Leadership Secrets of the Australian Army: Learn from the best and inspire your team for great results

by Noel Turnbull

As a set of practices, the 3Rs tap into the full set of human needs. It provides a sense of security of being led by someone with authority and competence; it builds the satisfaction of social connection with the leader, with others in the group and with the larger entity to which that group belongs; it lifts self-confidence and self-esteem as a result of being treated as a respected colleague by a trusted leader; and establishes the self-actualisation and growth that come from doing good work in good company. The performance effects of such an approach are tellingly illustrated in a recent leadership experiment conducted in the Israel Defense Force (IDF). Platoon commanders involved in recruit training were randomly allocated to one of two groups. Those in the ‘experimental’ group were given 3Rs-type leadership instruction; those in the control group received no special preparation. All platoon teams then spent several months training a series of recruit courses in basic soldiering. At the end of each such course, the performance of the various recruit squads was measured by standard tests in weapon handling, speed over an obstacle course, physical fitness, performance in minor tactics and written tests of military knowledge. These showed not only that the platoons trained by those in the experimental group performed better on most of the relevant measures but, equally importantly, that their NCOs had gained in self-confidence and team identification, and were more likely...