Many times, when observing people on board, nevertheless their rank I see some are looking well and performing well and others are often looking tired and sad, same reflecting in their performance.
As a work on ship never stop and runs all over the day and night it would be essential to make it with people who has willing and passion for the things they do. Those minds brought the idea that any person can change the life and feel better, do his tasks with honor just understanding that he is needed as an assistant to other and he is a part of one big machine where every part is important. This was easy to say, but how to bring it to the minds and hearts of the persons who needs this assistance. Further exploitation of personal psychology shows that all of us have many positive abilities which helps us daily and we do not see them as get used just to have them. One of the strongest positive abilities is a need of self-improvement. To complete the task in order to give feeling of respect of personal tasks and duties we have started the Saturday Meetings with all crew and daily meetings with Officers where at first I as a master was telling that every rank and person on board is very important and unique, that work progress will not move well if we will exclude one or another crew member, nevertheless what is the rank, by same time presenting the jobs which are in due for the vessel, that every Deck & Engine Officer can give his opinion how to complete. During same meetings many crew members were greeted as attentive, responsible and able to do a good job and even got an applauses from others, this make a personal approach much easier. People become closer to each other. Afterwards almost all crew members were interested to get a signs of social respect and confirmation of their ability as needed in rank and unique worker, by performing better and taking their duties seriously.
Using competition as a motivation there is a danger of negative relation between the crew members because everyone will try to go on top faster without assisting to other person and keeping silence if something will go wrong in order to present a better result to superiors. This can make a working process terrible as all people will follow only a personal reason instead of common desire to have a good ship and healthy worm atmosphere within our close social circle.
Using those positive abilities, which allows person to feel himself as needed and important results were quite good, making social life on board and working atmosphere much warmer. People understood what means a teamwork and assistance to each other, they were not embarrassed when someone was making a remark that something is not correct or can be done better, but opposite it was taken as a hand of a friend who is assisting and advising.
It would be good if especially our Officers can motivate the crew gathering them into the strong group which have a good desire of safe and essential performance during work. Only if people will feel unity and good tasking abilities, the life on board will not be just a day by day routine, but an interesting life process.
As I see, motivation by making people believe that they can make difference and live wealthy life can be a real leadership and great example to others.
Capt. Vasyl Berezovskyi
