Forty-five employees from East Anglian based organisations recently attended an Executive Leader course delivered by Cambridge University Officers’ Training Corps at the Army Reserve Centre in Cambridge.
This free course is offered exclusively to local employers as part of the Ministry of Defence’s Employer Recognition Scheme.
Employers who have pledged to support Defence people under the Armed Forces Covenant were offered the opportunity by the Regional Employer Engagement team.
Designed to develop management, communication and problem solving skills, Executive Leader is a professional development course based on the British Army’s approach to leadership and management.
All of the participants are currently in either supervisory or management positions in their workplace and they were selected by their employer to attend the event in order to gain new perspectives, ideas and leadership skills relevant to their workplace.
The course is delivered entirely by reservists, whose ability to deliver the course highlights the excellent leadership skills they develop in the Armed Forces and the value those skills add in their civilian jobs.
The morning program centred on leadership theory with a number of stimulating and interactive sessions focusing on values, personal style and the key components of good people leadership. The afternoon involved tackling fun problem solving activities outdoors.
Ben Hockley from McDonalds said: “I got the most out of the task that I led, realising now that sometimes I get too involved, when really I should be the one standing back and analysing the situation in order to direct the team better.”
Mrs Cherry Lewis-Taylor, a member of the East Anglia RFCA Essex Employer Engagement Group, veteran army officer and Franchisee of four MacDonalds Restaurants attended Executive Leader as an observer. She said: “I felt that all my employees learnt a lot, not only about leadership but also about the true value of teamwork. Seeing how they developed throughout the day and came back buzzing was very rewarding.”
In addition to Executive Leader, the Army also runs Future Leader. Both courses are one day leadership development events for civilian organisations, big and small, across the full spectrum of business and industry and the public sector.
There are four events each year, run by selected Army Reserve Units at different locations across the East Midlands & East Anglia. To find out more about 2019 courses please email our Regional Employer Engagement Director, Kristina Carrington on ea-empsp@rfca.mod.uk