It's All About People - 27th February 2025

READ TIME - 4 minute read

I have a guilty little secret…the TV series Below Deck!

My son introduced me to it when he was back from Uni recently and we sat and giggled through far too many episodes.

It was hard to decide what was most interesting / entertaining - the guests on the luxury yacht or the team employed to run the charters on the yacht.

There were many a moment where I was so glad that the yacht did not outsource their HR to us!

If you've ever watched Below Deck, you’ll know that the guests have to be incredibly rich to be there—and two things always happen:

1. The guests' behaviour is often questionable—one minute they’re toasting with champagne, the next they’re causing unnecessary drama. 🍾🎭

2. There will be a drama within the team and the managers (Chief Stew, Bosun, Chef) who are fantastic at t 🤔

Sure, they run their departments like well-oiled machines, ensuring guests get their cocktails 🍹, deck chairs don’t end up in the sea 🌊, and dinner is Instagram-worthy 📸. But when it comes to people management, they often sink faster than a tender with a hole in it. 🚤💨

Instead of addressing issues head-on, they vent about their team to other crew members. Instead of coaching, they bark orders 📢. And instead of giving feedback, they let problems fester until there’s an all-out meltdown in the crew mess or on their nights out. 😡🔥

And the worst part? This happens in real businesses every day.

Organisations often promote people because they’re brilliant at their job—not because they have management skills. But being a great employee doesn’t automatically make someone a great leader. Without proper training, accidental managers struggle, teams become disengaged, and before you know it, talented employees are jumping ship (pun fully intended). 🏃‍♂️💼

Bad management doesn’t just cause a few stormy meetings—it costs businesses dearly in high turnover, low productivity, and poor morale. Studies show that 57% of employees have left a job because of a bad manager, and 82% of workers say they would consider leaving a job due to poor leadership. The financial cost? A Gallup study found that 75% of voluntary turnover is due to poor management, costing businesses billions annually. 💰📉

If you wouldn’t put an untrained deckhand in charge of navigation, why would you let an untrained manager steer your team? ⚓ Investing in management training isn’t a luxury—it’s essential. Because in business, just like on a superyacht, success depends on how well your crew works together. 🤝

Until next time….

Emma

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