One criticism of Chatfield's autobiographies is that they give too little credit to Admiral Henderson. The explanation offered here goes beyond personal self-interest: a leadership culture in which subordinates' credit flows upward can encourage commanders to regard collective achievements as their own. That interpretation leaves room for institutional habits as well as individual motives. It also raises a problem when using memoirs to assess who shaped naval policy, since the senior author's account can minimise the officers working beneath him.
Notable Point · 29:26-30:38
Naval memoirs can obscure the work of subordinates
The criticism of Chatfield's treatment of Henderson raises a question about how command culture shapes autobiographical credit.