E174 | The Habit of Excellence with Lieutenant Colonel Langley Sharp MBE

The British Army is renowned for its outstanding leadership, and command and control. But what do they know about psychological safety? 

These are just a few of the many topics that come up in the conversation with Lieutenant Colonel Langley Sharp MBE, who heads up the Centre for Army Leadership. This is a unit that has, over the last five years, codified what leadership means in the British Army, and how to develop leaders within the Army. 

What are some of the principles of leadership in the Army? What is the difference between being a peacetime leader and a wartime leader? And what does training for adversity look like? 

From how you train people to make the right decisions to how the army has codified its leadership, this is a fantastic conversation with a first class leader. And if you think it’s not relevant to the world of business, you couldn’t be further from the truth. 

Langley has also written a fantastic book called The Habit Of Excellence, where he says: 

“Leadership, good leadership, effective leadership, that social relationship, that interpersonal relationship has to be nurtured every single day 24/7/365 to enable you to deliver effectively under pressure.”

This is a really insightful conversation with Langley, we really enjoyed it. We’re sure you will too.

On today’s podcast:

• The Habit of Excellence
• The importance of leadership for military campaigns
• Leadership is contextual
• How to make quick decisions
• Mission command and psychological safety

Links:

• Twitter – @SO1Leadership
• LinkedIn – Langley Sharp
• Book – The Habit of Excellence: Why British Army Leadership Works
• Website - Centre for Army Leadership