HOW LEADERSHIP IS TAUGHT AT SANDHURST
AND HOW THESE LESSONS CAN BE
APPLIED TO THE CIVILIAN WORLD
RICK CHATTELL MBE
ANDY ALLEN MBE

FORMAT
• Introductions
•
5 Key areas to be covered:
1. Selection of potential Leaders
2. How Leadership is taught at Sandhurst
3. Qualities of a Leader (Our view and yours)
4. The need for realistic training
5. A universally accepted crisis management process
• Summary

INTRODUCTIONS

1801 Estate purchased from William Pitt
1810-12 Old College built by John Saunders
1911 New College built

THE ART OF WAR
The conduct of war is an art, a skill requiring a combination of judgement to weigh up factors which can seldom be quantified precisely, insight to assess the value of information which may be inaccurate or misleading and flair to know when to be bold and when to be cautious.
Army Field Manual – The application of force

THE ART OF WAR
(Replace war with business)
The conduct of business is an art, a skill requiring a combination of judgement to weigh up factors which can seldom be quantified precisely, insight to assess the value of information which my be inaccurate or misleading and flair to know when to be bold and when to be cautious

SELECTION FOR RMA SANDHURST
Regular Commissions Board
Mission
“To select from the field of suitably qualified candidates, those with the potential qualities of character, ability and Leadership who should, after training, be able to command a sub-unit (platoon or troop) in the performance of common military tasks in peace and war”

REGULAR COMMISSIONS BOARD
• Can you assess and solve problems?
• Can you make decisions under pressure?
• Can you adapt to changing circumstances?
• Can you communicate quickly and clearly?
• Can you get the very best out of yourself and the people around you?

REGULAR COMMISSIONS BOARD
• Mind – Mental aptitude profile – IQ
• Body – Fit and robust enough
• Soul – Personality and interaction - EQ

HOW LEADERSHIP IS TAUGHT AT SANDHURST
LEADERSHIP IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SUBJECT
TAUGHT, LEARNED AND PRACTICED
AT SANDHURST
WHY?

Because Leadership is the key winning
Ingredient in battle
…and Leadership is the key winning
Ingredient in business

ACADEMY MISSION
“Through Military training and education to develop the qualities of Leadership character and intellect demanded of an
Army officer”

HOW LEADERSHIP IS TAUGHT AT SANDHURST
• Qualities approach – What a Leader has to be as a person
• Functional approach – What a Leader has to do to lead
• Practical approach – Practice being and doing Leadership

QUALITIES OF A LEADER?
Task
Provide words or phrases which you consider are the qualities of a leader

Winston Churchill
Margaret Thatcher
Mahatma Ghandi
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Mother Teresa
Adolf Hitler

What they must have?
The Ability to Communicate

PETER DRUCKER
The most advanced management thinker of our time
“THE WHOLE DISCUSSION IS A WASTE OF TIME!

Leadership in an operational scenario
Cambodia

AKA

MISSING INGREDIENTS
• Courage
• Willpower
• Initiative
• Integrity
• Self confidence
• Enthusiasm
• Ability to communicate.

IN SUMMARY

Cambodia
Missing
Ingredients
Essential
Courage
Willpower
Initiative
Integrity
Self Confidence
Enthusiasm
Ability to Communicate

Essential Important Additions
Cambodia
Missing
Ingredients
Courage
Willpower
Initiative
Integrity
Self Confidence
Enthusiasm
Ability to Communicate
Judgement
Commonsense
Humanity
Fitness
Flexibility of mind
Pride in command
Faith

HOW LEADERSHIP IS TAUGHT AT SANDHURST
The composite approach
• Qualities approach – What a Leader has to be as a person
• Functional approach – What a Leader has to do to lead
• Practical approach – Practice being and doing Leadership

Three elements:
• Functions of a leader
• Adair’s 3 circles
• Situational Approach

• Planning
• Briefing
• Controlling
• Supporting
• Informing
• Evaluating

SITUATIONAL APPROACH
As the situation changes, a leader must have the ability to adapt their style of leadership
It is the environment of Adair’s 3 circles

SITUATIONAL APPROACH
Environment
Team Individual
Needs Needs
Military v Civilian view?

