Leadership Lessons from the Titanic

LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM THE TITANIC THE “UNSINKABLE" SHIP TITANIC CALIFORNIAN CARPATHIA The ship that had been only miles from the Titanic but had not picked up her distress calls or responded to her signal rockets. The famous "unsinkable The ship that responded to ship" that met its tragic end when it hit an iceberg and the scene of the disaster and saved 710 of the Titanic's sank into the North Atlantic passengers. Ocean on April 15, 1912. CLARITY TITANIC CALIFORNIAN CARPATHIA LOW LOW HIGH The captain's goal was ill-defined ("get to New York in record time"). There was no clear, consistent plan for getting people into lifeboats and off the ship. The wireless operator sent an ambiguous warning message about "icebergs Captain Rostron double-checked the Titanic's distress call and ahead" and didn't ensure it communicated the new had been understood. course and situation to the entire crew. UNITY TITANIC CALIFORNIAN CARPATHIA LOW LOW HIGH The captain never revealed or discussed his goal with crew members. There was little coordination or helpfulness among the wireless operators, nor persistence in getting a clear warning to the Titanic. Capt. Rostron set everyone to a task, creating a strong sense of purpose and teamwork; the officers and crew worked together seamlessly. The officers were unable to create a sense of urgency or cooperation to get the passengers to board the lifeboats. The captain and officers showed no sense of common purpose or adherence to a set of common standards. AGILITY TITANIC CALIFORNIAN CARPATHIA LOW LOW HIGH No one heeded the iceberg warnings or made appropriate adjustments to avoid hitting one. The officers ignored the Titanic's distress rockets and made complacent assumptions about what was going on in their Rostron made adjustments to gain maximum speed while scanning the waters with extra lookouts to avoid danger. The captain failed to post extra lookouts or make any other adjustments for the increase in speed. vicinity. He didn't wait to act until all the facts were known, nor did he forge blindly ahead, but moved immediately, evaluated the situation, and corrected course while in motion. INFORMATION FROM: \gadership Failures Sink Unsinkable Ship. LEADERSHIP FAILURES SINK UNSINKABLE SHIP Leswons Tianie BUSINESS LESSONS TITANIC ocdya k. Dia FROM THE TITANIC BY JOCELYN R. DAVIS inkhouse, Forum.com