The Role of Leadership Training in Maritime Education

William Eisenhardt, David Sears

California Maritime Academy, USA

Eisenhardt

Abstract

Leadership, the ability to motivate others to think and act in a way you wish them to, should be an integral part of upper level maritime education and training (MET). The need for maritime officers to define tasks in clearly understandable terms to crews and shore-side organizations (particularly those of diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds) is vitally important to efficient, environmentally sound, and safe operations. Even more importantly, the ability to understand how such personnel may be motivated to accomplish these defined tasks is imperative for success, particularly at sea. Understanding the interplay of task definition and human motivation are several important skills for becoming a more effective mariner. These skills are a part of the human factors area of maritime operations and can be incorporated into maritime education.