What can a retired senior navy officer teach you about running a tech company? Plenty as it turns out – and it all begins with good leadership. Kenneth Braithwaite (former Secretary of the US Navy) spoke at the recent London Blockchain Conference about the importance of leadership and culture when running a business – especially in fast-paced and agile environments.

Braithwaite began his presentation by discussing his father who took part in the D-day landings in World War 2. He noted that despite the intense odds facing the men on that day, his father persevered because he saw it as a matter of duty and not wanting to disappoint his friends or commanding officer.

‘Leadership is at the centre of everything we do,’ he said. General Eisenhower said that the art of leadership was getting people to do things, not because you tell them to, but because you inspire them to choose to do those things.’

However, Braithwaite noted that leadership is not something that can ever be mastered because it looks a bit different depending on the enterprise. This means that learning is also indispensable in any leadership role.

Successful leaders empower their team

Braithwaite also talked about reporting to his first aircraft carrier – which has over 75 aircraft and over 5,000 people on it at any one time. ‘There’s no way any one person can govern all of those moving parts. The Commanding Officer has to trust his people, and his CO was one of the rare few who left the bridge of the ship and got to know everyone as far as possible on a ship of 5,000. This is the essence of leadership—getting to know people and allowing them to get to know you as a person.’

Braithwaite highlights the importance of delegation and empowerment within leadership. He noted that leaders must entrust others with decision-making for the betterment of the organisation. While a leader’s role is to ignite inspiration and empower their team, they also bear the responsibility for the team’s setbacks, he said.

He pointed to General Eisenhower, who embraced accountability for initial setbacks on D-Day and even planned a resignation letter should the US fail in its goal. This also points to the fact that authentic leaders assume blame and deflect recognition—a hallmark of genuine leadership.

Everyone drowns if the ship sinks

Using another analogy to compare the navy and businesses, Braithwaite cautioned CEOs that ‘the ship’ – or in this case the business – should take priority over all else. Should a business ‘sink’ then the livelihood of all employees at the company is at stake. necessitating the collective commitment to our roles. This hierarchy of priority places the enterprise first, followed by our comrades, and finally ourselves, he said.

He also talked about the importance of having the right culture in an organisation to ensure that it maintains its course. He pointed to the fact that many of us have been fortunate to work or have worked at a company where we take great pride in our work and are proud to be affiliated with the business – a sign of good culture and leadership.