thearmyleader.co.uk is run by a former soldier in the British Army. The thoughts in these articles draw on experiences and thoughts from two decades in the Army, years in training and leadership development roles and over a dozen operational deployments and overseas training missions. His views are his own and do not represent the views of the MOD or the British Army.
Get off Their Backs! A JNCO’s Guide to Avoiding Micromanagement By Ben Hayden I walked down the stairs to the company offices ready for the obligatory 1030 post-phys roll call. At 1020 I was welcomed by the sight of 72 Guardsmen, stood in the rain in three ranks, nearly ten minutes early on a wet…
The Five Dysfunctions of an Army Team How to build a cohesive team using Patrick Lencioni’s Five Dysfunctions of a Team model By Joe Kay, Principal Consultant at The Table Group and former Army Officer When it comes to leadership and team performance training, the Army often leads the way. When I went through Sandhurst…
Conflicted: Why Arguing is the Right Thing to do. Interviewed by The Army Leader For years Ian Leslie was fascinated by the question of why public and private disagreements go so badly, so often. In public, they descend into acrimony or get stuck in a grinding neutral gear. In private, disagreements should shatter groupthink or…
Peak Performance Under Pressure by Dr Stephen Hearns Reviewed by Dan Spiers In June 2020 the British Army’s Centre of Army Leadership published Leading Through Crisis: A Practitioner’s Guide. It was written after the Centre provided mentors and leadership advice to the NHS and local government during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis. Peak Performance…
Locked Up Potential: Thief, Prisoner, Soldier, Priest By The Army Leader Team Does the leadership style or the lessons learned in one institution translate from that organisation to the next? Paul Cowley MBE is a man whose life has been spent working in and around different institutions; he served time in a young offenders’ prison…
50 Free Online Courses for Your COVID-19 Self Isolation By The Army Leader Whether you are self-isolated at home due to family infection, following government advice, or dispersed to protect yourself before you get activated as part of the Army’s Covid Support Force, this does not need to be wasted time. Of course you can…
Do Not Take Leadership for Granted: An Interview with Major General Charlie Collins By The Army Leader Team Major General Charlie Collins commissioned into the Royal Green Jackets in 1995, beginning a career that has seen him deploy around the world for over 25 years, preparing and deploying light combat forces on operations. Between 2012…
The ‘Adding Value’ Dilemma: An Interview with Lt Gen Richard Nugee By The Army Leader People are at the heart of a leader’s business. This is something every junior leader gets – you need to understand your people, put their needs before your own, motivate and develop them. It is at the centre of leading…
Leading Through Crisis: An Interview with Lt Col Langley Sharp By The Army Leader In June 2020, as part of its mission to develop leadership across the British Army and to work in concert with other parts for the public sector, the Centre for Army Leadership published Leading Through Crisis; A Practitioner’s Guide. The new…
The Reimagining Defence Interview By The Army Leader What are the most important ideas and trends that every military leader must understand? Grey Zone conflict? Information warfare? The evolution of urban conflict in megacities? Right now there are plenty of contenders for ‘most important trend in defence’. Last week I spoke to two military officers…