Team dynamic lessons in Below Deck?

Below Deck is an American reality television series on Netflix. It is about the lives of the crew members who work and reside aboard a mega-yacht during charter season. It shows the crew as they deal with their personal issues in order to make there professional careers work.

The crew on a yacht can be seen as a team and a small organization. This makes the series a perfect case to learn more about team and organizational dynamics. Some observations through the eyes of our trainers:

• The Captain had a preference for a directive leadership style and did not show a lot of empathy. This resulted in a disconnect between the Captain and the crew. Learning: listen to you people and show empathy
• The 2nd Stewardess (Kat) was insulted badly by one of the guests. The Chief Stewardess (Adrienne) decided to advice her on how to deal with this guest. This did not work out well and Adrienne sent Kat away. It would have been better for Adrienne to have a conversation with the guest about appropriate behavior and to take on serving him herself, lead by example.  Learning: lead by example and be crisp and clear about the behavior you want to see
• There was room for improvement in the relationship between the Chief Stewardess (Adrienne) and her staff. When she had an issue with one of her crew members (Kat), she started a conversation with Kat. Good thing of course if Sam was not there as well. Learning: if you want to solve an issue with one person, have a 1 to 1 conversation. Don’t provide feedback in public.
• Kat had a drinking problem due to the fact that she had Anxiety Disorders. This impacted her performance. The team thought she only drunk too much when they had a day of and partied all night long. Learning: you bring your whole personality to work (private + work). Make sure you get to know your colleagues. What shaped them and how can you help each other.

Watching this series is not only fun. It is full of leadership learnings!

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Do you know your preferred leadership style?
Our Lumina Leader can provide you insights. Read more about Lumina Leader here.