sandhurst and seven principles of leadership development

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Vlerick and others

Values Spirituality amp

Organizational Culture

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DevelopingLeadersISSUE 21 2015

Big picture leadership fine-tuned Quarterly

Innovation and the Learning JourneyA Conversation with Marion Debruyne

Secrets of Sustainable Leadership Steven P MacGregor

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Executive Development

54 | Developing Leaders Issue 21 2015

Sandhurst and Seven Principles of Leadership Development

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst is the British Armyrsquos officer training college It is also a national institution that for many has become synonymous with training leaders Over the past two hundred years Sandhurst has produced generations of army officers ndash former cadets include Winston Churchill King Hussein of Jordan and more recently Princes William and

Harry Its reputation extends well beyond the military world When the National College for Teaching and Leadership was set up by the UK government in 2013 it was quickly dubbed the lsquoSandhurst for Schoolsrsquo In the business world the value of Sandhurst graduates is well known ndash there are several recruitment firms specialising in placing ex-army officers in senior leadership posts

I taught at Sandhurst for nearly twenty years in a variety of roles and during that time the academy attracted attention from all manner of organizations ndash foreign militaries the public services and a great number from the private sector But whatever the nature of the organization or the context they operated in the question they all posed was the same what lessons can we learn from Sandhurst about developing leaders Their enquiries often began with a request to see the Academyrsquos lsquoLeadership Modelrsquo or perhaps its lsquoleadership competency frameworkrsquo A reasonable request HR and LampD specialists toil long and hard to develop such tools And across the army like any other big organization similar documents and statements exist But Sandhurst has tended to stand slightly apart from these processes While much has been written about the Academy ndash and various key texts are required reading for the cadets ndash there is no Leadership lsquoModelrsquo as such at least not in the sense of a codified statement

What does exist at Sandhurst however is a powerful shared understanding of how to prepare leaders an understanding rooted in an identifiable methodological approach and informed by a set of explicit ndash and implicit ndash principles

These principles I believe can help us understand Sandhurstrsquos success they inform its unique combination of profound personal and professional development the acquisition of key technical skills and knowledge of organizational acculturation These principles have become so deeply embedded in the Academyrsquos daily practice that they have become lsquobusiness as usualrsquo This article is a modest attempt to identify some of these principles and reveal the lessons they may hold for training and development in the commercial sector

By Ian Stewart


Developing Leaders Issue 21 2015 | 55

Principle 1 Being a Leader Comes FirstWhile the year-long Sandhurst course introduces and develops the professional knowledge skills and the art of soldiery this knowledge and these skills are understood as vehicles through which leadership is exercised Leadership the cadet learns is the key to applying these skills wisely in the best interests of the organization So much so obvious we might say But privileging lsquoleadershiprsquo in this way is not what the newly minted manager in a commercial environment often experiences More often the manager (having already demonstrated knowledge and skills important to the business) finds themselves promoted to a position of responsibility for others At this stage and only if the business is willing to invest might their formal lsquoleadership developmentrsquo begin As one senior manager put it ldquoIrsquom now being asked to do some leading but Irsquom not sure how to lead and anyway Irsquom an accountant not a leaderrdquo

For a Sandhurst cadet their professional identity as soldier and leader is forged simultaneously Taking up that leadership identity is the key Because with this identity comes a clear sense of their role and responsibilities This leadership role and attendant responsibilities are reinforced constantly during officersrsquo training both in formal periods of instruction but also in the extensive simulations they take part in

These simulations primarily take the form of field exercises A cadet will spend around one third of their training on exercises where they will rehearse core military skills but they will also develop their sense of what leadership means in the army This is not confined to leadership just at the junior officer level In the course of their year at Sandhurst the cadet will play the parts of a range of ranks from private soldier to senior officer This role playing extends well beyond core technical military knowledge and skills Many hours are devoted to rehearsing the conduct of personnel interviews dealing with welfare issues and developing general man management skills



For the army leadership is an input a well-articulated set of priorities and values that are expressly commissioned to drive the organization forward in specific ways For many businesses leadership is perhaps more often seen as an outcome ndash recognition that senior posts come with increased responsibilities around decision-making staff welfare communication etc And that this will require these managers to be schooled and developed to exercise the leadership the business needs

Principle 2 Leadership is ContextualA Sandhurst cadet will study leaders from a variety of times and places ndash from Mother Theresa to Attila the Hun But while there is much she will gain from this exercise the real world application of her leadership goes beyond those generic lessons

Leadership does not exist independently of its application Leadership is created in the moment and within the context of the organization the task the team and the wider environment So unlike her equivalents in the business world the Sandhurst cadetrsquos leadership programme will not be separated out into lsquotechnicalrsquo and lsquosoft skillsrsquo components where particularly the latter is often delivered with little regard to the context in which she will be expected to lead The cadetrsquos training on the other hand will combine the technical and behavioural aspects of leadership in every lesson

