Master and Commander

The complete leader

What’s in a leader? My answer is this: it is one of those je ne sais pas quoi enigmas.

Leadership is one of those statuses that is difficult to define, but you know it when you see it. Or, better put, when you experience it. What makes a leader is another question to be asked and answered. Some folks say, “They are made, aren’t they?” I say no, they are not made, but they are born with a certain proclivity to take charge. Of course, like any talent, it has to be developed.

My “born that way” theory isn’t something my brain spit out on its own. My thinking on leadership came to me under the auspices of Carl Jung, he of psychological archetypes fame. In his book, Psychological Types. Jung weighs in with the extraverts as more of the commander types. Introverts are not so commanding in public. That doesn’t mean they can’t lead. The introvert can be safely tucked away in a lab or studio and come up with a new discovery, that changes the world. However, if a bomb drops, we want that very public commander type near by, without timidity, barking out his orders so that we may survive. Because in a real crisis, there is chaos. And it is difficult to survive it without that commander taking hold of the group so that they work together.

Captain Jack Aubrey says it best: “It’s leadership they want.” On land or sea, it is the same deal. The problem is this; well trained, objective and experienced leaders are few and far between.

If you don’t know who Captain Jack Aubrey is, let me introduce you. He is the protagonist in a series of books written by Patrick O’Brian, titled, Master and Commander. Most of us know the movie more than the books. Captain Aubrey is the subject of Chapter 7 in my book, Leadership in Literature. You may think a movie is not literature. Fair enough, but for my purposes in illustrating the leadership available in great stories, it works. You can read O’Brian’s books, but the movie works as an encapsulation of the stories. The points that need illuminating, about what is a complete leader, are in the movie. Beginning with the theory, as stated above, that leaders are born. Indeed, it is the sub theme.

Let me flesh that theory out a bit more. If you observe children, you will notice there are a few who always organize the others. They can be a bit bossy, but that is because they are germinating a kernel inside of them that pushes them into action. Their bossiness is tempered by older kids, teachers and, if they are really lucky, their parents. Back in Aubrey’s day, the 18-19th centuries, a father would be the strong guy who would tone down his child’s proclivity to tell others what to do. Self-discipline is the first rung on the ladder in developing leadership skills. The commander must first command himself, or herself. To be out-of-control is to be weak. And, with self-control comes objectivity. They soon learn that leading is not about them, but about the group of followers. Without those souls there is no leading to be done. So the Aubreys of this world have focus.

What is not to like?

Leaders go through a period wherein they are the lead. During that period they learn what it is to be on the tail end of a commander’s orders. They will not always like what they must do. But they begin to understand that there is no wondering what is to be done. Being a part of the group, they learn what their place is, what job is it they are to perform.  The leader in training understands what it means to be a cog in a wheel. For the wheel to roll smoothly, all the cogs must perform their tasks, even over rough ground. Learning to work in tandem gives the budding leader an education on how his leadership will need to look like. That he, and yes, she as well, is like the male lion, seemingly doing nothing, but always on alert to protect and grow his pride. When danger comes, he is at the forefront. Outside of a fight for survival, his pride is on their own to perform their tasks during the day.

Jack Aubrey is the character I use as an example of what I call the Complete Leader. The complete leader is number 6, out of six. The Complete Leader walks the line in between pushing and guiding, which the story of Master and Commander illustrates.  Indeed, it is the very reason for the story, to illuminate this theme of an authentic complex leader. It also shines a light on a wanna be leader. Here is the story. The opening sequence gives us a view of life on shipboard in 1805 during the era of the Napoleonic wars. In the wee hours of the morning, the HMS Surprise approaches a fog bank. At this point we are introduced to the wanna be leader: Midshipman Hollom. Hollom, spyglass to eye, thinks he sees a ship in the fog. But the ship, more of a shadow, disappears back into the fog. The Surprise has orders to find a French ship, the Acheron. If it is the Acheron, the Surprise’s crew will want to engage her. But Hollom doubts himself, wondering if he did see her. Or was she a figment of his imagination? He then passes his glass on to another midshipman. Hollom wants confirmation as he hesitates to call the alarm. The other midshipman is not so timid. Even though he does not see the Acheron, he calls the alarm.

