LEADERS CLUB ADDRESS – SAT 15 NOV 14: Vice Admiral David Steel CBE

Ladies and Gentlemen, a very warm welcome. It is a real delight to again welcome you to Admiralty House. In a place where many great leaders have gone about their business since 1786 when it was built, and you will see some very great wartime leaders mentioned in the hall way, from Admiral Fisher of the First World War, Admiral Lord Fraser of North Cape of the Second World War, right up to modern times, Admiral of the Fleet the Lord Boyce, who was CDS during the Iraq Wars, I can think of no better venue for our discussions on leadership this evening.

Sadly, your speaker this evening does not qualify alongside the great names I have just mentioned. I have been simply a spectator of history in my custodianship of this house and HMS VICTORY, but lesser global events in which I have participated, and my observations of those who do hold distinct leadership ability, allow me perhaps to sow the seeds of future discussion.

My opening this evening will be based on what I perceive to be…..

• The tangible benefits the Royal Navy gains by investing in leadership, personal development and education.

And to give a slight overview and understanding of the

• Royal Navy today and tomorrow.

Indeed, perhaps let me start with the second matter – as I think it provides a lens through which we can examine the way in which leadership is being delivered today in the Senior Service.

The Royal Navy is one of the most complex organisations you can imagine. It operates on the water with a range of aircraft carriers, amphibious ships, frigates, destroyers and mine hunters; under the water with four Trident Ballistic nuclear submarines and seven nuclear powered fleet submarines; in the air with its own air force of jets, helicopters and support aircraft; and with its own marine infantry of Royal Marines. As I speak, over 50 ships and submarines are at sea. Our people are required to spend more time away from home in a three years period than any member of the other Services, and the conditions in any one of our ships would surprise you by their basic nature – and I have not even mentioned submarines.

We are a global Navy. Last Christmas, our aircraft carrier and one of our destroyers which was completing a circumnavigation of the globe, were helping provide relief after the great hurricane which affected the Philippines. At the same time, we had a submarine and a hydrographic vessel helping to search for the downed Malaysian airliner west of Australia. At the same time, one of our frigates made a multi-million pounds drug seizure in the West Indies – and at the same time, two destroyers were ‘scrambled’ at short notice to escort Russian vessels passing too close though UK waters.

At the same time our smaller patrol vessels were protecting the interests of Gibraltar from Spanish incursions. At the same time we had a destroyer escorting chemicals out of Syria, and at the same time we had 12 surface ships in the Northern Arabian Gulf providing security in that region. And it is like this constantly, and ever changing. Who would have thought a year ago that the Royal Navy would deploy over 250 RN and RM personnel to Sierra Leone in our hospital ship to help with the Ebola crisis. Or would have a frigate, HMS ARGYLL, alongside in Bermuda offering assistance in the wake of Hurricane GONZALEZ.

And who would think that all this, and so much more, could be delivered by half the number of people who fit into the Emirates Stadium every other weekend to watch Arsenal play. Dare I say it myself, these people, with so many demands on them, require a special kind of leadership which may not be found so distinctly anywhere else.

But before I suggest what that might be, I will venture a few apposite definitions of leadership from those far more qualified than myself which reflect some thoughts I’d wish to leave you to ponder. There is something about the subject of leadership that lends itself very well to quotations. Dwight Eisenhower once said:

“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”

And here is encapsulated one of the key attributes of a good leader – inspiration. This is where it differs from management:

• Management is, I would suggest, mostly about processes
• Leadership is all about behaviour

True leadership relies most strongly on less tangible or measurable things like trust, attitude, decision-making and personal character, and, most of all, inspiration.

But I’m not sure such charisma can be taught – you either have it or don’t; and if you don’t then, inevitably, you must work harder to hone other attributes that either can be acquired or are already part of your DNA, such as integrity, honesty, humility, positivity, determination, vision and compassion. This list is long and no individual will have all the attributes no matter how good a leader they are. What leadership isn’t about is intellect or planning skills or organisational ability to name but three – many leaders will have some or all of these anyway, and they add credibility, but they do not define a successful leader.

