The Centre for Army Leadership Podcast

Episode 26 - Simon Sinek: Leading within the ’Infinite Game’

In episode 26 of the Centre for Army Leadership Podcast, we are joined by world-acclaimed author and motivational speaker Simon Sinek. Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books and is best known for popularising the concept of 'WHY' in his first TED Talk in 2009, which rose to become the third most-watched on TED.com, with over 40 million views and subtitled in 47 languages. He gives us a passionate and personal insight into his inner thinking about leadership, highlighting that "leadership is nothing to do with being in charge; it is the awesome responsibility to those around you to help make them rise." Simon discusses the importance of trust, self-awareness and the need for all leaders to have a deep understanding of themselves. He tells us how the best leaders have the humility to be open about not knowing everything and transparent about their weaknesses. As a result, they engender a culture of trust and collaboration, which, in turn, drives sustainable results. Finally, he talks about how finite thinking and leadership will ultimately fail and how leaders must embrace 'infinite thinking' to achieve long-lasting success.  

• Visit the Centre for Army Leadership website: https://bit.ly/3J3djKd  
• Visit the Centre for Army Leadership YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/3rn1vg1
• Visit Simon Sinek’s website: https://bit.ly/3KxsThK   

Episode 25: Cath Bishop - The Long Win - A better way to succeed

Dr Cath Bishop talks in this latest CAL Podcast episode about mastery mindset and letting go of fixed short-term goals.  A former international rower, diplomat and now leadership consultant Cath is used to high-performance environments and uses these experiences to provide her view on leadership, purpose and how to define one's role in the team.  As an Olympic silver medallist, it is interesting to hear Cath's openness to talk about feelings of failure in sport and the mindset shift that allowed her to go on to achieve her goals.  Cath discusses the importance of not always focusing on finite goals, instead encouraging us to look at what we have learned from the process and how to link that learning into the next mission or goal.  She emphasises how vital it is to give individuals the space, resources and education to nurture talent, in order to maximise their potential within high performing teams.
 
A great interview with someone who has experienced high-performance culture in many different environments focusing on the importance of leadership and how we can cultivate a new attitude to the meaning of success.

Episode 24: Will Greenwood MBE and Ben Fennell - Teamship and High-performance

In the latest episode of the CAL Podcast, we are joined by two best friends, who have performed at the very top of international sport and business, and have come together to co-author 'World Class: How to Lead, Learn and Grow Like a Champion'. For over ten years, Ben Fennell was the CEO of global advertising agency 'Bartle Bogle and Hegarty' and has now created 'The Growth House', a leadership and teamship consultancy to help organisations grow. Meanwhile, his best friend Will Greenwood MBE, is an England rugby legend, earning 55 caps for England and 2 for the British & Irish Lions, to this day is still the third-highest English try scorer of all time. In this insightful and passionate episode, Ben and Will discuss the importance of mentoring and its role in maximising potential, how leaders must generate a learning culture, and they speak candidly about pushing themselves to the point of failure and, most importantly, what they have learnt from the experience. 

A fascinating insight into the world of high-performance. 

 

More info below: 

Centre for Army Leadership | The British Army (mod.uk)

The Growth House | Growing Leaders Teams and Businesses

Will Greenwood – Analyst, Ambassador, Speaker, Grass Roots Champion, World Cup Winner

World Class (penguin.co.uk)

Episode 23 - Kate Richardson-Walsh OBE: leading high-performance teams

In the first episode of 2022, we are joined by one of UK sport's most accomplished female athletes, Kate Richardson-Walsh OBE. Kate represented the England and Great Britain hockey teams 375 times, captaining them for 13 years and leading Great Britain to Olympic Gold in 2016. Kate speaks openly to us about the importance of being humble and learning from the people you lead and shares personal anecdotes from her career and Olympic journey. She discusses the importance of high-performing teams sharing values and a collective vision, as they did in 2016 by crafting the collective goal of "Be the difference; Create History; Inspire the Future". Kate highlights the importance of authentic and transparent leadership in high-performing teams, allowing those you lead to see you as a person and not just a leader. As one would expect from a leader in the high-performance world, she also stresses the importance of leaders not shying away from having difficult conversations as these conversations maybe needed to drive higher standards and results. In a particularly heartfelt moment, Kate speaks openly about her experience of sharing her Olympic journey with her wife Helen Richardson-Walsh MBE and becoming the first same-sex married couple to win Olympic Gold together. Finally, Kate speaks positively about failure and how one must use it as a positive learning experience, recounting a seminal moment from early in her career where she experienced failure and how it helped pave the way to Olympic Gold in Rio; as Kate says herself, "the past is where the gold dust lies." 