The alarm brings the captain up to the deck. Hollom says he isn’t certain he saw the ship. That Hollom wants certainty, shows that he does not understand that the other ship has probably seen them, and, that a false alarm is better than being totally unprepared. Aubrey turns has his own spyglass to the section of the fog bank when he sees the fire flash of a cannon blast. He yells out for his men to hit the deck, thus averting a total disaster.

Hollom is an example of what I call the Immature or Weak Leader, which is number 5 on the list.  The adage, “He who hesitates is lost,” applies. Hollom’s timidity shines a light on this weakness. Later on, when the men of the Surprise think of him as a Jonah, which is a bad luck omen, they disrespect him. Which leads to more trouble. Because when leaders fail to lead, there is hell to pay. Later, Aubrey has a talk with Hollom. This conversation is the heart and soul of the story’s theme. Below is a portion of that exchange.

Hollom:  I tried to get to know the men, sir, and be friendly…but..they’ve taken a set against me. Always whispering when I go past and giving me looks. I’ll set that to rights, sir. I’ll be much tougher on them from now on.

Capt. Aubrey: You don’t make friends with the foremost jacks, lad. They’ll despise you in the end, think you weak. Nor do you need to be a tyrant….it’s leadership they want. Strength. Now, you find that within yourself…and you will earn their respect. Without respect, true discipline goes by the board.

Strength is key. It takes inner strength to be the one who steps in to take charge during an event. Any event. This standard can be manifest in the most common of situations, like the wedding planner directing where the chairs are to be set, or the kitchen chef who jumps over the usual protocol to organize his staff in a way that is simple and effective for his kitchen; there is the head of nursing in a hospital who, when short staffed, cancels leaves, despite the grumbling. It takes true grit for a department head to fire a talented worker who always makes trouble for others. For that is what leaders do, they think of the group, not the individuals, when making decisions.

To successfully lead an organization, whether it is a business, a government or a ship at sea, is to have a grasp of the details that are the people under one’s purview. As in, who can do what. It is a lot to wrap one’s head around. The leader who answers the calling, willingly goes through the training, and gains the necessary experience to make the rank. Aubrey is a master because he has mastered the craft. And, I repeat it here, Aubrey is the commander because he commands, firstly, himself. Captains are especially responsible because whatever happens on that ship, including its sinking, the commander is held responsible for it. The same is true of ships in the air. The pilot doesn’t simply fly the ship. He makes command decisions that pertain to life itself. That is what makes these individuals such Complete Leaders.

Hollom knows how to be a sailor. In modern terms, he knows how to fly the plane. But what he doesn’t know is how to be a leader. The question is, can you teach the Holloms how to find their nerve, so that they will jump into action when it is needed?

Returning to my thesis above, about leaders being born with that personality quirk, I suggest that Hollom does not have it in him to begin with. Frustrating for some, that they think they can lead, only to find that they don’t have “it.” Frustrating as well, for those who are to follow them. And, sometimes, to interacting with them is dangerous.  The sailor that had disrespected Hollom is whipped for his insubordination. Another sailor will drown during a gale, with a crew that will blame Hollom for the bad luck. That is where his weakness takes him. He lets others make the hard decisions. During that raging gale,  he will clutch a mast in fear. He is not a man to have at sea nor in any crisis. You see why he is exhibit A of what happens when individuals do not perform as expected? Is it any wonder that Hollom has not made lieutenant at 29?

It is not lost on us that Hollom is doomed. For sailors are less forgiving than those of us who are on solid ground. The line in between life and death is not as fragile. But it can be during a political crisis.

In the political sphere, Complete Leadership is truly prized for it is rare, just as it is in the business, social and military arenas. Indeed, when individuals run for political office, the underlying theme in any debate is about who will be the better leader. In the United States, the presidential campaign is a fight over who will be the “leader of the free world.”

As I write this, we are in the middle of a presidential election. We have to ask ourselves, who would be better guiding the nation? Kamala Harris or Donald Trump? But no matter who the candidates are, a question that isn’t asked enough

is, who would be better during a real crisis?

Ah, yes, there’s a story that can answer that question. It’s in chapter 8, with our next movie, Fail-safe

.