Learning what it means to lead

People might think that military leadership is clear-cut. But in fact, leadership is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ in the military. There is no single approach or leadership style that fits the Royal New Zealand Navy. Unlike a business leader, our leaders work in a military context, where circumstances can quickly change. There are physical risks, moral challenges and psychological pressures. It means our leaders need to constantly assess the situation and environment so that they can adjust their behaviour appropriately.

From the beginning, everyone in the Navy accepts that they have a responsibility to support their own development. This is known as ‘Lead Self’ in the New Zealand Defence Force Leadership Development system. The system progresses through Lead Teams, Lead Leaders, Lead Systems, Lead Capability, Lead Integrated Capability and Lead Organisation. This system supports the progression and transitioning of our leaders.

Our leadership development is strongly aligned with workplace experiences. Formal education, training and courses all contribute to leadership, and so does coaching, but the development of leaders within the workplace is a strongly-embedded culture within our Navy. Our leaders are stretched and exposed to novel situations. New experiences are a fact of life in the Navy, due to the required posting cycle and rotation of military personnel.

As a person progresses in their career, they embrace the concept of every person in the Navy being a leader, and that leadership development is shared across the organisation.

Our leaders never stop learning, and are constantly developing skills on the job. It's part of our culture that our leaders develop other leaders, because as people progress and change roles, or become promoted, we have to have leaders following in their footsteps.