How does sailing teach and bring you together?

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We have completed another 190 miles of sea adventure, and again we managed to cover them in excellent company. We put our participation in this year's ITCorner Sailing Bootcamp on the list of those adventures you don't forget!This time the setting for our sports and personal development was Croatian Dalmatia. It is not only a veritable paradise for lovers of water sports, but also a beautiful place where history and tradition mix with turquoise waters and fabulous cliffs. In addition to the opportunity to improve our sailing skills, we also had time for competency workshops and - most importantly - frank conversations with other managers.

What will team leaders learn on a sailing expedition?

A manager and a captain have a lot in common. For us, such an expedition is also a lesson in effective management.

Work on goals and direction

Sailing is knowing your destination port and the art of choosing the routes that will get you there most quickly, but also most safely. It's also the ability to adapt to conditions and make quick adjustments.

Building a leadership position

On a boat or ship, ultimate authority rests with one person. He or she must be able to carve out authority and lead the crew, while at the same time inspiring confidence, inspiring others and opening them up to a frank conversation about where we are and how realistic it is to achieve the goal.

Developing teams

The ability to recognize the competencies, moods, potentials of one's employees is an extremely important quality of a captain and boss. Especially when there are new challenges, unusual situations - you need to know how to build an effective team and distribute work.

Communications

Without clear, unambiguous communication, there is no safe sailing. It's an important skill for a manager, too, especially when hectic schedules, cultural differences or varying knowledge within a team make us eager to take mental shortcuts or assume that people will figure out what to do on their own.

Resource management

These - both on board and in the company - are always limited. How to allocate them, at what rate to use them - these are typical issues when making daily decisions. You also need to be able to assess whether there are enough resources to get you to your destination.

Decisions under uncertainty

We never have 100% certainty about external conditions, and often about what we ultimately have. Risks are inherent in every decision, but a good captain can make them no matter what. He must be alert and always ready to react quickly.

Analyze the conditions and identify the best ones

On the water, the wind, weather, tide or movement of other ships must be under the constant control of the captain. Likewise, a manager must be able to analyze key conditions for his business and select the best ones for achieving strategy.

How does sailing together bring business people together?

In today's such a dynamic business environment, creativity, cooperation and, above all, trust are the basis for building lasting relationships.

Confidence building

Solving problems together, working as a team under stress and uncertainty, builds our trust in each other. If we haven't let our partner down in a storm, we won't let them down in business either.  

Cooperation and understanding of roles

Sailing is the art of cooperation, in which each member of the team has an important role. He or she has his or her own job to do, and must plan time and resources well, but also communicate effectively with others. On the ship, we can perfectly see how much each team member contributes to the collective success.

Building team spirit

During such a trip, we talk a lot about values, how we want to act and build our position in business. We quickly discover the planes that connect us. We also build a sense of unity as we work together to find solutions to problems that arise.

Shared memories and emotions

A sailing trip is not just about getting outside the walls of the office, but more importantly about the adventure we experience together. These lasting memories connect us to each other, make us more eager to meet again and experience something together.

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So many emotions in such a short time! On the one hand - it's hard to return to the usual corporate reality when we have such a week behind us. On the other - we don't come back the same, we have heads full of ideas, and new friends with whom we want to implement them. What's more - we also already have more sailing plans! Already in the first days of spring, together with our friends we will set off to conquer Sicily, which is exceptionally beautiful at this time of year.