projects and initiatives, and an increase in employee turnover within those teams.
In an industry with thin profit margins and rapid evolution, the price of an ineffective leader is not just about the position itself. It is about how it can affect company culture and competitiveness.
This is especially pertinent to the maritime industry with new challenges on the horizon. No longer is leadership simply about keeping things afloat. It is about leading companies through change.
Rethinking the Pipeline
Rather than moving away from experience gained at sea, the answer is to rethink how that experience is used in leadership development.
Companies need to formalise how they develop shore-side leaders. This means:
• Identifying potential individuals early on and providing them with opportunities that stretch beyond operational roles
• Investing in leadership training, which covers aspects such as communication, commercial understanding, and thinking strategically
• Providing mentoring and transition programs for individuals moving from the sea to the shore
• Developing a wider recruitment strategy that considers different backgrounds, not just traditional ones.
There is also a case for developing a combined talent pool, where leaders are brought in from different sectors, as well as continuing to develop the skills of maritime leaders in other areas.
Leadership is best provided by individuals who have a strong understanding of the business, combined with a strong understanding of the technical aspects.
A Changing Industry Requires a New Approach
The traditional sea-to-shore model will still be part of our industry DNA. However, if we rely on this model without changing our approach, we risk stifling our industry’s potential for evolution.
From an executive search point of view, the companies we see excelling are those who understand this new industry. They are not seeking experience; they are seeking flexibility of mind and the capacity to lead in uncertain circumstances.
The real question is not whether seafarers have the potential to become powerful leaders on shore. The answer to this is an unequivocal yes. The real question is whether our industry is doing enough to facilitate this. The current answer to this question is an unequivocal no.
Until this situation changes, one of our industry’s biggest challenges will be bridging the gap between operational and leadership excellence.
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*Teresa Peacock has worked in Recruitment and Search for more than three decades.
She completed a management buyout of the Locum Group, and subsequent trade sale to Reed Health some 8 years later, after growing the business from a staff of 25 to 180.
Teresa has experience across a wide range of industries, which includes managing offices and recruitment projects all over the world. Her vast experience means she is perfectly suited to developing and delivering tailored recruitment solutions for Spinnaker’s clients such as the cruise shipowner who needed to hire 40+ fleet management staff including a number of senior appointments for a newly relocated headquarters.
Teresa joined Spinnaker in 2008. She has a focus on Executive Search which she handles personally for Spinnaker.
Appointments:
• Fellow, Institute of Recruitment Professionals
• Board Member, WISTA (Women’s International Shipping & Trading Association).
• Member of the governmental All-Party, Parliamentary Group on Women in Work.
• Member of the Maritime UK – Diversity in Maritime Taskforce.
Teresa is actively involved in helping young people at school prepare job applications and mock interviews. She is also involved with promoting careers within shipping, with the ‘Inspiring the Future’ project, which connects schools and colleges with employers and people from the world of work.
