Page 49 - 1RHA 2022

1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery
After returning from the well-deserved break over Christmas and New Year, in January the Regiment conducted its third iteration of the 1 RHA Leadership week. The aim of the week was to promote the key themes brought out by the newly published Army Leadership Doc- trine. Throughout the week the Regiment attended a range of sessions which aimed to improve teamwork, leadership, fol- lowership, and presentational techniques. The importance of the week is self-evident in all that we do, but as we have seen in Ukraine over the past year, empowered leaders particularly within the Junior NCO cohort are a battle-winning assets.
Established towards the end of the Op Herrick era in the heart of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst the Centre for Army Leadership (CAL) is charged with championing Army leadership across all cap badges and ranks. Throughout the 1 RHA Leadership Week, CAL-designed leadership les- sons were delivered to rank specific groups. The leadership themes addressed during these interactive sessions include: ‘Toxic Leadership,’ ‘Followership,’ ‘Mission Command’ and ‘Emotional Intelligence.’ The sessions saw various lessons delivered by Officers and Senior NCOs from the Regiment, and many sessions were based around interactive learning which allowed soldiers to give their own thoughts on how best to address the topics discussed.
A key focus of the week was to develop individuals’ ability to deliver briefs and public speaking. Junior soldiers were chosen to give ‘TED talk’ style briefs which saw them deliver short and sharp five-minute presentations about a topic of their choice. This gave the opportunity for some of our most junior people to step up to show their ability and confidence when speaking in front of others. For many, this was their first time having the opportunity to speak publicly in front of their peers and produced some exceptional examples of public speaking.
Further to the public speaking focus, several personnel were chosen to work in teams to deliver ‘Dragon’s den’ style pitches about potential adventurous training ideas. Various ideas were explored and delivered to the panel made up of the 2iC, RSM, other officers and Warrant Officers. Many great ideas were suggested such as hiking around Bolivia, walk- ing the Tour De Mont Blanc and completing a duathlon from London to Paris. Although not all ideas were chosen, all the Adventurous Training pitches were delivered with confidence and were well thought out. The overall winner was put for- ward by Captain Gaughan and Lance Bombardier Hanks who proposed a Bavarian Hill Walking AT trip which was suc- cessfully delivered later in the year.
The Regiment was fortunate to have a variety of inspira- tional speakers giving keynote speeches, all of whom had experience and a background in leadership. Mark Denton, an award-winning speaker, spoke about his ‘Navigate the Storm’ experience which saw him take part in the sailing race around the world. He spoke about his take on leadership and how to overcome adversity and challenges whilst still main- taining strong leadership. Other speakers during the week included Gary Prout CGC receiver of Conspicuous Gallantry Cross and Staff Sergeant Charlotte Spence, a British Army Warrior Fitness champion; both spoke about their life experi- ences and the skills that contributed to good leadership.
The Officers and Senior NCOs of 1 RHA received a fireside chat from Lieutenant Colonel Langley Sharp MBE. The former commander of 1st Battalion The Parachute Regi- ment had recently finished his time running the Centre for Army Leadership. The evening saw Lt Col Sharp deliver his thoughts as to what good leadership looked like but also asked for feedback from across the Regiment’s Officers and Senior NCOs which made for an extremely informative and enjoyable evening, clearly highlighting the high standard of leaders we have across the Regiment.
One of the closing events of leadership week was the Debate Night. Hosted by the Warrant Officers’ and Sergeants’ Mess. The Officers and Senior NCOs formed teams and were pre- scribed topics of debate, ranging from the Army’s inclusivity to whether the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan was inevita- ble. Teams were given strict rules and time limits of debating whilst they put forward their arguments either for or against their motion. The evening brought up well-structured and heated debate from all involved and delved into some of the pressing issues that we have in our Army today. Once each team had put forward their arguments, the question was put to those observing, as to which team they believed had made the best argument who were then pronounced the winners. The evening was a clear success, as it saw Officers’ and Seniors debating in an open forum, allowing for opinions to expressed and for quality debate.
The third iteration of the 1 RHA Regimental Leadership Week was a resounding success and enhanced the low- level leadership of all ranks. This leadership went on to be demonstrated through the course of 2022 both during the day-to-day drumbeat of activity in camp and during the vari- ous deployments undertaken throughout the year. The fourth iteration, slated for February 2023 promises to be another great week of development.
Leadership Week Lt O Newnham RHA
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