Description
TLC Zoom
Wednesday 17th July 2024 @ 18:00 BST
Leadership and mental health in a crisis – the power of psychological support.
Gary Deakin CBE & Charlotte Copeland
On 1st February 2023, Gary gave a memorable, frank and candid presentation entitled High Performance Teams – Ego or Self? Gary had just left the Army after a distinguished career and had taken on a new important and senior role in a civilian capacity and he reflected on his past experiences – as exemplified in the title.
Join us for a learning conversation about the power of psychological support to leaders and high performance teams before, during, and after a traumatic life threatening crisis. Retired Major General Gary Deakin, and latterly Managing Director of an international private security company, in conversation with the psychologist Charlotte Copland, Managing Director of Safehaven CISM.
They will share their leadership lessons in the follow up to a crisis in Libya in 2023. The conversation will reflect the psychological journey Gary went on with Charlotte to respond to and recover from the illegal capture and detention of 7 expatriate, all former military personnel, who were contractors working for the company. Taken by a Libyan militia and mistreated, concurrent with the collapse of their commercial business in Libya because of the crisis and then ending with the leadership team being made redundant. The conversation will highlight the key psychological tools used to enable recovery and be better prepared for future crises.
Gary Deakin CBE
Gary, a retired Major General is the founder of Kingfisher Consulting Ltd. Named after Lawrence of Arabia’s quote ‘nine-tenths of tactics are certain, and taught in books: but the irrational tenth is like the kingfisher flashing across the pool, and that is the test of generals’. The consultancy provides advice and mentoring support focused on leadership in the age of AI.
His military career included combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, driving NATO’s response to Russia’s invasion of Crimea, leading the planning for the rescue of 40,000 Yazidi off Mount Sinjar and leading the Global Coalition to Counter-ISIS campaign planning. He commanded from platoon to brigade and finished his career as Chief of Staff of a NATO Joint Force Command.
Since leaving the military he was Chief of Transformation a hydrogen company in Scotland, leading its scale up. He then became The Managing Director of the London division of the world’s largest privately-owned private security company leading on the delivery of over £100m in diplomatic, development, defence and London based commercial risk management and security contracts in Ukraine, Libya, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan and many far safer places.
Charlotte Copeland
Charlotte is managing director of SafeHaven and integrative psychotherapist with over 20 years experience. Specialisms include crisis, disaster and trauma-responsive mental health care and organisational psychosocial support.
Charlotte has consulted on national and international projects; supported organisations working in hostile and extreme environments; advised on policy and SOP development; and provided psychosocial support training and mental health care in response to crises and disasters.
Sector experience includes government; OEM’s; INGO’s; international research and humanitarian aid projects; national retail chains; forensic science; emergency services; maritime & yachting; media, TV and film production; construction; education and more.