HOW LEADERSHIP IS TAUGHT AT SANDHURST
The composite approach
• Qualities approach – What a Leader has to be as a person
•
Functional approach – What a Leader has to do to lead
• Practical approach – Practice being and doing Leadership

Practical Leadership
Military Skills
Course Administration
Sport
Command & Leadership
Academic Studies
PT
Drill
Tactics
Battlefield Technology
500 1000 1500 Hours
(exercises)

Realistic Training for Employment Role
Military => Train for war
(Train before promoted)
Civilian => Train for worst situation?
(Promoted then possibly trained?)

Universally accepted Crisis Management Process
The 7 Questions

The 7 Questions
Why?
In a crisis, effective analysis of the situation and options for resolution are key

The 7 Questions
(Crisis Management Process)
• Process
• Underpins The Functions of Leadership - for everyone
• Planning
• Briefing
• Controlling
• Supporting
• Informing
• Evaluating

The 7 Questions
(Crisis Management Process)
Q1 - What are the “enemy” doing and why?
Q2 - What have I been told to do (or want to do) and why?
Q3 - What effects do I want to have on the enemy and what direction must I give to develop my plan?
Q4 - Where can I best accomplish each action/effect?
Q5 - What resources do I need to accomplish each action/effect?
Q6 - When and where do the actions take place in relation to each other?
Q7 - What control measures do I need to impose?
Note these Questions for your trial understanding and implementation

AD 8
GERMANY

GEN MAXIMUS
ROMAN
INFANTRY
ROMAN
ARCHERS
ROMAN
ARTILLERY
ROMAN
CAVALRY
FOREST
GERMANS
(infantry and short-range bowmen)
GERMANY - AD 8

The 7 Questions
(Crisis Management Process)
Q1 - What are the “enemy” doing and why?
Q2 - What have I been told to do (or want to do) and why?
Q3 - What effects do I want to have on the enemy and what direction must I give to develop my plan?
Q4 - Where can I best accomplish each action/effect?
Q5 - What resources do I need to accomplish each action/effect?
Q6 - When and where do the actions take place in relation to each other?
Q7 - What control measures do I need to impose?

The 7 Questions
(Crisis Management Process)
Q1 - What are the “enemy” doing and why?

Q1. What are the enemy doing and why?

Trying to defeat Roman force in order to drive
Romans out of Germany.

Trying to draw Romans into the forest where he can bring his strong infantry to bear without Romans being able to use superior tactics and weapons.

The 7 Questions
(Crisis Management Process)
Q2 - What have I been told to do (or want to do) and why?

Q2. What have I been told to do and why?
Defeat the militant German tribes in order to enable diplomatic and economic pacification measures to be implemented in the northern region
1. Higher Intent: Caesar has devised a package of military, diplomatic and economic pacification measures. My part is to defeat the militant German tribes so that the other measures can be implemented without interference.
2. Tasks.
Specified: Defeat militant German tribes
Implied: Kill or capture the leader - Rout the German force deter any resurgence (take hostages?)

The 7 Questions
(Crisis Management Process)
Q3 - What effects do I want to have on the enemy and what direction must I give to develop my plan?

Q3. What effects do I want to have on the enemy and what direction must I give to develop my plan?
I intend to use our superior tactics to FIX the enemy and STRIKE at (kill) the enemy commander from an unexpected direction
This will cause fatal damage to the enemy cohesion and lead to his defeat.

The 7 Questions
(Crisis Management Process)
Q4 - Where can I best accomplish each action/effect?

