I retired from the Army in 2019 and immediately hade a unique opportunity: my oldest friend runs a charter boat in Homer, Alaska and his deck hand had to go back to college.
“Want to come up to Alaska and help me finish the season out?”
“Absolutely.”
I had a blast. But I also had a lot to learn. I’ve always been pretty good at eating fish, but not an expert at catching them. I knew next to nothing about driving boats and I was clueless about customer service. I learned great deal, thrived, and loved it all. I now go back every year to fill in and even mentor new deck hands for Captain Greg fishing on the Tomahawk II out of Homer Harbor.
Make no mistake: working as a deck hand on a charter boat is grueling. Every day I wake up at 4 and start to prepare my body for the challenges ahead through an extensive stretching/yoga routine. I am at the docks by 6 to prep the boat and greet a new group of clients at 7. After an orientation and safety brief, we head out into the icy waters of Katchemak Bay to catch halibut and salmon. I prepare the rods, bait the hooks, and teach our clients how to catch fish. When they do bring a fish up, I get them on the boat (using a gaff on the big ones). After every stop, I go up on the bow and pull the anchor (a task that is no joke in rolling seas). When we are done fishing, I filet all the fish during the ride back to the dock and get the clients off the boat and settled when we arrive in the harbor. The captain leaves the boat and I am absolutely whipped at this point every day. But then comes what is arguably the most important task.
I clean the boat. Every day. Inside and out, scrubbing, brushing, and rinsing. Clients frequently remark how immaculate the boat is, and she is, in fact, beautiful. She’s a 1967 Criss Craft with a teak interior, but most importantly, she is clean. We have to work to keep her clean and it draws on my discipline to tackle that task and not take any short cuts when I am so tired. Discipline is a fundamental requirement for all leaders. Discipline is the self-control to do what needs to be done and persevere even when the task is a tough one. To me, the key idea is that discipline is about controlling oneself. Disciplined leaders inspire others to excel because they lead by example.
One could argue that working as a deck hand has little to do with leadership because I’m not really leading anybody…I am serving the captain and serving our clients. I would counter that working as deck hand helps me every day with my discipline, which in turn reinforces positive leadership…plus I can help others have fun, I can help my oldest friend, and I bring home a lot of fish.
My recommendation for leaders: do something that requires discipline. Take up long-range shooting or archery hunting. Learn to fly fish. If you want to improve your skills, it will take a lot of practice…and discipline. Clean your boat every day, and you will be a better leader for it, even if nobody else knows about your effort.
Jeff Buchanan