Seven reasons on board conflict is your problem

The Crew Coach has recently published an article outlining seven reasons "why on board conflict between crew can be your problem". 

Put a bunch of people together in a confined space for days and weeks on end, work them to breaking point then push them to do even more, and conflict is almost inevitable at some point. The trick is to know how to deal with it swiftly and efficiently so it can be nipped in the bud.

The below is a summary of the Crew Coach's article.

1. Conflict severely impacts productivity
Miserable crew don’t work as hard as happy crew and they make more mistakes. Having happy crew isn’t just ‘nice’, it’s essential for the smooth operation of your vessel and for everyone onboard to achieve your shared aims of a successful season with happy guests and owners.

2. High crew turnover reflects badly on you
As unfair as it seems, a flurry of crew leaving or serial crew turnover in certain positions is ultimately going to lead to the finger being pointed squarely at you. Crew turnover costs time and money, and causes people to doubt your abilities as a leader.

3. Conflict avoidance looks weak
Nothing undermines authority faster than sticking your head in the sand when it comes to conflict onboard. If you don’t you send an unconscious message that people can get away with bad behaviour, which will only result in more and worse conflict.

4. People are looking to you for solutions
As a leader you are expected to have more experience than those you manage, primarily to be able to lead them out of situations they are unable to find a way out of themselves.

5. It’s more efficient to keep your team
(Otherwise known as ‘better the devil you know). Obviously if you have a real troublemaker onboard and have tried your best to turn them around without success, it is better to replace that person than allow their attitude to poison the rest of your crew. However if you do have the opportunity to salvage the situation it will save you all the time and bother of having to find, interview, select and then train a new crew member, especially in the height of the season.

6. Conflict kills discretionary effort
Yachting requires us to go ‘above and beyond’ a lot of the time. The trouble is, conflict interferes with people’s thinking, making it difficult for them to concentrate on what they are supposed to be doing, and spending valuable energy worrying about the conflict instead.

7. Unresolved conflict festers & escalates
Conflict rots teams faster than a mouldy apple lurking at the bottom of the fruit bowl and spreads faster than chicken pox. You really need to know how to act fast and efficiently to wipe it out before it has a chance to infect others.

The full article can be read here.

For more information on The Crew Coach visit www.thecrewcoach.com