Q4. Where can I best accomplish each effect?
•
Start with ME effect = STRIKE enemy commander
• STRIKE against enemy commander best done by cavalry in the open
• To achieve this, must DENY him the use of the forest and
DRAW him into the open ground
• New list of effects: DENY - DRAW - FIX - STRIKE
• FIX can happen in open (Roman infantry work best in formations)

DRAFT DECISION SUPPORT OVERLAY
1-DENY
3 -FIX
2 - DRAW
4 -STRIKE

The 7 Questions
(Crisis Management Process)
Q5 - What resources do I need to accomplish each action/effect?

Q5. What resources are required to accomplish each effect?
• DENY - artillery and archers
• DRAW - infantry stopping short in open to lure enemy out of forest
• FIX - infantry close formation fixing enemy in open but cannot do this for long
• STRIKE - ideal task for cavalry

The 7 Questions
(Crisis Management Process)
Q6 - When and where do the actions take place in relation to each other?

Q6. When and where do the effects take place in relation to each other?
•
Indirect fire denies forest to the enemy
• Infantry then advances and goes firm to draw enemy into open and fix him there
• Cavalry strikes through forest at rear of enemy
• Wargaming reveals potential synchronisation problems:
• Infantry not being able to fix for long enough for cavalry to achieve strike. Therefore cavalry must be pre-positioned and start when indirect fire starts
• Potential of cavalry being hit by own indirect fire
• What if enemy do not come out of forest? Cannot stop cavalry. Therefore must stop indirect fire. Cavalry strike anyway; infantry assault into wood.

The 7 Questions
(Crisis Management Process)
Q7 - What control measures do I need to impose?

Q7. What control measures do I need to impose?
• Signal from cavalry when ready - burning arrow
• Lookout for cavalry to stop indirect fire when cavalry approaches

The 7 Questions a Crisis Management Process
Why?
In a Crisis, effective analysis of the situation and options for resolution are key

SUMMARY
1. Selection of potential Leaders
2. How Leadership is taught at Sandhurst
3. Qualities of a Leader (Our view and yours)
4. The need for realistic training
5. A universally accepted crisis management process

Leadership and teambuilding at all levels
Public and Private sectors
The Military
National Sporting teams

General (Retd) Colin Powell
US Secretary of State

“
The will to dominate together with the character that inspires confidence”
Montgomery
“A leader is a man who has the ability to get people to do what they don’t want to do and like it”
Truman
“Leadership is a mixture of example, persuasion and compulsion …In fact it is just plain you”
Slim

And finally…….General Sir Peter de la Billiere said:

FM Lord Slim:
“There is a difference between LEADERSHIP and MANAGEMENT. The leader and the men who follow him represent one of the oldest, most natural and most effective of all human relationships.
The manager and those he manages are a later product with neither so romantic nor so inspiring a history………………

“….Leadership is of the spirit, compounded by personality and vision: its practice is an art.
Management is of the mind, more a matter of calculation of statistics, of methods, timetables and routine; its practice is a science.
Managers are necessary; Leaders are essential”

Phases
PLAN
Achieve TASK Build/Maintain TEAM Develop INDIVIDUALS
Define the task
Obtain information
Involve team in planning
Detail groups
Assess the skill potential of people
Use knowledge and expertise of individuals to assist in making your plan
BRIEF
Make analysis &
Plan
State aim
Issue Instructions
Appoint sub-leaders
Give clear Instructions
Explain reason for task
Set standards/priorities
Co-ordinate CONTROL Ensure activity directed to aim
Monitor progress &
Re-plan if necessary
Maintain standards
SUPPORT Provide resources Maintain team spirit
Delegate
Check individuals understand the plan
Maintain standards
INFORM
EVALUATE
Keep yourself informed of progress in all areas
Review tasking –
Has aim been achieved?
Keep team in the picture on progress
Ensure team communication
Recognise success & Learn from failure
Encourage individuals & Criticise constructively
Look after administration
Thank and praise
Listen to feedback & Assess
performance