The rapid evolution of global maritime operations underscores the need for adapted leadership in naval forces. Particularly for the Navy, the dynamic operational environment demands personnel who are not only technically proficient, but also skilled in leadership, communication and management, as leadership is a crucial skill for any organization. The purpose of this paper is to show how the Portuguese Navy teaches its leadership model through the development of appropriate competences and how to improve the effectiveness of leadership actions by introducing the 6W2H methodology during the action planning phase. The education and development of functional leadership skills in the Portuguese Navy includes theoretical and practical classes. The practical part is covered by exercises involving practical leadership tasks (TPL's), based on four leadership competences: (1) the competence to clarify the situation, (2) the competence to clarify the strategy, (3) the competence to coordinate and (4) the competence to facilitate learning, which fit into the sequential phases of a task cycle. In the development of the competence of clarifying the strategy, namely in the development of the action plan, the 6W2H methodology is introduced. This methodology is made up of eight dimensions which should contain the following information: Action or activity to be carried out or the problem or challenge to be solved (What?); Justification of the reasons and objectives of what is being carried out or solved (Why?); Definition of who will be responsible for carrying out what has been planned (Who?); Information on where each of the procedures will be carried out (Where?); Chronogram of when the procedures will take place (When?); Definition of what resources will be used (With?); Explanation of how the procedures will be carried out to achieve the pre-established objectives (How?); Limiting how much each procedure will cost and the total cost of what will be done (How much?). The results encompass several years of experience in teaching leadership and lessons learnt sharing. The results revealed a general increase in the effectiveness of leadership actions after the introduction of the 6W2H methodology, from a final average of 52 points score (normal practical leadership task´s) to a final average of 58.3421 points with the introduction of the 6W2H methodology, suggesting a rise across all functional leadership competences, with practical implications which can contribute for organizational improvement.

Keywords: Communication, Education, Functional Leadership, Organizational Behavior, Team Leadership.