Henrik Weller von Ahlefeld

Sailing How it Contributes to my Personal and Professional Develo ment

Munich, 17. March 2013

About me
"ac#!round

Who

What

$ame, %!e& Hobbies& )i#es& Disli#es&

Henri#, 22 'ailin!, '#iin! and (ootball (riends, (amily, "a#ed "eans Pre*udice, +iolence and $o,!o attitude Have the serenity to acce t the thin!s - cannot chan!e, coura!e to chan!e the thin!s - can and wisdom to #now the difference.

- en*oy sailin! in com etitions and for fun

Motto&

Where

Why

Com etition 'atisfaction of winnin! (eedbac# on my abilities % !reat team effort and e. erience (or fun Close to nature / e icenter of wind and water Meditative focus / for!ettin! stress 0uality time with friends

Pa!e 2

Teamwork, Leadership , Communication and Focus make up 4 key characteristics the crew members need to build in order to be able to sail successfully
1he 5 Characteristics 6 'ailin!

Key characteristics needed for successful sailing

1eamwor#
%ny crew, small or lar!e needs
the interaction of crew members and their individual roles that inte!rate into one movement

Communication
4veryone must be ali!ned
and made aware of ne.t move to ensure a fast manoeuvre e.ecution

(ocus
(ull commitment to Successful sailing
assi!ned role to reach ma.imum otential

%lways a 2third3 eye on

team mates and chan!es in the set,u

)eadershi
Masterin! the boat means
res onsibility for the safety and success of the crew

Pa!e 3

Teamwork
1he 5 Characteristics 6 1eamwor#

Successful Sailing

1eamwor#
Pa!e 5

Teamwork
1he 5 Characteristics 6 1eamwor#

Teamwork

Pitfalls

'ailin! "oats that are too bi! to sail by oneself need crew
interaction

'ailin! Crew may react too slow to circumstances when

many members need to be consulted

Crew members assume interde endent roles 'wan 57& 11 members 4very individual contributes to the overall
erformance of the boat by fulfillin! his assi!ned role

=es onsibility for the erformance of the whole

team only as !ood as the wea#est lin#

"usiness >or# teams may include too many members,

resultin! in need to consult others while situation calls for swift decision Strengths

Communication amon! crew vital to o timi8e the

team interaction a rere9uisite for to erformance be aware of the boat:s ca acity of each arameter

Professional develo ment ;nderstand that one cannot ta#e char!e of all
tas#s, must focus on one<s assi!ned role and interact with the team

'ailin! =oles can be distributed so that team members<

talents match their tas#s

)earnin! im ortance of understandin! hierarchies

and who to a roach in what #ind of situations

' irit& everyone feels own contribution to be vital

for boats com etitiveness

;nderstand that one<s role in an or!ani8ation is to

ma.imi8e or!ani8ation<s benefit

"usiness 1eam member roles can be allocated to build

on stren!ths of each member

4veryone feels art of overall erformance

Pa!e 7

Leadership
1he 5 Characteristics 6 )eadershi

Successful Sailing

)eadershi
Pa!e ?

Leadership
1he 5 Characteristics 6 )eadershi

Leadership

Pitfalls

'ailin! 4very boat needs a ca tain to command it )eader must be able to assume ultimate
res onsibility for crew

'ailin! 1he ca tain may be over occu ied with

concentratin! on the strate!ic ath of the boat

1he ca tain may not consult his crew sufficiently

and thereby lose credibility amon! his crew

Coordination of crew needed Dan!erous situations need fast decisions Ca tain is often free from micro mana!in! all roles
and can concentrate on the strate!ic ath

"usiness )eader may be re,occu ied with himself

and frustrates team members by i!norin! their in ut Strengths

% leader must be democratic yet authoritarian "usiness 1eams benefit from havin! a leader %s a team leader one is res onsible for the team:s
erformance, and must acce t this res onsibility

'ailin! 1he ca tain can coordinate a team and assi!n

duties to avoid chaos

% leader needs to coordinate talents to ma#e

rocesses more efficient @ effective

1he ca tain can save a boat from imminent dan!er

by ma#in! 9uic# decisions

-f the team does not share an o inion the leader

can brea# the stalemate

-f situations need to be solved 9uic#ly, consultin!

