Part 3 – Caring for Your Team

One of the things I was asked to do when I came on board was to help “gel” the Finance team. That meant different things: gentleness and a listening ear for our ship Finance team instead of telling others what to do, strengthening collaboration with our shore‑based colleagues, and improving our relationships with other teams on the ship. A year ago, some of those relationships weren’t as collaborative or servant‑leader oriented as they could be.

I came in with the opportunity — and honestly, the privilege — to lead as a caring, kind, loving, and gentle manager. That doesn’t mean there weren’t things that needed to be healed or changed. There were. But I also knew that one of my main responsibilities was to build people up. And I had the opportunity (and challenge) to slow down, listen, and care. For a fast-paced person, that can be hard.

Building Up and Encouraging

As a leader, one of the greatest joys is to encourage your team — it is fun, enjoyable, and a joy. To tell them “you’re doing a good job.” To help them with questions, or sometimes to not answer their questions, but instead respond with, “How would you solve that?” or “What do you think we should do?” Or sometimes even, “That sounds tough. What would you like to do about it and could you come back with a proposal?”

Those kinds of questions communicate something important: you are smart, you are capable, and you don’t need to wait for permission from me or anyone else to do the right thing — as long as you’re acting in line with the mission and values of Mercy Ships. That includes being customer‑centric, caring for crew, day crew, and patients, and building collaborative bridges across departments.

However…us Accountants aren’t always known for customer centricity or collaboration — the stereotype is that we hide behind spreadsheets. But here on the ship, that looks different.

Encourage and Challenge

Part of caring for the team is also challenging them. Not with the overused “do more with less” line. I don’t believe in that. I mean the kind of challenge that says, “I believe in you. You can be more efficient, more structured, more creative. You can rethink processes to save time, reduce errors, improve quality, and inform others better.” You can apply more of your own skillset and thought process.

One example: day crew stipends. For years, we paid about 300 day crew every two weeks using spreadsheets. It took 10–12 hours, and when we paid them, there was no pay statement. Day crew don’t have email addresses, and they work all sorts of shifts (day, night, weekend, etc.). Most of the time, they just wanted to know: “Was I paid correctly, and is it in my mobile wallet?”

We didn’t empower managers to answer these questions, and Finance was always reactionary. So we restructured the process, cut payroll time to 3–4 hours, and added automated stipend statements emailed to each manager, including who worked, how many shifts, how much they were paid, and savings choices.

Suddenly managers were empowered. They could answer questions. They could celebrate savings with their day crew. And they didn’t get blindsided.

From Tasks to Deliverables

We also worked on a small but important shift: from tasks to deliverables. A task is “pay the bill.” A deliverable is “pay the bill and tell the requester it’s paid.” That simple confirmation builds trust across departments and prevents a lot of guessing and frustration. That “small” change built so much trust not just across our onboard Finance team, but across the ship and the organization. Again, small, iterative steps.

Accountability as Care

Accountability isn’t punishment — it’s care. We all forget things. We all drop balls. Accountability says, “I care enough about this work, and I care enough about you, to help make sure it lands.” Sometimes that’s a difficult conversation. Over time, those conversations build dignity and trust. By saying “I’m holding you accountable to this” we’re saying “I believe in you and know you’re capable.” To ignore it and do it yourself takes away their dignity.

The result isn’t just better processes. It’s a healthier, more joyful team — one that cares for and prays for one another, and one that’s better equipped to serve the hospital and the mission of Mercy Ships. It is more fun, too.