Part two of the article Improvement of Leadership Skills in the Cruise Industry

In the upcoming eight weeks on board the cruise ship, I have read 20 books about Leadership and management during the nighttime. My goal was to educate myself accordingly and create a lasting change on the cruise ships, positively impacting all crew members onboard. Therefore, I have decided to email the company CEO, hoping to recognize my idea. Of course, I was unsure if he would ever read my email at all or respond to it. Besides that, I did not inform any of the ship managers about contacting the company CEO. Here is what I wrote in that email.

"Good afternoon, Sir. I hope you are well. 

I would like to propose a program for creating and developing a more effective leadership. It will be called "Sustainable and Effective Leadership," The participants will be any crew members in a supervisory and management position. I have been working hard to create this unique project, a specially designed leadership program that suits the company's needs.

The goals and purpose of this program are as follows:

·    This is a beautiful and explicit opportunity to learn different leadership styles and effectively motivate and communicate with the front-line employees in multicultural organizations. 

·   This Program is unique because its content is based on some fundamental values. It explains the importance of understanding emotional intelligence in the cruise ship environment, operational standards, and ethics in this industry.

·  This Program is a critical part of the company's business strategy in attaining a long-term sustainable business while creating value for all stakeholders.

In nearly ten years of working with our company, my long journey was always about creating something special, something of value that had not existed before. It is my greatest desire. Hopefully, I will have the chance to share and make a positive difference for all stakeholders while introducing this Leadership Development Program.

I had the opportunity to present my proposal to one of the senior officers from the shoreside office. Although the response was tremendous and brilliant in terms of my idea and presentation, I was only advised to apply for a Human Resource Coordinator position. I was also told this was such a great idea, and surely there would be an incoming Leadership Program, and they thanked me for my idea. As much as I am passionately eager to be part of the HR team, I am disappointed to know that I won't be part of the team that will execute and integrate my proposal. I have been fully dedicated to creating the contents of this program. Certainly, with the knowledge and experience, I have proven records of positively influencing my working environment.

I have created several modules for the topics to be covered and created the Program Review Concept and Learn-Apply-Reflect Model, a systematic way to monitor results effectively for the participants. It was mainly focused on applying learnings and finding the most actionable plan to implement onboard the ships. Thus, I would like to express my desire to use and create a possible new position as an Engagement Manager onboard the ship; I will do that job voluntarily to show my commitment to the higher management values. 

As the name implies engagement, my role will be to ensure a supportive working environment onboard, equip leaders with proper tools to coach employees daily and help all our employees on board grow in confidence to take personal accountability for improving behavior or skill. As the central part of my job description, I will mainly focus on putting the values that will allow the company's business to thrive. To create a new, more effective working environment, I will be a coach, communicator, and role model as a good leader. With this approach to our employees, our leaders on board the cruise line will become the ones who always seek to understand and only seek to be understood after that.

Our leaders will genuinely care for our employees in daily conversation, and, in the long run, that will establish a strong relationship and create a prosperous win-win working environment. Our supervisors onboard will learn that the true leader must consistently discover every employee's unique skill set and allocate that talent accordingly to benefit the company. That will help me reach the company's most significant goal to create inspiring Leaders who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. To create Leaders who would understand the importance of emotional intelligence, validation, compassion, and empathy in the workplace. 

Leaders who would transfer into a much more supportive, creative stewardship delegation style will significantly increase our employees' level of productivity on board. Leaders using this program will learn to build up their motivational skills to consistently inspire all our employees to perform at their maximum capacity. Leadership is the process of influence, and with your support, this process will create significant value for all stakeholders. 

Thank you for taking the time to read, and I hope you will find this valuable and looking forward to your response.

I would gladly appreciate any help and advice from you.

Kind Regards,

Surprisingly, the CEO replied just in a few hours! I did not expect such a quick response from the company's top official! Usually, senior management can value other people's time. The company CEO could have had one million reasons not to reply to my message, but he did. He probably reached this remarkable career success because of those human qualities. 

His response to my proposed onboard the cruise ship project was more than good. The CEO told me that my idea sounded exciting and would personally forward my email to the shoreside senior HR manager. Honestly, his reply to my email already recognized the value itself! It showed that project materials contained quality and great value.

During those months on board, I completely immersed myself in intense studies, and my hard work would pay off eventually. The CEO promised me that someone from the HR department would contact me soon. That gave me temporary peace and inner satisfaction. The highest company official approved my idea. CEO of our company knew that positive change was an inevitable growth step.

Invigorated by the great news, I have decided to push myself into my studies deeply and prepare my presentations to perfection...

Author: Mladen Jakovljevic