What value on a military career?

·????????Veterans have skills employers value.

·????????Education and development programmes at all levels are prized.

·????????Military institutions are world famous with first class reputations in Leadership development.

·????????Blue Chip Companies access leadership training at or styled on Royal Military Academy Sandhurst lines.

I recently watched a video by Nick Molloy who spoke about recognition of his military training as a diagnostic engineer by civilian companies. For me technical qualifications is only a part of the story.?A military career is so much more than paper qualifications it gives the service man or woman leadership and management skills and this can be overlooked by potential employers.

Why?

The answer can be found in the media in factual and fictional representations.?An observation made by Mileham (1996) following a series of representations about the military stated:

???????????“There were two striking things about the documentaries. One was the screaming ?and continual hectoring and bullying by NCOs of recruits in an otherwise very good ?programme on television called 'In the Company of Men'. One saw a company ?commander, justifying, and explaining these activities as part of 'character training'. ??This sort of insight into the Army alienates the public, particularly the intelligent ?young. That having been said, people in the Army can be equally horrified by ?their own portrayal. The fictional TV programme 'Soldier, Soldier' is damaging to ??morale and many parts of the Army do not work like that at all.

Realities:

“Evidence from different polls and surveys indicated members of British society to hold a set of factually incorrect beliefs” (Phillips 2020) and carries on,?“… 78% of individuals responsible for recruitment in companies perceived veterans as, “Capable, experienced individuals with a lot to offer,” and 60% evaluated the veterans’ impact on the workplace as “positive””.

Among the general population however:

???????????“...it is surprising that representative surveys and opinion polls outlined the British ?population to have a less favourable view of veterans’ employment situation. A considerable proportion of the British population perceives veterans as being more likely to be unemployed than their civilian counterparts…”

What we can infer is that the general population with no military experience and their information is garnered from the media.?Whether factual or fictional neither are an accurate representation.?This allows the public to project their beliefs and prejudices onto the military institution/institutions.

Where, however, there is a different perception is in Human Resource Management (HRM), especially in Blue Chip Companies. Mileham (1996) identified this as where the Army’s PR works, “It must be said that the value of the Army over the last few decades has been as a model of good practice to civilian life in various fields; leadership and management training, for example”. ?He continues:

The Army had a significant influence on training for leadership and effective management in commercial and industrial firms. The influence has spread from Sandhurst's Rowallan Company, Warminster platoon commanders' courses and the Staff Colleges' courses, to firms and commercial organisations which had previously been very suspicious of the idea of personal development and leadership training. The management training manuals of a large number of firms reflect the principles of John Adair's Sandhurst based Action Centred Leadership. Many aspects of Army training and personal development have been adapted to civilian conditions and they can be seen from Marks and Spencer, to Esso and the City.

Part of the problem could be how we, as veterans, perceive ourselves.?I for one found myself, as Morgan (1997) states, trapped in the psychic prison of the organisation.?I was unable to perceive of what life outside would or could be like.?It is only since setting up my coaching practice that I have had to examine certain assumptions about my knowledge and skills and about the perceptions of those whom I hope will purchase them.?I think the psychic prisoner in me craved the fit of, an organisation, secure in the assumption that my needs will be met in a rational and secure way (Schein 1985).?This is why I went to work for the NHS even though I had said to myself that, “When I retire, I will try something different”.

Phillips (2020) research suggests that the general population have an unrealistic perception of veterans.?But people who make decisions in HRM departments have a better understanding our skills in part because their staff development manuals are based on the military.?So even if their HR manager has not been exposed to a military environment their training and development will be familiar hopefully to them and us. Mileham (1996) explains this point well:

Soldiers too have on the whole been more adaptable to change, as a result of their training, than most factory workers. The shop floor leadership of the Army is undoubtedly far better than in very many civilian firms. One company where the shop floor leadership has always been good, is Marks and Spencer, with an impressive record of good human relations. There is more Army leadership and team work language in their manual than anywhere else and they are as authoritarian as the Army. ?An employee is treated very well by M & S, but you do what you are told and if you don't, you are out. If you are told to relocate, you relocate immediately.

Conclusion:

Civilian companies have a greater understanding of the military’s leadership and management doctrine and training than we as veterans might at first think.?This is because their training and development are often based on the military system.?Some of the companies attend courses devised for them at Sandhurst.?I remember seeing one such course, when returning to Company Lines from the Barossa training area.?These are people who will understand the value of military leadership training and will be going back to their companies.

It will serve us well to reflect back over our time in the military and look at the valuable skills we have. The Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM) are now recognising promotion courses, JMQC, SMQC and CLM etc, and we have employed the skills on Operations to excellent effect.

We are a valuable resource and we have all attended a world renowned training organisation.?I would argue that we need to market ourselves not only for ourselves but for all those service leavers who come after us.?I’ll leave the last words to Mileham (1996):

There is so much civilian management can learn from the Army, and officers and soldiers on leaving contribute to civilian management effectively but quietly. ?

References:

Mileham, P (1996) VALUE, VALUES AND THE BRITISH ARMY: A Seminar Report. The Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, The University of Edinburgh.

Morgan G. 1997 Images of Organization. 2nd edn. Thousand Oaks, California, Sage.

Phillips, R. (2020). The Stigmatized Hero? A Review of UK Opinion Polls and Surveys on Perceptions of British Veterans in UK Society. Journal of Veterans Studies, 6(1), 64–84. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21061/jvs.v6i1.150

Schein E. 1985 Organizational Culture & leadership.?San Francisco Jossey-Bass.

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