 Interview with Commodore John Keegan |  Interview with Triple Alumnus Commodore John Keegan
John has over 25 years experience within the Royal Navy and is now at the Ministry of Defence as Deputy Director Streamlining. Below, he highlights a number of significant points he has learned throughout his leadership journey.
My most significant moments
This has to be when I went to war (the first Gulf War in 1991). I suddenly had to lead convincingly when reality struck. I realised that the training was over and now it was for real, there was no chance to stop the tape and rewind.
The two years I spent commanding HMS Raleigh was also an enormously positive experience for me, and certainly my greatest achievement. I saw over 6000 young people through their training in the two years I was there. I felt privileged to be in a position to see so many young people develop, gain respect for themselves and start their own leadership journey.
The best leadership advice I’ve had
For me, it was two fundamental points that arose during the Newly Appointed Strategic Leaders Programme I attended in 2007: the importance of keeping your antenna tuned, and how sometimes you don’t have to make a decision. Both I feel are linked and are significant issues to grasp to enable a change in your personal leadership performance. Nurturing the first point helps in developing the second. Not taking an instant decision can be a very powerful tool, providing you communicate to your team during the delay.
My current role and its challenges
I currently lead a team of 20-25, which is much smaller than on HMS Raleigh where I was responsible for 2500. It has made me realise how important communication is, no matter what the size of your team. In my current role, I am more closely involved in keeping my team focused and it is easier to see the single sense of purpose that everyone is following. When leading through a complex and diverse change programme as I am in my current position, I have to make sure I stick to the key messages and keep all parties affected by any changes informed. I realise that it is people that drive the business forward – without them on your side, no programme, project, or anything, can succeed.
My top communication tips
- Walk the patch over and over again and let your team see and hear you regularly
- Set a clear direction and explain priorities and listen to points of view and ideas
- Avoid unnecessary meetings and those that have to take place must finish on time.This ensures better attention from attendees and pithier communications!
Earning respect from those around you
I would say that demonstrating fairness in all your dealings and above all else, great integrity, goes a long way to starting to earn respect. From my experience, when unpalatable decisions have to be made, if your colleagues know that you really attempt to conduct yourself with fairness and integrity, they will respect your decisions.
My three golden rules of leadership
Maintaining and demonstrating:
- Credibility (personal and professional)
- Energy (mental and physical)
- Integrity
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Ways to deal with stress and pressure in the workplace
- Stick to a sensible work-life balance. I spend time with my family and dogs and hobbies. I make sure that I have plenty of other strings to my bow other than work. Make sure you have things outside of work that you like - a life you enjoy that does not include work
- Try not to take work home (I don’t always succeed!) and certainly never on holiday
- Do not own other people’s problems - getting your head around this is important. I was once told by a senior military officer “The corridors of the Ministry of Defence are littered with broken hobby horses and their despondent riders – don’t let this happen to you"
- Keeping a sense of humour. I cannot articulate how beneficial this is both to myself and those around me. I always try to be positive and cheerful at work as often people respond better to positivity rather than negativity
- Rigorous prioritisation of tasks
- Being robust about saying no to new requests when appropriate – lead by example
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My support of the Trust
My three main reasons for supporting the Trust are:
- I really believe that it is a powerful group which is able to facilitate a step change in leadership performance
- The networks have real value – I want to help them to continue to flourish
- The unique reflective environment is worth protecting and promoting
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For me, the rewards of giving my personal time and commitment to developing one’s own and others’ leadership, far outweighs the effort put in.
We would like to thank John for taking the time to be interviewed for this newsletter as well as all the other support he shows the Trust. |
