Why Military Life Was the Best Prep for My Civilian Job

One of the most important parts of my role at Ritchie Bros. as the Regional Operations Manager for the Montreal site is rallying my team around a common purpose. My goal is to amp them up so they’re focused on reaching their goals, and to do that, I need to get them excited about what they’re doing. By reaching their goals, they’re also helping the company to achieve its goals so it’s a win-win situation.

I am also a member of the Canadian Armed Forces reserve and, not only does it help shape me into the person I am today, but I also think my initial background in the military was the best preparation I could have had for this job. Throughout my military experience, I developed numerous skills that still benefit me to this day—leadership, organizational abilities, adaptability, stress tolerance and resiliency, integrity, sense of responsibility teamwork, and an ‘esprit de corps’.

All these skills are applied every single day in the work I do. And, to be honest, I don’t

think you would ever really leave the military mindset. It becomes a way of life for me with regards to discipline, decision-making, team building, and more—and I feel it benefits my team and the overall organization.

Persistence, resilience, and rallying a team to the cause

If you want to rally a team to the cause, you have to offer a stimulating but safe environment. It’s important to demonstrate sincerity, empathy, integrity, credibility and consistency; to be motivating and motivated; and above all, to be persistent as a leader.

Back in the days training to be a soldier, it’s in your DNA to do whatever is needed, whenever it’s needed and that has stuck with me to this day. Once engaged, it will be to the end. In fact, I’ve never met anyone with a military background who didn’t have an overflow of persistence – giving up was not and will never be an option. That’s how I was trained and that will never leave me.

Today, working with my team, that persistence is still a powerful quality. As a leader, your team looks to you when the going gets tough. When you demonstrate resilience and have the determination to carry on a task or project to completion, success is always within reach. That’s the message I deliver to my team through my actions, through my leadership, and through encouraging them to continue to strive for their goals.

An auction is a ‘battle’ in a way

Just like military troops rely on each other and on carefully executed collaboration in combat, members of our Ritchie Bros. team count on each other and rely on top class collaboration between various units (sales, operations, administration, marketing, finance, etc.) to provide an exceptional experience and win the battle for customers.

Moreover, in both instances, morale is key, as are determination, cohesion, and trust in each other and leaders. To build that trust, leaders have to act with courage and integrity, coach their people, and inspire them to great performance. I am grateful that those are all skills I picked up through my military service along the years because my job as an operational leader at Ritchie Bros. requires nothing less.

Goods news – we’re hiring! Explore career opportunities at Ritchie Bros. here