Description

About the Book

Steering from the Lower Deck: Leadership Lessons from a Sailor’s Memoir’ is a rare and groundbreaking work—the first book of its kind written by a sailor from the Other Ranks of the Indian Navy. Told from below deck rather than the bridge, it offers an authentic perspective on leadership shaped not by rank or authority, but by responsibility, discipline, and lived experience.
Unlike most military memoirs that speak from command positions, this book gives voice to the men who keep ships operational in silence—The Seamen, Radar plotters, Gunners, and sailors whose vigilance carries real consequences. The author traces his journey from a ‘fauji’ childhood in Wellington and a nomadic education through ‘Kendriya Vidyalayas’, to the crucible of INS Chilka and years at sea, where leadership was learned through trust, endurance, and accountability rather than instruction manuals.
The narrative follows his transition from uniform to civilian life, navigating corporate environments and global workplaces, and confronting the deeply personal battle with a Cancer called Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Each phase reinforces the book’s central truth: leadership is not conferred by position—it is revealed in how one endures uncertainty, carries others, and holds course when structure disappears.
Written with restraint, honesty, and quiet authority, the book addresses themes often left unspoken—mental health, identity after service, and the silent struggles of transition. It does not offer formulas or management jargon. Instead, it offers lived wisdom drawn from watches stood at sea, mentors who led without noise, and resilience forged in adversity.
This memoir is both a landmark contribution and a companion for veterans, leaders, and anyone navigating responsibility without recognition—proof that the strongest leadership often comes from the lowest deck.

About the Author 

The Author ‘A. J. Alexander’ is a veteran sailor of the Indian Navy whose life and leadership have been shaped from the lower deck upward. Joining the Navy as a sailor in the Other Ranks, his formative years were spent not in command cabins but in operations rooms, mess decks, and watchkeeping stations—spaces where discipline is lived daily and responsibility is carried without announcement. This vantage point defines both his career and his voice as an author.
Raised in Wellington in the Nilgiris, a town steeped in military tradition, and educated across India through the ‘Kendriya Vidyalaya system’, Alexander grew up absorbing service, adaptability, and restraint as a way of life. His naval journey began in training at INS Chilka and unfolded across demanding sea tenures, where he served as a radar plotter and watchkeeper, learning leadership through precision, accountability, and trust. Mentored by officers and senior sailors alike, he internalised a form of leadership rooted in calm, endurance, and quiet competence.
After fifteen years in uniform, Alexander transitioned into the civilian and global maritime world, later moving into corporate roles. His post-service life included navigating identity loss, mental health challenges, and a personal battle with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma—experiences that deepened his understanding of resilience beyond rank or role.
Steering from the Lower Deck marks a significant milestone: the first leadership memoir written by a sailor from the Other Ranks of the Indian Navy, offering an authentic, rarely heard perspective. Alexander writes not as a theorist or commander, but as a practitioner of lived leadership—measured, reflective, and grounded in service. His work stands as a voice for those who lead without titles and endure without applause.