Cover Letter
Dear Naval Review Member,
If the launch of the new website has taught me anything, it is that you cannot please all the people, all the time. So as you read the new style hardcopy, I thought I should make it clear that this is not a vanity exercise, but a venture that has engaged our publishers’ expertise to bring our journal up to date and provide the same quality of content but in a more accessible and what the industry regards as a more easily readable format. The new style also enables us to print crystal clear pictures and diagrams as and when we please, without additional cost, so when submitting articles please bear this in mind. The new website is settling down well and I hope those that wish are enjoying its regular content, we have ironed out most wrinkles now, and I commend the new search function for those who wish to delve into our extensive archive. This has enabled us to run a series marking the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic with a selection of articles written in the Review addressing that subject. Unsurprisingly, there are many lessons that continue to resonate today.
We also have 800 followers on LinkedIn; quality social media, a lively forum, and successful websites rely on regular content so do please join the conversation. 500 words are preferable to 5,000.
Some Thoughts on Leadership
Personally, I am grateful to the wisdom of Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent, who as Commander-in-Chief Fleet, over a fireside chat with a Commanding Officers’ designate course, responded to a question on the three most important aspects of leadership as follows:
Number One: Delegate, delegate, delegate (delegate until you frighten yourself, and when you have recovered) delegate a little bit more. Having recently watched the outstanding TV series HMS Queen Elizabeth – The Warship: Tour of Duty, I was struck by two things: despite a 50-year sabbatical in big deck ops, thanks to fantastic foresight, planning and execution, the regeneration of Carrier Strike has been achieved without drama and with great success along with the added bonus of a seamless multi- national capability. Secondly, the quality of our young people shone through. Delegation to appropriate levels of empowerment is clearly alive and kicking in the RN today.
Number Two: Honesty in reporting. The fabric of the military promotion system is fundamentally flawed if lip service is paid to this essential requirement. Honesty is a key pillar of trust, a military that does not have trust at the heart of its culture is destined to failure.
Seemingly not a week passes without the publication of the latest report or investigation into a failing institution – currently the CBI, last week the London Fire Brigade, the week before the Metropolitan Police. Both at home and abroad our politicians in positions of government, or indeed opposition, are hardly the standard bearers of an ethical example. The Armed Forces and the Royal Navy are not immune to this wider malaise in standards of integrity and decency. How do we combat this? When a clear failure of leadership manifests itself, where is the forensic investigation that asks, why, why, why, in the same way we would of a serious air accident?
Unacceptable behaviours by Senior Officers do not occur overnight, but, I suspect, by institutional failure over a very long period. After all, as the Command Warrant Officers love to say ‘the standard you walk past is the standard you accept’. Where, and how many times, was an unacceptable standard walked past? Where was the honesty in reporting? Where was due process ignored, due to unhealthy patronage? When was the last time a senior reporting officer was seriously held to account for failing to do his or her duty in delivering one of their most important roles? I have been privileged to witness the Royal Navy’s relatively recently formed Conduct and Culture cell in action in both advocating and resetting the culture of leadership in the Service, recognising, of course, there is absolutely no such thing as ‘perfect’ leadership as it is practiced by human beings and that our people are asked to deliver in some of the most complex and challenging situations and environments in the world: We wish them well in their endeavours.
And thirdly (my personal favourite), if everyone around us is failing to see the bigger picture, and you want to enforce your will – the expression and idea of ‘well let’s try a little experiment, shall we’ is a very subtle way of instigating a change proposition. It is as a result of this third wheeze that the RN’s excellent mine warfare capability and expertise exists in the Gulf today.
My thanks are also due to 1SL and his update on the rapid progress of the AUKUS partnership. This is timely as the Australian Government’s recent Defence Review underlines their strategic realignment to not only identify China as a serious threat to the World Order in the Indo-Pacific, but to do something about it. As we all know, entering the Nuclear Submarine Club is not a cheap undertaking, and time will tell whether this can be done within the projected budget, or whether other capabilities will have to be reined in to achieve their desired outcomes.
Wherever you were on 6 May, I trust you enjoyed the Coronation of his Majesty King Charles III – there were the best part of 10,000 Servicemen and Servicewomen involved in the day.
Mike Beardall
CEO and Editor, The Naval Review
