LEADING THROUGH CRISIS
LESSONS FROM SPORT, BUSINESS AND THE MILITARY
Virtual Conference 4th November 2020
Jointly hosted with The Centre for Army Leadership, Sandhurst
Videos from the webinar are available to FLS members on the secure section of this site.
For several years, FLS have worked closely with the Centre for Army Leadership (CAL). Original plans to hold a joint conference on leadership, to be held at Sandhurst, were shelved because of the Covid crisis. We soon realised that there were excellent examples of leadership through crisis evident in sport, business and the military. We all became ‘zoom’ experts, enabling people to continue to engage with others in a positive fashion. Holding a ‘virtual’ conference on leading through times of crisis was an obvious consequence.
Over 1,500 delegates attended the event, held on November 4th. We had superb leaders from different walks of life, all of whom gave their services free of charge, enabling us to raise over £3,000 for the Royal British Legion.
We look forward to further collaboration with CAL, and discussions are already under way.
The feedback has been remarkable, as can be seen here.
“Many thanks and congratulations on a great event!”
— Baroness Sue Campbell
“Many thanks. Great to hear so many overlapping perspectives. I felt honoured to be part of it. I was especially interested in Huw’s thoughts on managing his young sportsmen and women remotely during the lockdown and the way the senior players helped maintain contact. Great lessons for the Army when we need to ‘lead’ our junior soldiers if they have to be dispersed during a lockdown.”
— Major General Felix Gedney
“Thanks for an enlightening afternoon - I am sure most of the delegates found it as refreshing as I did to be reminded “you are not alone” and be reassured that much (but by no means all) of what you are doing is right in navigating these choppy seas.”
— Richard Gray
Session One: Crisis Response - Chaired by Frank Dick OBE
The first session of the conference focused on the challenges and strategies used in responding to a crisis. All three panellist have been acutely involved in leading the response in their own organisations to the COVID-19 pandemic. Panellists offered their own insights into what they have experienced and learnt over the course of the last six months
Brigadier Elizabeth Faithfull-Davies is the Commander 102 Logistics Brigade. During the COVID-19 crisis Brigadier Faithfull-Davies was responsible for establishing a mobile testing regime to be dispatched around the country.
“If you trust your people, you empower them.”
Professor Neil Mortensen is the President of the Royal College of Surgeons. He is working with the government, NHS and surgeons to deal with the impacts on elective surgery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“One of the biggest lessons from the pandemic has been the sense of team work, ingenuity, and energy of local teams around the country coming up with local solutions to local problems.”
Richard Lloyd is the General Manager of Accolate Wines responsible for European Operations and Supply Chains. Richard’s organisation has had to adapt its business model and working practices to meet the unique demands of the pandemic.
“In a crisis the role of a leader is magnified.”
Leadership Lessons
1. The importance of being agile and able to adapt to the challenges of a crisis. Session Chair Frank Dick described this as the need to “learn fast and learn better”. Richard Lloyd told a story of how his organisation had to adapt communication methods to meet the demands of the pandemic.
2. All teams have a multitude of different perspectives which will contribute to the delivery of a plan. Brigadier Faithfull-Davies categorised these as: thinkers, doers, coordinators, coherers and disruptors.
3. If a leader empowers people they will build trust and cultivate new ideas. Professor Mortensen argued that when leaders build networks and teams they create coalitions of effective problem solvers.
4. Through a crisis leaders must communicate their vision clearly. If the vision and purpose is clearly communicated the whole team can unite behind a single aim.
Session Two: Operating in Chaos and Uncertainty - Chaired by Frank Dick OBE
The second session of the conference looked at the difficulty of leadership in times of chaos and uncertainty. The three panellists reflected on their experience of leading their organisations through the pandemic, from the early stages and full lockdown, through to the emerging “new normal”. The panellists all agreed that the ongoing context presents a unique period of uncertainty for their organisations.
Huw Jennings is the Academy Director at Fulham Football Club, responsible for managing the Academy programme up to U23 level. The pandemic has forced Huw to adapt the training and management programme of his young players.
“Sell not tell. If you are going to lead through a crisis you have to take people with you.”
Major General Felix Gedney OBE was the Acting Commander Home Command during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, managing the Army’s initial response to the crisis.
“When you are telling people what to do, start with why, not what.”
Eddie Jones has been the Head Coach of the England rugby team since 2015. He has had to manage a Six Nations Championship campaign while dealing with the constraints of COVID-19.
“My job is to make sure the environment is stimulating enough to make our people leave with a smile”
Leadership Lessons
1. The three C’s of Care, Communication and Consistency are core principles leaders can use to support a team in crisis. Huw Jennings outlined how each of these principles helped him manage his young players. You can read about Huw’s 3 C’s principle in his insight in our ‘Cross-Sector Lessons from COVID-19’ paper.
2. It is important to not get distracted by the shock, chaos and uncertainty which a crisis can generate. Major General Gedney argued that it was important that as leaders we develop individuals who can think and act clearly and effectively in times of crisis.
3. The best preparation for any crisis is to build a diverse team of mutually trusting individuals with shared values. The shared values of a team builds trust, allowing diversity of thought and experience to flourish.
4. One of the primary roles of any leader is to anticipate and plan for future uncertainty. Eddie Jones stressed the importance of leaders understanding what they can control, in turn providing their people with certainty in an uncertain world.
Session Three: Future Challenges - Chaired by Col Lucy Giles
The final session of the afternoon saw panellists reflect on the potential future challenges their organisations face and what this means for them as leaders both in terms of challenge and opportunity. A view held by all was that the future was near impossible to predict, but that out of the challenges ahead there are enormous opportunities to adapt and evolve.
Richard Hytner is the founder of beta baboon a management consultancy firm and a former Deputy Chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi. Richard offered a refreshing perspective of crisis acting as “turning points” with the potential to renew creative energy.
“To show some vulnerability is to build trust.”
Baroness Sue Campbell is the Director of Women’s Football at the Football Association. Baroness Campbell has had to manage how the FA reacts to the pandemic and what it means for professional women's football.
“Through a crisis having consistency of purpose acts like a rudder.”
Bill Sweeney has been the CEO of the Rugby Football Union since May 2019 having previously served as the CEO of the British Olympic Association for six years. Bill and his team have been leading the RFU’s response to the pandemic.
“Even in an uncertain world leaders must consider the things that they are in control of.”
Leadership Lessons
1. The panellists agreed that not having any sense of where the current crisis will end and the problems associated with managing a workforce under the current restrictions, pose a major challenge for the future. Baroness Campbell argued that the future will require leaders and organisations to be able to adapt, mobilising and engaging individuals in different ways.
2. One of the great advances of the last few months has been an increase in trust, enabled by enforced virtual working. Bill Sweeney argued that a challenge for the future will be to reassess how you measure and monitor performance.
3. The future challenges will also be behavioural and culture. Richard Hytner argued that this will require leaders to lead with purpose and be driven by core values.
4. To effectively deal with the challenges of the future, leaders will have to remove the obstacles for creative thinking and keep the ‘creative muscle’ of teams alive.