Sailing into Leadership: Analysis of "Master and Commander"
One of the most remarkable literary achievements of the 20th century emerged in 1989 when W.W. Norton published Patrick O'Brian's multi-volume fictional re-creation of British naval life during the Napoleonic Wars. Eventually stretching to twenty books, O'Brian's account of the lives of Captain Jack Aubrey and his great friend, Doctor Stephen Maturin entranced reviewers and millions of readers. A reviewer from the New York Times stated that O'Brian's books are simply "the best historical novels ever written." "Master and Commander" is the first Hollywood movie made from O'Brian's books and what follows is not a review but rather an essay that uses the movie to frame a discussion of leadership. The focus is the character of Jack Aubrey- created by Patrick O'Brian, visualized by director Peter Weir and brought to life by actor Russell Crowe. An examination of Aubrey's behavior, thoughts and values throughout the movie provides a wealth of insight into the concept of leadership.
As the movie begins, it is the spring of 1805 and we are aboard HMS Surprise, a small Royal Navy frigate with a crew of 197 souls and an armament of 28 guns. HMS Surprise serves as a tiny but exact mirror of the actual British navy and Jack Aubrey serves as an archetype of a fighting British sea-captain during the Napoleonic wars. As we will see, the movie title of "Master and Commander" is actually an incomplete description of Aubrey's role, which can more accurately be described as "Master, Commander and Leader." Each of these three roles describes a different aspect of Aubrey's performance. Each derives from a unique set of competencies but all three roles strongly complement each other. The fact that Aubrey is successful as master, commander and leader has a decisive effect on the course of events in the movie.
HMS Surprise has left England under orders to find the French frigate Acheron and "sink, burn or take her as a prize." The Surprise is off the coast of Brazil and approaching a fogbank that seems to contain something suspicious. When the alarm is raised, we are introduced to Captain Jack Aubrey who peers into the fogbank, sees gunflashes and quickly realizes that the Surprise is about to be mauled by the larger, more heavily gunned enemy ship. Aubrey is energized by the prospect of combat ("straight at 'em, Mr. Mowatt!") but events quickly take a turn for the worse as Surprise's rudder is shot away and the British barely escape into the fog.
We learn more of Aubrey in the wake of the Surprise's first disastrous encounter with the French. The ship's officers, somewhat in shock, are discussing the engagement and they observe that Acheron was "more like a ship of the line than a frigate" and "our shots couldn't penetrate." They all assume that the clear superiority of the French ship means the Surprise will have to abandon its mission and return to England. Their misgivings are well-founded. HMS Surprise, with 28 guns, is about as small as a ship can be and still be called a frigate. By way of comparison, the four British frigates that fought at Trafalgar were all armed with at least 36 guns. Jack Aubrey, however, sees the situation from a very different perspective. Positively radiating with decisiveness, he tells his officers that there is not a moment to lose if they are to carry out repairs and catch up with the French.
As the ship recovers, we see an absolute beehive of complicated, intense activity; a visual reminder that warships of this period were the largest, most complex and deadliest moving objects in the world. In addition, these ships were a veritable "system of systems" and competent commanders had to know every aspect of their ship. We see Captain Aubrey talking gunnery with the gunner, navigation with the sailing master and ship repairs with the carpenter. Aubrey's obvious competence links to a leadership insight derived from Clausewitz. The Prussian philosopher of war once observed that great leaders need to be decisive but it...
As the movie begins, it is the spring of 1805 and we are aboard HMS Surprise, a small Royal Navy frigate with a crew of 197 souls and an armament of 28 guns. HMS Surprise serves as a tiny but exact mirror of the actual British navy and Jack Aubrey serves as an archetype of a fighting British sea-captain during the Napoleonic wars. As we will see, the movie title of "Master and Commander" is actually an incomplete description of Aubrey's role, which can more accurately be described as "Master, Commander and Leader." Each of these three roles describes a different aspect of Aubrey's performance. Each derives from a unique set of competencies but all three roles strongly complement each other. The fact that Aubrey is successful as master, commander and leader has a decisive effect on the course of events in the movie.
HMS Surprise has left England under orders to find the French frigate Acheron and "sink, burn or take her as a prize." The Surprise is off the coast of Brazil and approaching a fogbank that seems to contain something suspicious. When the alarm is raised, we are introduced to Captain Jack Aubrey who peers into the fogbank, sees gunflashes and quickly realizes that the Surprise is about to be mauled by the larger, more heavily gunned enemy ship. Aubrey is energized by the prospect of combat ("straight at 'em, Mr. Mowatt!") but events quickly take a turn for the worse as Surprise's rudder is shot away and the British barely escape into the fog.
We learn more of Aubrey in the wake of the Surprise's first disastrous encounter with the French. The ship's officers, somewhat in shock, are discussing the engagement and they observe that Acheron was "more like a ship of the line than a frigate" and "our shots couldn't penetrate." They all assume that the clear superiority of the French ship means the Surprise will have to abandon its mission and return to England. Their misgivings are well-founded. HMS Surprise, with 28 guns, is about as small as a ship can be and still be called a frigate. By way of comparison, the four British frigates that fought at Trafalgar were all armed with at least 36 guns. Jack Aubrey, however, sees the situation from a very different perspective. Positively radiating with decisiveness, he tells his officers that there is not a moment to lose if they are to carry out repairs and catch up with the French.
As the ship recovers, we see an absolute beehive of complicated, intense activity; a visual reminder that warships of this period were the largest, most complex and deadliest moving objects in the world. In addition, these ships were a veritable "system of systems" and competent commanders had to know every aspect of their ship. We see Captain Aubrey talking gunnery with the gunner, navigation with the sailing master and ship repairs with the carpenter. Aubrey's obvious competence links to a leadership insight derived from Clausewitz. The Prussian philosopher of war once observed that great leaders need to be decisive but it...