James Forsdyke, Managing Director at Lloyd’s Register (LR) Maritime Decarbonisation Hub, states that the most valuable career choice he made was to focus on improving aspects of his professional behavior that needed development. His career growth has resulted from deliberately pushing himself into challenging situations, even when he didn’t feel entirely prepared.
In relation to the maritime industry, James advocates for a faster, more unified adoption of alternative fuels and the safety standards needed to support them. The sooner the shipping sector establishes safety protocols and standardizes sustainable fuel solutions, the faster it can advance toward net-zero emissions. In this respect, collaborative frameworks and regulation are essential, he concludes
SAFETY4SEA: How did it come about that you joined the shipping industry and your field of expertise specifically?
James Forsdyke: I fell into the industry by accident. Or rather, I fell into it because my mother knew what might interest her son. At a time when all I wanted to do was sail around the world, she found the degree program of Naval Architecture and suggested I went for it, the rest is history. As to arriving in maritime decarbonisation, this area of focus is the coalescence of my areas of interest, honed over at least the last 10 years of seeing where both society, and industry, was heading, and wanting to be part of this space.
S4S: What about your current job/role most excites you and why?
J.F.: The most exciting part of my role is the opportunity to support a team that can make a meaningful difference. Our work at the MDH (Maritime Decarbonisation Hub) is setting standards for zero-carbon fuel solutions, both commercially, financially, and technically, and creating blueprints for sustainable practices, from green corridors to new safety protocols. I’m particularly motivated by the collaborative aspect—bringing together industry, government, and technology leaders to create systemic change that balances ambition with practicality.
S4S: When you think of the word “successful,” who’s the first person who comes to mind and why?
J.F.: When I think of ‘successful’, I don’t think of a famous person who embodies it through their own achievements. To me, the type of success I respect the most is the success that one enables in others. I will feel like I have succeeded at the end of my career only if I feel that I could point to a community of people, a sector, an industry, that I helped, that I left better off than I found it. There are two types of leaders in the world, those that lead because they are standing on others, or those that lead because they have lifted up others, I know which one I want to be
S4S: Who is/was the most influential person/mentor to you & why?
J.F.: I couldn’t pick a single person. In my career, I feel fortunate to have been exposed, and built close relationships, with industry leaders in C-suite positions relatively early on. Several of them stick out in my mind as personal mentors. They all had in common a remarkable ability to think clearly, to forecast consequence far better than the average person, to be decisive, and yet to be human and to empathise. These types of leaders set the template for who I aspire to be as a leader
S4S: What is the best and the worst piece of advice you’ve ever been given and why?
J.F.: Worst piece of advice: I just need you to trust me – No, why should I? I trust what makes sense, if it doesn’t make sense, I either don’t have the full picture or the picture is flawed, both scenarios need addressing before I feel committed to the endeavour.
Best piece of advice: Don’t expect your ‘authority’ to be given to you by others, or to come directly from your position. You will gain authority through the merits of your behaviours; it has to be earned….
S4S: What is the most worthwhile career investment (in energy, time, money) you’ve ever made?
J.F.: Without a doubt, the best career investment I have made has been to work on managing the aspects of my professional behaviours that needed development. One of my bosses once said to me that people gravitate towards doing what the are comfortable with, not the thing that most urgently needs doing, or even the most critical activity within their job scope. That idea stayed with me forever. The steps that I have taken in my career where only possible by consciously throwing myself into things that were uncomfortable, things I may not have been quite ready for.
S4S: If you could give a piece of advice to your 18-year-old-self, what would it be and why? What piece of advice should you ignore?
J.F.: Your ability to lead, or to have authority, to have the confidence of others, does not come from your job title or your position. It only comes from your behaviours. So don’t worry about what your business card says, think instead about how you behave, supporting people when they need it, telling them the truth even if you are afraid to, standing up for what you believe in when you must. Do these things, and the job titles will come
S4S: In the last five years, what new belief, behaviour, or habit has most improved your business life?
J.F.: The lists of things you need to finish will never end. So don’t manage your life around them. Thriving professionally happens most easily in tandem with thriving personally. Prioritise your life accordingly, balancing what you need as an individual to stay healthy and happy, together with what you need to do to be professional impactful. Its not either or, its both. One day you might need to work 20 hours to get the high priority stuff done. Fine, do it, but don’t think it’s the hours that meant you are committed and doing a good job; they are not a badge of success. Balance them with your personal recovery, reinvest your time in your family and friends, so that the next time you must work 20 hours you have the energy to do so.
S4S: What would you like to change in the current maritime landscape and your area of expertise specifically and why?
J.F.: I’d like to see a faster, more cohesive adoption of alternative fuels and safety standards to support them. The maritime industry needs collaborative frameworks and regulation to transition effectively. The sooner we establish safety protocols and standardize sustainable fuel solutions, the sooner we can accelerate toward net zero.
S4S: What is your personal motto?
J.F.: Be caring but authentic. It’s very difficult to live your life that way. Caring too often is interpreted to mean ‘cause no offence, shy away from truth, avoid awkwardnesses’. But that is insincere. Sometimes ‘caring’ means telling people that you disagree with them. Don’t shy away from that, but do it with kindness. People will then know that you have their best interests at heart, even when you are telling them something that is hard for them to hear. Then, you can unlock the most powerful of performing teams.
The views presented are only those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of SAFETY4SEA and are for information sharing and discussion purposes only.
