Magicians and Shepherds

I write this from a rather shabby Nissen hut at the top corner of a British Army training camp in South West Wales. I’ve had nearly a fortnight of what can only be described as “Welsh Summer” for which read sunny spells, high winds and heavy rain.

I’m here with Bristol Army Cadet Force (ACF) in the role of Company Commander. I’ve been in the British army for nearly 22 years in one shape or another, and this engagement is the most rewarding of that time. I feel that my (excellent) team and I have a direct and beneficial influence over the young people in our care over the period of their annual 2 week camp. Indeed there are ex-Cadets who ended up working for me, and many of my previous charges remain in touch and I’m proud to see how they are making their way on life’s journey. I’m also really proud of the adult volunteers and permanent staff who make this all happen, in my County and across the UK.

My Company staff thought it would be amusing for this camp to name the two training platoons I am responsible for the “rams” and “ewes” (I hope I don’t need to explain why..) and hence my Company Headquarters are the Shepherds. We even had t-shirts printed to this effect. Add to this our Padre, Matthew, joining us on our (very wet) field exercise, carrying his traditional “crook” in lieu of a rifle, and there’s a theme developing. I’ve also seen Matthew and the welfare team here work incredibly hard to look after the emotional wellbeing of a number of the young people on camp who are dealing with challenges in their life inside and outside of the Camp environment.

And the photo? Well, every camp has at least one visitors day where the great and good (i.e. our senior stakeholder community) come to see us and show their welcome support for what we do. This year we had 3 Brigadiers, 4 full Colonels, 3 Lieutenant Colonels, 2 Majors, our ex-Commandant, and the Lord Lieutenant of Bristol, Lady Mary Prior and her Consort. That's a lot saluting!

In the photo with me is Lady Mary. As Lord Lieutenant she is the Queen’s personal representative in the county. She is an amazing woman who has always been a strong supporter of the Army Cadets, and youth in general, in the Bristol area. It’s always lovely to see her and she takes a genuine interest in the young people and how the ACF helps them on their way in life. She supports us in many different ways. To me, she is the chief shepherd of youth in Bristol as she spans across the public, private and voluntary sectors impacting youth in the region.

All this thought of shepherding got me thinking back to a conversation I had with a colleague and good friend over coffee some months back. We were joking about the nature of consultancies and, having both of us sat either side of the fence, the observation that there are broadly two styles we have seen at work:

Magicians and Shepherds.

So what is a Magician in the world of consultancy? They are the consultants who arrive (in a puff of smoke!) and perform magic, tell you nothing about how it was done, give you nothing in terms of how to take care of yourself in future, and leach information out of you while they are there, so that there's knowledge transfer, but only from you to them. And then charge you for the privilege of any future help or change because you can’t really do anything more without them. All shiny teeth and sharp suits. Spoon feeding, hiding the bottle afterwards and making you pay when you want more. Look in the eyes, not around the eyes, but I the eyes..

OK, maybe I’m exaggerating to make a point, but I bet most of you have experienced this type of relationship at some point.

So what of the Shepherds?

They might not necessarily have all the answers, but they engage with you to work out what you’re trying to achieve (giving helpful advice on the way), they work with you to plan how to get there and get on the journey, and they leave you in a better place at the end of your journey together. They have bags of experience (and scars) and they’re not shy about sharing both. They operate in a transparent fashion, and help you get as much out of your own teams and capability as they give you from theirs. They are people who emotionally engage with you; understand your drivers and really get under the skin of what’s going on. They nurture you and generally have a longer term, more (appropriately) intimate relationship with you over time. You work with them because you want to; they make a difference for the better and you enjoy and value having them on the team. They make you better, they leave you in a better place.

 Ask yourself; which would you rather deal with?