Page 38 - Signal Summer 2018

| RAY GAMMELL |

and Performance Officer at Etihad Airways, eventually
serving as Interim Group CEO in 2017/2018 and am now
holding responsibility for both the HR agenda and the
Transformation of the Group. I am in my 10th year at
Etihad Aviation Group and it has been a story of ‘two
halves’. For the first 6 years, it was about unprecedented
growth – in fact the fastest growing airline in the history
of commercial aviation. In recent years, it is about ‘right
size and shape’ to ensure the National Flag Carrier meets
the needs of the UAE and has the right network scale to Captain (Ret'd) Ray Gammell in Lebanon in 1987.
support the shareholders growth ambitions. Hence the
need for ‘transformation’, the buzz word it seems of these tion, it’s your culture. If the members of your organisation
corporate times we are living through. Its another way of are reading this and saying ‘that’s not possible in our
saying ‘all bets are off’ and ‘we need to refigure the future world’ then there is little chance of you retaining key talent
based on a whole new reality’. In fact, if you consider the over time or if you happen to keep them, then it may be
absolute unpredictability of the world these days, I would for all the ‘wrong’ reasons. Unfortunately, or fortunately,
worry for any business that is not seriously examining its it’s as cut and dry as this - your organisation gets the
raison d’etre, its strategic intent and it’s means of getting outcome it deserves based on the reality your people
there. experience every day.

What are the experiences and acquired skills from There is a significant percentage of former DF offic-
your Defence Forces career that you most commonly ers who have had extremely successful post-military
utilise in your current job and how are they relevant? careers, such as yourself. What do you think the main
In truth, I have relied on ‘everything’ I learned in the reasons for this are?
Defence Forces throughout my civilian career. The Firstly, I don’t see myself as ‘extremely successful’. I
Defence Forces are the ultimate learning machine about just see myself as ‘me’, doing the best I can every day
life, about people, about winning and losing, about man- and seeing where it takes me. With a lot of luck along the
aging stakeholders, about delights and disappointments, way, it has taken me to a range of very interesting places
about leadership, about accountability, ownership and and roles around the world. But you are right in saying
integrity, about assessing situations, formulating a plan that there are many former DF officers who have had
and moving to execution. But most of all, learning about extremely successful post-military careers and this makes
‘yourself’ and who you are as a manager, as a leader, as me incredibly proud. On the global stage, I have found
a friend, a colleague, a comrade and above all as a per- that being ‘Irish’ still makes a difference and allows us to
son, whether you are on the way up or on the way down. go places and achieve things that other nationalites simply
The Defence Forces taught me confidence but also struggle to do! It’s equally clear that every one of those
humility, and confidence without humility is arrogance ‘successful’ DF officers have one thing in common - that
and there is simply no place for arrogance, in either the institution in the Curragh with the unassuming name of
military or the corporate ‘battlefield’!. ‘The Cadet School’. Someone way smarter than me could
work out the statistical significance of this but I prefer to
stick with the deep emotional, developmental and even
What are the challenges, in your opinion, that the spiritual significance found in such a place. A place where
Defence Forces face in terms of retention of their men and women at such a critical stage of their lives, are
best personnel and how could they be addressed to brought into a military development machine, that has
some degree? been perfected over many centuries of learning across
Believe me, the Defence Forces is not unique in the globe, resulting in a unique framework for not only
regards to this challenge. ‘Retention of Talent’ is a key teaching military skills but ‘life skills’ as well and imparting
challenge in all organisations and all industries across wisdom and judgment in the widest range of situations
the globe. The key to keeping talent is to utilise it. It’s as imaginable. This foundation, I would contend with total
simple as ‘use it or lose it’ and key to this is the ability to confidence, is the ultimate key to the success of my broth-
objectively identify ‘talent’ in the first place and then use ers and sisters in careers outside the Defence Forces and
the principles of meritocracy to deploy it in ways that are also for those who have been hugely successful within,
optimum for both the business and the individual. This which is equally important. Finally, the support of family to
means high standards of transparency, linked to a strong be mobile and move around the world has been a con-
career planning framework and the will to make it happen stant for me and quite frankly none of it would have been
systematically across the entire organisation. This is not possible without this support – so that ‘selection process’
Corporate HR ‘speak’, it’s who you are as an organisa- turns out to be the most crucial of all in the end!

50 | | SUMMER ‘18 |