For most people naval history is the story of dramatic events. It is the story of powerful technologies in the form of warships, from galleons to nuclear submarines. It is also the story of the courage, determination and perseverance of the people that sailed and fought in these vessels and the grand theatre of battle ranging across seas and oceans that had tremendous consequences for societies ashore. Today, naval history touches the public most obviously in the commemoration of those events, such as the four-hundredth anniversary of the Spanish Armada, 1588, or the bicentenary of the Battle of Trafalgar, 1805. Central to the story is the leader or commander – Drake, Howard, Nelson and Collingwood. The drama is personified as a clash of wills and intellects that is far more familiar and comprehensible to the public than the alien and arcane technicalities of maintaining and fighting a fleet at sea. From this perspective it might be argued that naval leadership is, perhaps, one of the most widely understood aspects of naval history. On the other hand, as the commemoration of great events demonstrates, when historians focus their attention on these campaigns, new interpretations are generated regarding of the quality and practice of contemporary leadership.

However, it is not only the coincidence of anniversaries that prompts historians to investigate naval leadership. Historians are situated in their own historical context. Today, leadership and management are major concerns in modern economies.