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general 3
era of potential data overload, so we must prepare
providing command and leadership skills appropriate
staff oficers to support key decision-makers by to a complex operational environment, and adapting
synthesising and interpreting information for them
(or ‘contextualising’ in the current jargon) more
– often within tight and immoveable deadlines. The corporate leadership skills to suit the distinctive
new Commander Joint Forces Command, General
character of Defence.
Sir Richard Barrons, made it clear to our most recent
Advanced Course that it is the quality of work that This is a daunting list of requirements and requires
wins the conidence of Ministers. Finally, joint nothing less than a transformation of professional
education and training – driven down to a more junior military education. The most tangible immediate
level than at present – are the key enablers that will outcome is encapsulated in the recently concluded
permit us to exploit the full, complementary skill sets review of the Advanced Command and Staff Course.
and capabilities of the three ighting Services.
This recognised the simple reality that we could not
adequately cover all this ground within the conines
There are also two speciic leadership dimensions of an academic year. Consequently, from September
that we must address through professional military 2014, the course will be very different. It will be split
education. Broadly speaking, these involve the way into a two-term core, with all the beneits this brings
we look outward, beyond the military, and inward, in terms of breadth and the peer-group cohort effect,
within our evolving Defence institutions. In the irst followed by three, 8-week long parallel modules
case, we must prepare our future leaders for a more to address the key issues in more depth. These
complex and less predictable
are structured around ‘ends’,
‘battlespace’, where they will work
the development of strategic “
There are also two
with allies, potentially unfamiliar
thinking and objectives; ‘ways’,
speciic leadership
partners, other ministries and
the conduct of engagement and
agencies and non-government
operations; and ‘means’, the dimensions that we
organisations too. This demands
management of the business of must address through
the traditional virtues of military
Defence.
professional military
leadership, but also qualities that
”education
may be less familiar to military
Designing and implementing
practitioners. These include the
the new course will not be
empathy needed to understand other institutions easy, particularly when the College is facing its own
(and the very different pressures our partners may be resource constraints. However, I believe this is
subject to), relationship-management skills, cultural an exciting and perhaps generational opportunity
awareness and the nuances of language. Defence as to deliver a system of command and staff training
an institution is also becoming increasingly complex, and education that is absolutely it for purpose.
as we need to harness the skills of contractors and Famously, Ernest Rutherford once observed:
civilians to achieve the desired results within an ‘Gentlemen, we have run out of money; now is the
inevitably constrained resource-base. Accordingly, time to think’. The constraints of austerity will not
we must educate future leaders in effective ‘corporate dissipate overnight, so balancing our national strategic
leadership’, entailing business acumen, which may ambition and resources into as robust, effective and
not be instinctive to the military, and an emphasis affordable use of the military instrument as possible
on very different facets of leadership, such as self- calls for new, clear and innovative thinking. Our task
awareness and collaboration. The Joint Services at the Joint Services Command and Staff College is to
Command and Staff College has an important role in educate a future generation of leaders to be ready and
developing both of these dimensions of leadership:
able to meet this challenge.