every team member may slow down the reaction

"usiness % leader must coordinate his subordinates to

allocate members to their most suitable role to best contribute to the overall success

% leader must have the trust of his team

Pa!e 7

Communication
1he 5 Characteristics 6 Communication

Successful Sailing

Communication
Pa!e A

Communication
1he 5 Characteristics 6 Communication

Communication

Pitfalls

'ailin! Crew members need to communicate in order to

facilitate teamwor#

'ailin! Cver,relyin! on feedbac# and communication may

rove fatal when in e.treme situations

(eedbac# is necessary for ca tain to ad*ust boat 1he ca tain needs to issue commands to
coordinate the crew

"usiness 1oo many communication channels may confuse

team members and cause a brea#down

Crew must be rece tive towards instructions Communication ensures everyone is informed of
ne.t manoeuvre for a swift e.ecution

Communication may slow down the decision

ma#in! rocess

"riefin! and debriefin! im ortant for erformance "usiness (eedbac# is necessary for the team leader to be
able to ma#e informed decisions

Strengths

'ailin! Communication hel s ca tain understand situation

better to ad*ust the strate!ic ath of the boat

% feedbac# loo lets the leader #now where

stren!ths and wea#nesses are

(eedbac# hel s crew understand where their

stren!ths and wea#nesses are

;nderstand that roactive and clear communication

is better than #ee in! 9uiet

)ively communication fla!s otential roblems

earlier and raises chance of avoidin! the roblem

"usiness Communication and feedbac# hel s team

members and leaders to ad*ust and balance their wea#nesses and stren!ths

"riefin! and debriefin! im ortant for erformance

Pa!e B

Focus
1he 5 Characteristics 6 (ocus

Successful Sailing

(ocus
Pa!e 10

Focus
1he 5 Characteristics 6 (ocus

Focus

Pitfalls

'ailin! 4.ternal factors chan!e constantly and boat needs

to be dynamically ad*usted to these chan!es

'ailin! (ocus on own tas# ma#es member unaware of full

chain of events and how to ta#e over another tas# in times of ur!ency

Hi!h ressure on members durin! manoeuvres Must bloc# out ressure and urely focus on
tas#

"usiness $arrow s ecialisation ma#es em loyee less

#nowled!eable to assi!n to other tas#s

Predict, antici ate, train, build routine, to be ready

for sudden chan!e in circumstances and succeed

)ess a roachable for collea!ues D sub,

ordinates when too focused on own tas#s Strengths

"usiness "usiness environment chan!es constantly and the

business may need to be ad*usted accordin!ly

Cne cannot let ressure distract oneself from the

tas# at hand, this wastes critical time and raises clumsiness and ris# of failure

'ailin! >hen everyone is focused, boat can be sailed

faster and increases erformance throu!h flawless e.ecution

(ocus articularly in be!innin!s of ro*ects 1he more dimensions one #nows, the better
one is able to e.ecute a decision

Clear communication, tas#, trainin!,

scenario buildin! ensures one does not fall behind

"usiness 4m loyees have a !ood understandin! of

tas#s and are dedicated to e.ecution of tas#s

Pa!e 11

Teamwork, Focus, Communication and Leadership also make up 4 key characteristics employees must build for a successful business
1he 5 Characteristics 6 Professional and Personal develo ment

Key characteristics needed for a successful business

1eamwor#
"i!!er or!ani8ations need more
em loyees that need to coo erate for the !oal of the com any

Communication
4m loyees must be on the
same a!e and contribute towards same strate!y

(ocus
(ull commitment to assi!ned Successful organi ation
role to reach ma.imum otential

(eedbac# is im ortant to
ali!n everyone

Constant awareness of
e.ternal and internal factors

)eadershi
'teerin! a business area means
res onsibility for subordinates and the erformance of that area

Pa!e 12

Thank you for your attention

1he 4nd

Pictures taken on personal sailing trips

Pa!e 13