www.army.mod.uk/who-we-are/our-schools-and-colleges/centre-for-army-leadership/ 

www.katerichardson-walsh.com 

www.accesssport.org.uk 

www.womenssporttrust.com 

www.helenrichardson-walsh.com 

 

Episode 22 - The Importance of Adaptability and Decision-making - Major General Tim Hodgetts CBE QHS OStJ

In the latest episode of the CAL Podcast, we are joined by the Surgeon General, Major General Tim Hodgetts CBE QHS OStJ. General Tim is the most senior uniformed medical officer within the Armed Forces and is the senior technical authority for all medical matters. In this fascinating interview, General Tim talks about the necessity of different leadership styles and how he has learned to adapt his approach and style throughout his illustrious career, depending on the context. Speaking with passion and sincerity, general Tim talks about the importance of innovation and challenge within any organisation. He quotes George Bernard Shaw by saying, "progress is only made by unreasonable people", stressing the need for disruptive innovation. General Tim tells us about his leadership lessons from his numerous deployments to Afghanistan within a field hospital, highlighting the clash and tension between military and civilian medical ethical frameworks and the leadership challenges that come with it. Finally, General Tim discusses the importance of decision-making in leadership and the tension every leader faces in balancing understanding a situation with being decisive.  

An incredible interview with a pioneer in emergency medicine. 

Episode 21- Mark Laity

In this week's episode we will be doing a deep dive into 'Strategic Communications' (StratCom) by talking to former Director Communications Division at SHAPE, Mark Laity. Mark tells us about his time as a defence correspondent in the 1990's and discusses the exponential rate of change in journalism and the shift to reporting 'emotional narratives' as opposed to the facts. He highlights that the rapid rise in technology and 24 hour news has changed the nature of journalism, with there now being an unhealthy tension between 'being the first with the story vs being the first with the truth'. He goes on to talk about StratCom and his role within SHAPE, describing StratCom as 'a systematic approach to incorporating communications into our overall effect; you cannot win without information on your side'. He highlights that although the theory and intellectual grounding in StratCom is assured, the implementation of it is less so.  Mark goes on to give some sage advice to advisors at every level, outlining that they are there to tell bosses 'what they need to hear, and not what they want to hear', stressing that advisors need humility and strong moral courage. Finally, he gives an informed and candid view on Afghanistan, unpacking what arguably went wrong for both NATO and wider stakeholders, highlighting that 'no one thing went wrong, but there was a lot that did'. 

A fascinating deep dive into StratCom, for leaders at every level.   

Episode 20 - Lt Col Langley Sharp MBE

In this special episode of the podcast, we are joined by our very own Lt Col Langley Sharp MBE head of 'The Centre for Army Leadership', to discuss his new book 'The Habit of Excellence: Why British Army Leadership Works'. The book is the first endorsed book on British Army leadership and gives an inside and institutional view on what makes its leadership so effective. In the podcast, he talks to us about the evolution of British Army leadership and the books' inception. He speaks with real passion about how he hopes the book dispels the common misconception about British Army leadership being transactional and instead shines a light on the Army's people-centric transformational approach. Notwithstanding this, Lt Col Sharp doesn't shy away from the Army's leadership failures highlighting that the book offers some critical self-reflection on its failures stating that "we have much to teach about leadership, but also plenty to learn". He hopes the book encourages critical thinking, debate and challenge from both the Army and external organisations. Throughout the interview, he continually returns to the Army's culture and the unique nature of British Army leadership. Explicitly discussing the diversity of its leaders and the special relationship officers and soldiers within the British Army have, stating that the symbiotic relationship between the two is an incredible strength. Finally, he summarises it all by echoing a phrase from the book stating "leadership is not about the heroic exception or one-off action, but the habitual practice of doing what is right, difficult and necessary every single day to build a team, look after the people in it, and work towards the next objective."
 