And sometimes different types of leaders, with different attributes, will be required to meet specific challenges – Winston Churchill was a great war time leader, but not especially successful in peacetime.

In the wake of the SDSR, the Services are now struggling to lead our people through one of the most testing of times in recent history outside of military operations, where morale is low because we are asking too much of our people, and the Services are struggling to recruit and retain enough skilled personnel. This is where true leadership will come to the fore. J K Galbraith said:

“All of the great leaders have one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership.”

And we in the Navy are doing just that. A navy that has until now never said “no” to the politicians, is doing so, simply because if we don’t slow down the operational tempo – the rate at which we are deploying our ships to satisfy the ambitions of the Government – we will break our navy because we will not have the people necessary to deliver what is required.

Although it is terribly unfashionable in this post-New Labour world to mention his name, Tony Blair actually summed it up very well:

“The art of leadership is saying no. It is very easy to say yes.”

But leaders are only as good as the people they lead – Nelson would not have won at Trafalgar but for his well trained gun crews and trusted Captains; something Gen George Patten recognised:

“Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.”

To bring us right up to date, Bill Gates subscribes to this view:

“As we look ahead, leaders will be those who empower others.”

That great, and much lamented, industrialist (and former Naval officer) Sir John Harvey-Jones once said:

“Leadership is the priceless gift that you earn from the people who work for you. I have to earn the right to that gift and have to continuously re-earn that right.”

It is with some pride that I note that he ascribed his experiences in the Navy (and he was sunk twice) as significant formative influences in his leadership philosophy. His words are a timely caution to us all – never assume to have mastered the art of leadership – we must continually test and renew ourselves to earn our people’s trust and respect, and it is commendable initiatives such as this Engaging Leaders Workshop which provide an invaluable tool with which to learn and improve.

I’ve been privileged to serve under the command of some gifted leaders in my 35 years in the Navy, and if I had to distil those experiences into top tips for leaders, whether they operate in the business, governmental, military or charitable sectors, they would be as follows:

First, Have a Vision and Pursue it. A leader has to be credible, and if you do not believe in what you are doing, nor will anyone else. That means being prepared to make a tangible personal investment in making your Vision a reality. But all the hard work in the world counts for nothing if you can’t enthuse others to share your Vision, so being able to Communicate the Big Idea is just as important – If you think about Nelson’s famous flag hoist in the hours before the Battle of Trafalgar, “England Expects That Every Man Will Do His Duty”, this was a readily accessible way of distilling the essence of a complex British battle plan at Trafalgar which itself was part of a much wider Grand Strategy for the British during the Napoleonic Wars. Nelson’s pithy summation of the wider, strategic aim was just as straightforward to understand – His overriding direction and guidance to his Commanders was simply this: “Annihilate the French.” Every member of the British fleet understood what was expected of them.

Second, Good leaders need good followers – so seek out and hire the best people you can find. If they’re smarter than you, so much the better. Nelson was able to rely on highly experienced officers and men who had been tested in years of battle, who knew their trade exceptionally well and who had spent months honing their gunnery and tactics while the Franco-Spanish fleet was blockaded in Cadiz. Think for a minute about how morale in the British Fleet must have been buoyed by that experience and confidence – and conversely the effect on the French and Spanish of hearing British guns firing, out at sea but still very much in earshot, the rate of their fire getting faster and more lethal every day.

Third – Build knowledge – share experience, encourage learning, invest in education. It’s notable that Nelson in his letters frequently refers to his Captains, his famous “Band of Brothers”, as being “members of his own school. From the youngest midshipman to the hoariest old sea Captain, all had been inculcated in the belief that education and the sharing of knowledge was the surest route to success. And I think, more than anything else, the Navy’s success has always depended upon the quality of its training. That is partly about investing in training but it is also about keeping ownership of that training. Think carefully whether outsourcing training is money well spent.

