The Habit of Excellence: Why British Army Leadership Works

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If you want to have the habit of excellence, develop some kind of system to help yourself press past the point of comfort. One trait of effective leadership is giving due respect to different types of knowledge: what is learned in the abstract as well as what is acquired from experience. There should always be two-way traffic, with theory and practice challenging and refreshing each other. Appropriately, there are two statues above the famous steps of Old College at Sandhurst: Mars and Minerva, god of war and the goddess of wisdom.

We wrote and own the doctrine, which is the code of validation, our philosophy of leadership. And we do a lot of work, both internally and with external stakeholders across multiple other sectors, to understand how people do leadership and where it’s applicable for us as an organisation.” The importance of leadership for military campaigns The British Army stands or falls on the quality of its leadership. The stakes couldn't be higher. In The Habit of Excellence, Lieutenant Colonel Langley Sharp MBE - head of the Centre for Army Leadership, part of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst - distils over three centuries of the Army's experience in the art, science and practice of leadership.Learn something new daily by updating your knowledge, by staying informed, by reading books, and by developing new skills. To put this all together, let’s look at our procrastinating example. Your new habit loop toward excellence might include: It is important to understand that consistency doesn’t mean inflexibility. In fact, when I was a supervisor on the factory floor, one of my consistent applications was asking operators how daily routines could be improved. Constructive change should be embraced. Consistency in practice Learn from experience through self-reflection especially from mistakes, failure, and through other people’s endeavors. How to effectively circumnavigate your weaknesses by outsourcing and delegating certain tasks and activities to better optimize your time and efforts.

Excellent. It's hard to see how any leader, whatever their field, wouldn't benefit from reading and rereading it' New Statesman If you’re going to be an effective leader, you need to know what effect your behaviour has on others around you. The lady at the espresso bar looks tired this morning. As I stir up my brew, she comes from behind the counter for a break.Excellent. It's hard to see how any leader, whatever their field, wouldn't benefit from reading and rereading it Ed Smith, New Statesman Exploring questions that are fundamental to leadership in any area of life - how to build trust and cohesion, achieve a balance between control and delegation, and deliver results in the face of adversity - the book draws on Lt Col Sharp's own experience and the latest research in military history, business, sociology, psychology and behavioural science. We see that leadership is not about the heroic exception, but the habitual practice of doing what is right, difficult and necessary every single day to build a team, look after the people in it and work towards the next objective. World-class mentors who can provide you with the guidance and advice you need to make the right decisions. The pursuit of excellence will not be an easy path. In fact, it will be extremely difficult. It’s difficult because you have to make sacrifices to let go of lazy habits that are feeding your comfort zone. Within the realms of this comfort zone you feel in control and secure. However, life only rewards those willing to step out of their comfort zone; those who take the actions that the masses are not willing to take; those who make an effort to separate themselves from the crowd and do more than anyone else would ever expect. That is what it means to live in the pursuit of excellence.

These are just a few of the many topics that come up in the conversation with Lieutenant Colonel Langley Sharp MBE, who heads up the Centre for Army Leadership. This is a unit that has, over the last five years, codified what leadership means in the British Army, and how to develop leaders within the Army. Offers proven tools and strategies ... This excellent book challenges popular assumptions about British Army leadership, revealing what makes it the gold standard -- Matthew Syed, author of Rebel Ideas Offers proven tools and strategies ... This excellent book challenges popular assumptions about British Army leadership, revealing what makes it the "gold standard"' Matthew Syed, author of Rebel Ideas No matter how you measure success, whether it’s service to mankind or cash on the bottom line, here are “The Golden Rules that Get the Money!” For all this book’s faults, I absolutely loved it. It accurately captures the ethos of the Army and the essence of how the modern Army seeks to lead. Different leaders will take different key messages but the effect on a reader is likely to be the same. As a leader, I finished it feeling energised about our role and the history that has shaped how many of us choose to lead today.Sharp doesn’t shy away from these failures but tends to take a more positive and future focused direction. For example, near the end of the book Sharp diverges from discussing pure leadership by merging broader themes of strategy and technology. He attempts to identify how the enduring traits of Army leaders retain relevance in a modern context. Is it true that a habit of excellence really follows an Army leader through their career? The examples above suggest it does not and that the ethos may not be as strong as Sharp suggests. Additional work to consider how this habit degrades over time, and what to do about it, would have added depth and analysis to the text. That the Army isn’t considering this may worry some not in uniform. And yet…