An incredible interview with the author of 'The Habit of Excellence: Why British Army Leadership Works'.

Episode 19 - Lord Karan Bilimoria CBE DL

In the latest episode of the Centre for Army Leadership Podcast, we are honoured to speak to Lord Karan Bilimoria CBE DL, founder of Cobra Beer and current chairman of the Cobra Beer Partnership Ltd. Lord Kahran reflects on his entrepreneurial journey, from his early days selling polo sticks to Harrods through to starting Cobra Beer in a small flat in London whilst at university. He tells us how good entrepreneurs are creative and innovative, emphasising that they have to have guts and take calculated risks. He highlight that it is about putting ideas into action and sticking with it when others may have given up. Lord Bilimoria discusses moments of luck in his career, describing luck as "where determination meets opportunity". He discusses his experience of leading through a crisis and tells us how he has nearly lost Cobra Beer three times, sharing the invaluable lessons he has learnt from the experience.  Finally, he discusses the need for collaboration between government and industry and highlights the need to "build forward together".

  

 

Episode 18 - Professor Neil Greenberg

This week, in recognition of World Suicide Prevention Day, we will be doing a deep dive into mental health by speaking to Consultant Occupational and Forensic Psychologist, Professor Neil Greenberg. Professor Neil served in the Armed Forces for more than 23 years. During this time, he was an integral part of the team that developed peer-led traumatic stress support packages, most notably trauma risk management (TRiM), for which he was awarded the Gilbert Blane Medal. Professor Neil tells us about the origins and academic rigour behind the Armed Forces TRiM programme but warns that it is not penicillin for mental health and that leaders must work hard to use TRiM as a proactive rather than a reactive tool. He highlights the importance of knowing and communicating with your people and discusses the importance of leaders having what he calls, "psychological savy chats”. Professor Neil also explores the concept of using 'after actions reviews' following traumatic incidents, pointing out that if leaders were to be more open and transparent about their feelings and the mental and emotional impact of events, it would resonate with their followers and set the example for them to follow. Finally, he tackled the sobering subject of suicide and gave invaluable advice for people struggling with their mental health, highlighting the importance of people being compassionate and kind. 

If you would like more information on mental health support please follow the links below: 

Veteran Support  Single point of contact for veterans' mental health support. 

Mental Health and Wellbeing Defence Connect (Must have Defence Connect account) Mental health and wellbeing resources can be found on Defence Connect including links to charity organisations

Combat Stress: for veterans’ mental health Combat Stress provides a range of community, outpatient and residential mental health services to veterans with complex mental health problems. 

Resources for team leaders: 

Zero Suicide Alliance training  There are three modules to this on-line training:

• Step Up Isolation Module This module is a brief introduction to what social isolation is, how it affects our mental health, and how to help someone who may be isolated.
• Gateway Training This module is a brief but vital introduction to suicide awareness.
• Advanced training takes 25 minutes to complete and gives you the skills and awareness to recognise when someone may be contemplating taking their own life.

Episode 17 - Professor Jamie Shea CMG

In the latest episode of the Centre for Army Leadership Podcast, we have the privilege to speak with Professor Jamie Shea, former Deputy Assistant Secretary-General for Emerging Security Challenges at NATO. Jamie's NATO career spanned an incredible 38 years, in which time he worked his way from Assistance Committee Secretary and Minute Writer to Deputy Assistant Secretary-General. As one would expect, Jamie speaks passionately about the importance and strength of coalitions and interoperability, highlighting the benefits of diversity and of having a unifying purpose at the strategic level. He talks about the challenges of leading without authority and unpacks the concept of 'leading through diplomacy'. Jamie looks to the future in highlighting the future challenge's leaders will face in an ever-changing and increasingly complex world, highlighting the issues that NATO leaders will face, specifically in dealing with sub-threshold Article 5 activity. Finally, he speaks to us about leading in a crisis, highlighting how good leaders are comfortable making decisions with incomplete information and being comfortable with taking risks. 

An energetic and reverting interview with a man who has had a front row seat to history.