Camper & Nicholsons Captains' Seminar 2022
Last week the Camper & Nicholsons Yacht Management team successfully hosted a seminar with the participation of Marianne Danissen, Group Head of Yacht Management at C&N, Captain Micheál Pierse, and Tracey & Karl Santrian from BZ Maritime Leadership.
27 Captains and heads of departments (of yachts) came to one-day-event at Royal Mougins Golf Club, a cosy hotel in the South of France to learn more about team development, delegation, empowering staff, cultural differences, leadership, day-to-day management, mental fitness and so much more.
The seminar started with an interesting subject “Empowering Staff”, its importance, tips, and best practices. Followed by many other topics based on how to create a healthy working environment and how to best develop teamwork on board yachts.
This also included how to set up a proper foundation for a solid team, and specific tools one can use while leading another one. The importance of job interviews all the way to the job description and how to retain crew on board. From expectations to fulfillment of one’s career to delegating and ensuring your crew is entirely part of the decision-making process on board. Developing strategies with your team/crew to further enhance cohesive teamwork in order to deliver the best service and experience possible to the owners and guests alike. Many examples were discussed and debated.
Team development is an ongoing process, and it is comprised of several steps. We discussed the role of a team leader and team members during all stages of team development in theory and in practice. From forming to learning how to work together and evolving into helping the team succeed. At each stage, it is important to have trust and understanding in place to ensure these actions are in line with the team’s goals. The leadership topic brought much conversation throughout the day. Why do team members follow their leaders? How to create more leaders around you? How to actually give ownership of the jobs you delegate to others? Etc…
The afternoon session opened with a debate on Mental Fitness & Resilience, a proactive approach that Tracey & Karl Sentrian developed based on their vast experience.
It was a very successful event. It felt that despite all the training yacht crew receive at the start of their career, the ones about leading teams and mental fitness are seen to be less regular compared to other industries. We are hoping that this awareness seminar will encourage further personal development at all levels.
The next seminar is planned for 2023.
