“Merriam-Webster” defines “Stewardship” as, “the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.”
To be a Steward, you must have something entrusted to your care – AND, you must be careful with and responsible to that which has been entrusted to you. A Steward needs to be empathetic to the needs of all those involved, but also Socratic in the manner in which they engage. As a Steward, you are coach and mentor – and a master of communication and diplomacy. You nurture and protect rather than command – and you are a member of the community over which you preside; a community that depends upon you as much as you depend upon it in order for everyone to be successful. Stewardship is a cross-over function that bridges the strategic, through the tactical to the logistical. However, it is important to note that this role of Steward (or the other roles previously defined) is not necessarily a “position” but rather a role (and the corresponding responsibilities defined of this role) taken-on by qualified people who exist in the organization. Certainly, I am not endorsing an additional layer of management (personally, I believe most organizations have far too many layers as-is).
For example, think about the roles on a ship at sea;
– The Captain of the ship (“Leader”) is responsible for safely getting the ship and all aboard safely to its destination (“strategy / goal”).
– The Petty Officers on the ship (“Practitioners”) are responsible for various ship’s-functions such as; engineering, galley, communications, etc…
– The Crew (“Indoctrinated”) is responsible for carrying-out the duties of the ships-functions.
– The Passengers (“Unindoctrinated”) are the human cargo. Once at sea, they might be taught the basics of survival (life-jackets, life-boats, etc…), but that is about it.
– The Ship’s Steward is the person who is charged with hearing, understanding and acknowledging the orders and intent of the Captain, communicating it though the entire ship, ensuring that such orders and intent are carried-out by those on board, and that the entire vessel is aligned with the objectives of the Captain.
The Ship’s Steward is also responsible for assessing risk and being the advocate of the Petty Officers, Crew and Passengers ensuring that their concerns and needs are properly communicated for evaluation and action, that the appropriate resources are allocated, and the entire crew is prepared and committed to achieving the objectives.
Lastly and if necessary, the Steward is the trusted advisor that helps the Captain change the Strategy if based upon communication with the crew and assessment, the Strategy is determined to be unachievable under the present circumstances.
As such, it could be argued that the Steward is the most important role on the ship – for the Steward ensures that everyone is working towards a goal that is crystal-clear, and that everyone has what is required for them to successfully fulfill their objectives, and expectations are managed throughout all souls on the ship – from top to bottom and back to top.
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