At Kaplan we have applied this principle in our lsquoDouble Helixrsquo approach to leadership development because quite simply separating the lsquohardrsquo and lsquosoftrsquo skills strips out the necessary developmental richness and organizational uniqueness of the context In practice this means development that connects the individual to the situations and connects in which they need to perform

bull The team ndash how do groups interact to make decisions How does this affect the decisions that are made How do technical and behavioural issues inform each other

bull The organization ndash how is this organization structured What are the processes and practices that shape behaviours and actions as the pioneering organizational psychologist Kurt Lewin put it ldquothe context creates forces that produce or constrain behaviourrdquo How are these processes affecting our performance and outcomes

bull The wider environment ndash what is the competitive landscape the organization operated in What are the social political economic factors at play What does this mean at every level

Principle 3 Create Stewards who will promote and protect the best of your Organizationrsquos Traditions and ValuesVisitors to Sandhurst are struck by its architecture ritual uniformity and tradition walls are decorated by images of campaigns stretching back four centuries the names of former officers are prominent and well-studied the staff and cadets you encounter are smartly dressed and go out of their way to welcome you This environment plays an important role in developing a collective shared understanding of the armyrsquos culture identity and traditions To lead soldiers officers must be acculturated to the

What does exist at Sandhurst however is a powerful shared understanding of how to prepare leaders



armyrsquos values ndash both formal and informal its daily practices and codes of conduct and subscribe to its worldview and outlook In developing their sense of continuing a tradition of leaders cadets become stewards with the responsibility to promote and protect the best of the armyrsquos culture and practices

A key aspect of this is upholding the armyrsquos values and standards Sandhurst places values at the front and centre of its daily practice A cadet is unlikely to lose their place on the course because they cannot read a map or at least they will be given plenty of time to develop the skill But a lack of integrity can see them dismissed instantly The most important assessments of their progress is against their record of living-out the values

The lsquoforegroundingrsquo of values ndash rarely does a lesson not involve a consideration of values in some way ndash serves to create a culture where values are actively accessed and referenced Indeed often used to support acts of leadership or followership the lsquopeer policingrsquo that is so evident at the academy is often leveraged around a value being ignored or not lived-out to the observerrsquos satisfaction A cadet seen to put his own interests first or not to support the team would be quickly rounded on and peer reviews would more often centre on behaviours and conduct than a technical deficiency - you can be forgiven for getting a platoon lost on an exercise if it was a honest mistake or lack of skill you intend to remedy but blaming others or failing to take responsibility are serious issues that will get you sacked

This contrasts somewhat with commercial life where lsquovaluesrsquo often never get beyond a bland statement of generic positive statements and where personal values are usually kept firmly in the private sphere The military learnt long ago the advantages of a distinctive set of values around which service life and personal motives and behaviour could be accommodated The current appetite for authenticity and a healthy overlap of mutually supportive personal and organizational values would appear to be evidence that the commercial sector is learning the same lesson

domhnall dods Shutterstockcom



Principle 4 Develop leadership alongside developing leaders and develop the leadership your Organization needs right nowA key question when considering leadership development is whether the primary intention is to develop individual leaders or to create a collective leadership Is the key task to invest in developing the human capital of individuals or the social capital that a group of leaders offers Both are valid and in any program both will be attended to it is a question of balance

Sandhurst is primarily an investment in the social capital of a collective leadership a community of leaders that share a common understanding of the organization and its objectives and that can be relied on to reference the same set of core values and priorities This provides the organization with a powerful means by which to support maintain or if required change the organizationrsquos culture and practices

Sandhurst provides the army with a means to manage the organizationrsquos culture Experience in Iraq and Afghanistan forced Sandhurst to reflect on the lsquoConstants and Variablesrsquo of preparing the next generation of officers so they can differentiate between those priorities and practices skills and knowledge that must be retained and refreshed and those that need to be reconfigured or replaced This is a difficult and complex process While an army like any business must respond to changes in its operating environment the army like the most successful businesses must stay ahead of the competition

Unlike much of commercial practice where the emphasis is squarely on the individual with a plethora of psychometrics 360 degree surveys personal coaching and mentoring interventions Sandhurstrsquos emphasis is on developing a collective leadership Whilst both the individual and collective need to be attended to Sandhurst reminds us that an overly individual centred approach may not be the right one when a business needs a clear and consistent cadre of leaders sharing the set of goals and priorities in order to lead the culture consistently

Principle 5 Do not Leave Leadership Development entirely to the Trainers At Sandhurst the training and development of cadets is not left to generalist trainers or facilitators Carefully chosen men and women skilled in the organizationrsquos core activity ndash warfighting ndash serve as instructors and role models There are some exceptions where specialist knowledge is required academics medics lawyers and the like provide that input The effect is to pass on not only the required skills and know how but also to role model leadership behaviours Many of the key instructors are non-commissioned officers who the cadet will out-rank the day they are commissioned but during their training pass on key military skills as well as providing the lsquosoldierrsquos viewpointrsquo This blend of practitioner leaders technical operators and subject matter experts to teach novice leaders ensures the quality relevance and credibility of the training a lesson those commissioning developmental interventions in the commercial world should take on board

