Captain’s List — John ‘Jack’ Aubrey #1813

Corsair’s Profiles in Leadership Series

The captains of fiction and history have much to teach us. They are leaders who often serve in times of great challenge and turmoil. Articles in this series focus on an individual captain and utilizes their quotes, their writings, and their actions to inspire core leadership elements in all of us.

Captain Jack Aubrey

The hero of Patrick O’Brien’s Aubrey/Maturin Novels, Captain Jack Aubrey is an officer in the English Navy. His character serves during the Napoleonic wars, a time of great conflict and great leaders. This provides O’Brian the opportunity to integrate real world personalities like Lord Nelson into his story lines.

“Lucky Jack” as he is known, is a robust character. He is colorful and outspoken. He is a man with many friends and enemies. Much of the dialogue in his 21 book series involves dialogue between him and his ship’s physician, Stephen Maturin. The camaraderie of these two men creates much of the novel’s appeal.

Jack is not a man of heavy pretenses. He is well liked by his men and often at odds with the more harsh and/or aloof members of the Royal Navy. As any good hero should, Jack also has a knack for adventure and intrigue.

Science, Art, and Leadership

Jack is a Renaissance Man. As an officer in the Royal Navy, he is an educated man. He has a penchant for both science and art. His character is credited with a love of violin, astronomy, math, and the natural sciences.

This breadth of knowledge is an asset for any leader. Just like Jack, leaders can draw on other sciences and arts to help them in challenging situations. A broad understanding of other disciplines and creative pursuits; exposes leaders to different ways of thinking, organizing, and learning.

While Jack is a fictional character, this trait was very common among actual naval officers in the 1700’s and 1800’s. The pursuit of varied interests was considered the mark of a refined commander.

Attention and Intention, not Detail

Second, and somewhat endearing, is Jack’s penchant for colorful misuse of expressions and vocabulary. It is touch of humor that Patrick O’Brian has layered into his dialogues. In some circles, these are known as Aubreyisms.

So what can we learn from Captain Aubrey’s colorful misquotes and language foibles. They are a reminder that it is often more important to grab your audiences attention than to deliver the perfect quote. When your team or crew is attentive and engaged, intentions are what really matter. Detail can be sorted out later.

Great leaders often mispeak. There is certain charm and approachability to those who are willing to speak passionately and colorfully, even when specific details elude them. If broad knowledge is truly to be embraced, can’t we excuse a few muddled details?

Jack is an educated gentleman who leverages his broad knowledge with a loose grasp of the details. He draws broadly from science and art. He is not afraid to quote and even misquote the common wisdom he draws from that deep exposure. Jack recognizes that it is the attention and intention that count.