Learning to be a Future Leader

Added by Love Business East Midlands | 12 October 2018

UPDATED: 12 October 2018

Professionals from across the East Midlands spent yesterday (10 October) learning about the Army’s approach to leadership through a series of presentations, discussions and practical challenges held at Chetwynd Barracks in Nottinghamshire.

On Exercise Future Leader, around 50 participants were engaged in interactive and thought provoking discussions around leadership theory followed by an afternoon of outdoor practical challenges designed to test their leadership qualities.

The participants were selected by their employers as managers or potential managers and leaders within their organisations.

Major Lloyd Hankins, Unit Employment Support Officer for 162 Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps, helped organise the event, he explained:

“It was great to be able to share the Army’s perspective of leadership with civilian managers and leaders. I am sure what they have learned today will come in useful in the future.

“It was also a great opportunity to engage with these local employers and show them the skills that members of the Reserve Forces develop and how these skills can bring many benefits to the civilian workplace.”

The day was a mixture of theoretical discussions and practical activities which aimed to give the participants a better understanding of the military’s leadership principles. The challenging tasks and thought provoking discussions allowed the groups to work together and apply the principles of leadership that they had learnt about.

Jade White, a Recruitment Team Leader at RecruitMe, took part in the exercise, she said:

“I’ve recently stepped into a new role managing a small team of four Recruitment Consultants and I’d like to challenge my own leadership style and learn from others.

“I’d like to broaden my experience of what makes a good leader, leadership always exists but good leadership is extremely subjective and it’s about learning how to deliver that.

“There’s something in this event for everybody, whether you’re a future leader, have recently stepped into a leadership position or whether you would consider yourself an accomplished leader there is definitely something to be learned.”

Victoria Pashby, a Specialist Physiotherapist at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust, took part in the exercise, she said:

“I’m looking to move towards a management post so I’m here to get the leadership experience. I’ve seen two people that I work with who were in the Armed Forces and are brilliant leaders so I hoped being involved with today would give me a unique insight into leadership that would help my career path.

“It really shows you what skills you have got, that you can use them and that lots of skills are transferable, teamwork and communication are everything and most people do that in their job role anyway, you just need to learn to use it slightly differently.”

Chris Hastings, a Chief Technician at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, took part in the exercise, he added:

“I’ve done leadership roles in the past but never had any formal training, so I thought this might be a good day to come and do some group exercises and see what works well and what doesn’t.

“No matter what your background is, what capabilities you have, whether you’re a new leader or an existing one, there’s a lot to take from it no matter what your skillset is.”

Amanda Binns, a Practice Placement Facilitator at Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Trust, took part in the exercise, she said:

“I was offered the chance to take part by my manager, I thought it was a really good opportunity to come and find out about the Army’s style of leadership and how that may or may not differ from the NHS and I was sure that there would be skills that I would be able to take back into my workplace.

“I think any leadership training is really valuable, I’ve done quite a bit within the Trust that I work but I am in a leadership role so I think it’s really important that I grasp any opportunity to ensure that I’ve got the skills that are needed to be a good leader and a role model for the student nurses I work with.”

Both public sector organisations and private sector businesses sent employees to take part in the exercise.

John Wilson, the Ministry of Defence’s Regional Employer Engagement Director, said:

“The employers of the participants have shown support for Defence Personnel through the Armed Forces Covenant and I hope that today’s event will reinforce their relationship with Defence. This event has helped to show how skills developed through military training can easily transfer and bring real benefits to businesses.”

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