Like most, for the last few weeks I have also been following the news flow from the Sewol tragedy. As more details keep coming out, it is impossible to miss the rage in the media against the Master and the crew of that ferry. I think it is important to raise a few questions based on the events that unfolded on that fateful day and put things in context.
Let's take a step back and carefully dissect the facts from the different news items. For a moment let’s not judge anything as we read on.
1. Master Lee Joon-seok – the captain of the fateful Sewol - was a genuinely nice human being as described by his colleague with a wealth of experience in his profession – over 40 years at sea. He has travelled this route before. 10 out of 10 times, if you were told before you boarded, you would not panic if a person of his stature leads the ship. Read a generous profile of the Master here.
2. In what must have been “routine operations” for him, on that day he hands the ship to the 26 year old third mate. He himself takes a break in his quarters.
3. The inexperienced third mate has never been at the helm on this route before. On that fateful day, she unfortunately makes an error at her duty (measuring by consequences it ultimately proved to be extremely costly). She takes a sudden turn which tilts the ship dangerously.
4. As the leader, the Master rushes from his quarter to take hold of the situation but fails to re-balance the ship. The vessel continues to tilt.
5. As the vessel was listing, the captain had to take a set of complex decisions in a crisis situation weighing the costs and benefits with whatever information he had. The one that turned out to be the most calamitous was his judgement to have passengers stay in the vessel since (as he himself later told news persons) “the tidal current was strong and water temperature was cold, and there was no rescue boat”. He must have factored how much time the ship will hold up till rescue boats are arranged.
6. The captain finally ordered evacuation after confirming that nearby vessels are coming for rescue operations (it is not sure the orders reached everyone)
7. Soon after ordering evacuation, the captain himself left the ship not waiting to ensure every passenger is evacuated safely. This action is now being condemned world-wide and the captain and crew are also arrested..
8. The stories of the passengers are the most heart-wrenching. They trusted their captain all along. They knew the ship was sinking but still faithfully obeyed the captain’s orders to stay put and waited for help. The videos that have come out make your heart sink.
What happened here? A seasoned leader in charge of people who depended on him to navigate them through the ocean hits an unexpected crisis and takes a set of decisions to the best of his ability to save everyone. When he thought he has found safety for them, he leaves the ship with his crew without waiting for the last person to be evacuated. And all along the crisis, most of the people placed full faith in their leader in spite of anticipating the worst.
The questions to ask are is this set of behaviours so unique that the leader must be vilified as Master Lee Joon-seok is? What would happen if such high moral standards of leadership (“captain must always go down with his ship”) are expected everywhere, specially in corporations? Under what circumstances is it acceptable for a leader to jump a sinking ship while others are still fending for themselves and when is it absolutely not? I certainly do not have the answers...
Let's take a step back and carefully dissect the facts from the different news items. For a moment let’s not judge anything as we read on.
1. Master Lee Joon-seok – the captain of the fateful Sewol - was a genuinely nice human being as described by his colleague with a wealth of experience in his profession – over 40 years at sea. He has travelled this route before. 10 out of 10 times, if you were told before you boarded, you would not panic if a person of his stature leads the ship. Read a generous profile of the Master here.
2. In what must have been “routine operations” for him, on that day he hands the ship to the 26 year old third mate. He himself takes a break in his quarters.
3. The inexperienced third mate has never been at the helm on this route before. On that fateful day, she unfortunately makes an error at her duty (measuring by consequences it ultimately proved to be extremely costly). She takes a sudden turn which tilts the ship dangerously.
4. As the leader, the Master rushes from his quarter to take hold of the situation but fails to re-balance the ship. The vessel continues to tilt.
5. As the vessel was listing, the captain had to take a set of complex decisions in a crisis situation weighing the costs and benefits with whatever information he had. The one that turned out to be the most calamitous was his judgement to have passengers stay in the vessel since (as he himself later told news persons) “the tidal current was strong and water temperature was cold, and there was no rescue boat”. He must have factored how much time the ship will hold up till rescue boats are arranged.
6. The captain finally ordered evacuation after confirming that nearby vessels are coming for rescue operations (it is not sure the orders reached everyone)
7. Soon after ordering evacuation, the captain himself left the ship not waiting to ensure every passenger is evacuated safely. This action is now being condemned world-wide and the captain and crew are also arrested..
8. The stories of the passengers are the most heart-wrenching. They trusted their captain all along. They knew the ship was sinking but still faithfully obeyed the captain’s orders to stay put and waited for help. The videos that have come out make your heart sink.
What happened here? A seasoned leader in charge of people who depended on him to navigate them through the ocean hits an unexpected crisis and takes a set of decisions to the best of his ability to save everyone. When he thought he has found safety for them, he leaves the ship with his crew without waiting for the last person to be evacuated. And all along the crisis, most of the people placed full faith in their leader in spite of anticipating the worst.
The questions to ask are is this set of behaviours so unique that the leader must be vilified as Master Lee Joon-seok is? What would happen if such high moral standards of leadership (“captain must always go down with his ship”) are expected everywhere, specially in corporations? Under what circumstances is it acceptable for a leader to jump a sinking ship while others are still fending for themselves and when is it absolutely not? I certainly do not have the answers...