{"id":7169,"date":"2025-11-26T13:04:30","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T12:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web-dev-weissblau.de\/microconsult\/?p=7169"},"modified":"2026-02-14T17:10:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T16:10:10","slug":"what-project-teams-can-learn-from-extreme-sailors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microconsult.de\/en\/was-projektteams-von-extremseglern-lernen-koennen\/","title":{"rendered":"What project teams can learn from extreme sailors"},"content":{"rendered":"

What makes a team successful? Anyone with a healthy sense of their own limitations asks themselves this question. Analyzing a highly successful sailing team provides some interesting answers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think you've all heard sayings like these: "We expect our people to give 120 percent," "We're building the perfect product," "You can achieve anything if you just try hard enough," "I would have finished ages ago if the others weren't dawdling so much." Perhaps you've even spouted these messages of absolute dedication yourself. That's what determined go-getters, ideal employees, and winners sound like. Not true! I'll explain why in this column.<\/p>\n

I see many similarities between offshore sailing and project work: there's always the risk of drowning. The project's progress, like the weather, is difficult to predict and often stormy. People occasionally go overboard. There are many situations where things can get hectic and stressful. The constant ups and downs and backs and forth can really make you seasick. Sometimes you just find the project utterly infuriating.<\/p>\n

One of my readers sent me an interesting study (Jenewein, Morhart, Seven Maneuvers for Team Success, Harvard Business Manager, July 2006) about a sailing crew. The team started the 2006 America's Cup as underdogs and completely dominated the competition. This study identified several success factors that also offer interesting suggestions for those less involved in project management:<\/p>\n

Get the best people on your team! A slightly sheepish addendum: ...that you can afford. Money certainly plays a big role, but it shouldn't be overestimated. A good eye for diamonds in the rough can replace money. Think about developing young talent and scouting. So, who are the best people? They're people with a positive outlook on life who want to win and have fun doing it \u2013 and who don't give up immediately if they lose.<\/p>\n

Grumpy, uptight killjoys who can't laugh are no good for any team. Of course, everyone has phases when it's best to keep them away from the world. That's okay, and teams have to be able to handle that. What matters is a positive attitude towards teammates and shared goals.<\/p>\n

A team can only win if each role is filled by the person best suited to implement the chosen strategy in the current situation. Past titles and achievements should play no role. This also means, however, that everyone has the opportunity to continually prove themselves for a role or task in fair competition with their teammates. It must be clear what rules govern this seemingly paradoxical coexistence of competition and team spirit.<\/p>\n

The clearer the goals, the more understandable the rules, and the more transparent the resulting decisions, the better the guidance for the behavior of all involved. This is called project culture! It expresses HOW to act and WHAT is to be achieved. Now you might say: "Well, that's much simpler when sailing than in highly complex technical projects.".<\/p>\n

Let's practice a little self-criticism at this point: Could it be that the nice word "complexity" is just a lame excuse for a lack of willingness and imagination to get to the heart of the matter? Are we simply not making enough of an effort to develop simple goals and understandable rules for complex projects?<\/p>\n

The topic of culture shines a spotlight on the concept of role models. Culture is supported by everyone, primarily by leaders. They are the figureheads of the culture and its associated rules and goals. The only thing that truly matters is action. Those who merely make grand pronouncements without backing them up with their own actions risk a mutiny or will eventually fall by chance. The greater the consistency between words and deeds, the more credible the leader.<\/p>\n

This doesn't mean the captain does the sailors' work, but rather that his behavior is visibly aligned with the values and standards expected of the crew. In other words, when there's an emergency and it serves to solve an urgent problem, the captain is willing to do anything. Because at sea, those who survive are not those who look for someone to blame for mistakes and problems, but those who quickly rectify those mistakes and problems and learn from them.<\/p>\n

The best guarantee for fast and effective solutions is top-notch team training. Everyone should be so well-prepared for their role that no one else can do the job better than that specialist. Applied to the project, this means that everyone on the team actively strives for maximum effectiveness in their area of responsibility and constantly works to increase their efficiency. Qualification includes everyone being able to understand their own importance and that of others to the success of the project. Team leadership ensures, for example, through targeted professional development planning, that these prerequisites are met.<\/p>\n

Every sailing trip and every project is also a rigorous on-the-job training course. Critical situations, crises, and conflicts, in particular, offer the team an opportunity to learn. This only works well if the members are willing to openly share observations, assumptions, knowledge, experiences, feelings, and needs. Shared knowledge multiplies a team's potential for finding solutions, especially when different personalities with diverse backgrounds and experiences come together. Diversity acts as a solution multiplier. Intensive personal exchange fosters further success factors such as trust, tolerance, and loyalty. However, this only works if openness is accompanied by mutual respect.<\/p>\n

Openness without appreciation is like a bull in a china shop or a bull in a china shop. Appreciation without openness is nothing more than hypocritical flattery or a desperate desire for harmony. The willingness to engage in open and respectful interaction, on the other hand, is a crucial prerequisite for everyone to be prepared to take responsibility \u2013 for themselves, for the team, and for the common goal. "One for all and all for one" is the motto of the team that wants to win. It doesn't matter whether they are musketeers, sailors, or project teams. Ahoy!<\/p>\n

Success factors of strong teams<\/h4>\n