Fourth – Let People know that you expect the best from them – allocate tasks according to ability rather than some random organisational chart or some inherited business structure. Give your best people the most freedom to impress you. This is a manifestation of the idea of Mission Command, Nelson’s most enduring legacy to the Navy – in other words, as Gen Patten said, tell people what you want them to achieve, not how they are to go about achieving it. Trust their judgement, innovation and creativity until you have a reason not to. Two lines often used in the Navy: “Proceed until apprehended”, ie – accept your own initiative, until caught out. Or “seek forgiveness, not permission”.

Fifth – Keep yourself informed about what is going on – the Navy’s Divisional system places great reliance on knowing our people in detail, what motivates them, the things they care about. There is an acronym – GOYA – it stands for “Get Off Your Arse”, the idea that walking the ship, knowing your patch, seeing and just as importantly, being seen, is what good leaders do. Nelson knew his men by name, and made a point of being seen around the ship, even to the point of appearing on deck at the height of the battle in his full dress uniform – he understood the risks very well, but he also understood the need to be seen to be fearless. The truth is that the larger an organisation becomes, the more likely it is to shield the seniors from ground truth and especially bad news with elaborate bureaucracies that cut off information. So it is vital to have people around you who you can trust to tell you the truth.

I would say that the ability to secure funding is an increasingly important leadership skill in this day and age. I often wonder whether we have reached the point as a society where our relationship with money has become too close – you often hear people talking in terms of what the money will let us do, or not let us do. But it is inescapable that the leader who can get his or her hands on the funding stream is more likely to lead a team to success. I think that the points I’ve already covered are key to this – communicating the Vision, having confidence in your team and their abilities, building a reputation for excellence and really understanding how your business runs. If you’ve got that, the pitch for resources becomes much easier – but you also need to understand your costs.

Finally, keep a sense of perspective – family and a few good jokes can help here; and, even in my most frustrated and angry moments, I try my best to always be courteous to others.
You may think I have related a lot about Nelsonian values and many of you will say that I am out of touch with the reality of today. Think that if you may, but as Winston Churchill once said: “A nation which forgets its history has no future”. Likewise, history is but lessons learnt and the Navy uses the lessons learnt from Nelson’s day in its practice of leadership today. And we don’t do too badly by it.

I speak about Nelson a lot – it is hard not to when you are Admiral in Charge of HMS VICTORY. My study of the man reveals so much about him but, importantly, I think his leadership style can be summed up in one word – Friendship – the driving force behind the Navy and the other Services of today and yesteryear and the future. Nelson formed a web of friends. His leadership was based on the friendship and close ties he formed with his men and with his officers. In the way that Shakespeare’s most powerful word in all his plays is arguably “nothing”, Nelson uses the word “friend” tirelessly in his personal correspondence – in describing Hardy, his Flag Captain, and, just as an example, to one of his younger Captains, Henry Blackwood, when he wrote to him after Blackwood had secured a victory without Nelson to lead him:

“Is there a sympathy which ties men together in the bonds of friendship without having a personal knowledge of each other? If so, I was your friend and acquaintance before I saw you. Your conduct on the late glorious occasion stamps your fame beyond the reach of envy”.

Can you just imagine what this junior captain thought when he received such a letter from Nelson – inspirational.
Friendship secured for Nelson the trust and confidence of others. Wellington, on the other hand, was distant and inaccessible. He recognised this and, later in life admitted that ………

In every ship, submarine, commando unit or air squadron today, I would counsel that the commanders who have the best results, and the happiest teams, are also regarded as friends by those under their command. Not in the luvvie-dovey way you might imagine but by simply adopting an inclusive, approachable, tolerant and understanding manner, with a good degree of bravado and a clear vision of what needs to be done. All this creates a sense of team purpose, tolerance and commitment. And that, I suggest, is how the Navy today is as successful as it is, despite the very real resource pressures that we face today – incredible people doing amazing things, rarely with any order being necessary.

Copywrite, Vice Admiral David Steel CBE