PYC’s Boating Forum WOWs Women of Gulf Coast — Keynote Speaker Nancy Erley Discusses Teambuilding Onboard By Julie B. Connerley
Ninety-six women were educated sion-maker, motivator, one who can and entertained during the Gulf deal with ambiguity and of course, Coast’s first ever Women on the a problem solver. “A leader,” Erley Water (WOW) Boating Forum reminded her audience, “is someMarch 16. one who people will follow.” But Hosted by Pensacola Yacht perhaps the most difficult aspect of Club, it began as a luncheon to personal excellence is the courage to commemorate the first female comallow one’s crew members to promodore in PYC’s 105-year history, vide honest feedback to the captain Susan McKinnon. It morphed into of exactly how she (or he) is pera daylong event featuring internaceived by the crew. Erley’s solution Capt. Nancy Erley (on the left) and tionally known keynote speaker is the 2+2 method. PYC Commodore Susan McKinnon. Capt. Nancy Erley, six break-out “Before giving the captain, or any sessions, lunch, door prizes, and goodie bags. member of the crew, feedback—whether it be on her leadWomen from Gulf Yachting Association member clubs, ership style, her tacking skills, docking procedures, etc., first sailing clubs, and individuals from New Orleans and New give that individual a compliment. “The ear opens a little,” Iberia, LA, to Fairhope, AL, shared tables with local sailors. said Erley. “Follow that with a second compliment and the Everyone was regaled by Nancy Erley’s presentation of ear opens a little wider.” Then you can present your state“One World Twice Around” describing two circumnavigament in a non-confrontational way. tions of the world in her 38-foot Orca, called Tethys—with Team excellence is the result of combining several facall-women crews. Each trip lasted five years. tors. The captain capitalizes on the skills of the entire crew, All the women presenters had something of interest to while building on their trust, engaging them to commit to share, whether it was starting a women’s sailing association, the common goals with agreed conflict resolution and finding clean air at the race start, or baking brownies in a results-oriented focus. pressure cooker. It sounds easy, but each crew member is an individual However for me, the session on teambuilding, also who brings certain strengths to the team. Erley recommendaddressed by Erley, was one of the most valuable topics ed the Clinton StrengthsFinders assessment to ascertain offered. On the boat, in the office, around the dining table, which skill sets could be identified, and which might be or indeed, in any organization, being able to tap into your needed to round out existing crews. team to accomplish your goal(s) is paramount for success. In With 90 percent of the event’s evaluation forms complether talk, “Effective Captaincy for the 21st Century,” Nancy ed and returned, the “overall value of the day” overwhelmcompared the leadership styles of Capt. William Bligh with ingly received an “excellent” score. Many women expressed Star Trek’s Capt. James T. Kirk. Bligh was memorialized in a desire to have a similar event in the future. A few wondered Mutiny on the Bounty. “In Captain Bligh’s day,” Erley said, if and when Capt. Erley was planning another circumnaviga“they didn’t have a means for receiving input from the tion. For the record, she isn’t, but does continue to teach sailcrew.” We can’t be that dogmatic today. Nancy takes that ing in the San Juan Islands of northwest Washington and up message to heart, adding, “When somebody says I think we into the Gulf Islands of Canada. She can be contacted ought to reef, on Tethys we reef. If it was the wrong decision, through her website, www.tethysoffshore.com. then we un-reef. But I listen to the people on board who are uncomfortable about something and try to figure out a way to make them less uncomfortable.” The three components of teambuilding include operational excellence; personal excellence and team excellence. Operational excellence, Erley explained (perhaps the weakest link for many women) includes constantly seeking new knowledge, setting priorities, having situational awareness and paying attention to details. These are achieved by attending skills-improvement classes; cross training crew members; recognizing what is most important given existing/expected weather conditions; understanding how your boat works, from engine basics to climbing the mast; and adhering to a pre-departure checklist (proper sail inventory, necessary gear, tools, etc.) Personal excellence involves being self-aware, a deciNews & Views for Southern Sailors
SOUTHWINDS
May 2013
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