Principle 6 Embed the enduring Priority of Leadership Building a leadership capability rests on being able to articulate the kind of leadership your business requires And leadership is fundamentally about priorities Not only does a leader have an obligation to help lsquomake sensersquo of a situation they also have an obligation to give it rsquomeaningrsquo to communicate through word and deed what is most important and why



The overriding priority of the Sandhurst graduate is articulated in the academyrsquos motto lsquoserve to leadrsquo It is a simple and potent message the men and women you are responsible for are your first priority their needs and interests come before yours This constantly reinforces a simple enduring truth only by leading through others can the endeavour succeed It is a lesson that is easily crowded out in the hi-tech faceless world of a large enterprise where leaders are invariably lsquoresultsrsquo driven it is easy to overlook the relationships that not only lsquoget the job donersquo but maintain and develop the culture and practices of the business Maintaining and developing the culture helps explain the consistent emphasis on enduring leadership behaviours such as taking responsibility showing a sense of purpose and being decisive as well as personal qualities of showing lsquograce under pressurersquo and maintaining a sense of humour and perspective

Principle 7 It is Just Plain YouViscount Slim who served with great distinction in both world wars when asked to define leadership replied ldquoLeadership is that mixture of example persuasion and compulsion which makes men do what you want them to do If I were to define leadership I should say it is the projection of personality It is the most intensely personal thing in the world because it is just plain yourdquo Sandhurst graduates who have learnt of the centrality of leadership in their every decision who have become accustomed to playing a part in a collective endeavour that has a clear organizational purpose and for whom their personal values and those of the service have become so deeply enmeshed as to become indistinguishable may well agree

Dr Ian Stewart is Head of Leadership and Organisational Practice at Kaplan Leadership and Professional Development (kaplancoukleadership-management) He is a former Head of Behavioural Science at Sandhurst

The overriding priority of the Sandhurst graduate is lsquoserve to leadrsquo It is a simple and potent message the men and women you are responsible for are your first priority their needs and interests come before yours

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Despite much discussion about the need for leadership development in corporate and public organizations and

the considerable industry that surrounds it this is the first authoritative periodical focused entirely on this area

Developing Leaders looks at the critical confluence between the provision of executive education and the real everyday

needs of organizations to strengthen their management teams their corporate performance and their leadership

The publication presents the latest thinking and most recent developments in both academic and commercial executive

education provision worldwide what it is achieving and which are the best models for success sharing the experience and

expertise of top leaders and world class educators

Developing Leaders is published in both hardcopy and online ldquopage turningrdquo format The quarterly magazine

complements the IEDP website - the definitive resource for executive developers worldwide

wwwiedpcom



Sandhurst and Seven Principles of Leadership Development

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst is the British Armyrsquos officer training college It is also a national institution that for many has become synonymous with training leaders Over the past two hundred years Sandhurst has produced generations of army officers ndash former cadets include Winston Churchill King Hussein of Jordan and more recently Princes William and

Harry Its reputation extends well beyond the military world When the National College for Teaching and Leadership was set up by the UK government in 2013 it was quickly dubbed the lsquoSandhurst for Schoolsrsquo In the business world the value of Sandhurst graduates is well known ndash there are several recruitment firms specialising in placing ex-army officers in senior leadership posts

I taught at Sandhurst for nearly twenty years in a variety of roles and during that time the academy attracted attention from all manner of organizations ndash foreign militaries the public services and a great number from the private sector But whatever the nature of the organization or the context they operated in the question they all posed was the same what lessons can we learn from Sandhurst about developing leaders Their enquiries often began with a request to see the Academyrsquos lsquoLeadership Modelrsquo or perhaps its lsquoleadership competency frameworkrsquo A reasonable request HR and LampD specialists toil long and hard to develop such tools And across the army like any other big organization similar documents and statements exist But Sandhurst has tended to stand slightly apart from these processes While much has been written about the Academy ndash and various key texts are required reading for the cadets ndash there is no Leadership lsquoModelrsquo as such at least not in the sense of a codified statement

What does exist at Sandhurst however is a powerful shared understanding of how to prepare leaders an understanding rooted in an identifiable methodological approach and informed by a set of explicit ndash and implicit ndash principles

These principles I believe can help us understand Sandhurstrsquos success they inform its unique combination of profound personal and professional development the acquisition of key technical skills and knowledge of organizational acculturation These principles have become so deeply embedded in the Academyrsquos daily practice that they have become lsquobusiness as usualrsquo This article is a modest attempt to identify some of these principles and reveal the lessons they may hold for training and development in the commercial sector

By Ian Stewart






































csfo

toim

ages

iS

tock










wwwiedpcom






































csfo

toim

ages

iS

tock










wwwiedpcom










wwwiedpcom

sandhurst and seven principles of leadership development

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