Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
General to give lecture on developing future leaders
The programme, run by the Centre for Governance, Leadership and Global Responsibility (CGLGR), will see some of the nation’s most reputed leaders explore what leadership in the 21st Century involves. The lectures are free, open to the public and will be held at the University’s Rose Bowl building at the City Campus from November 2015 to April 2016.
Professor Simon Robinson, Director of the Centre for Governance, Leadership and Global Responsibility, said: “The lecture series will showcase eminent leaders from different sectors, kick-start dialogue and debate on what leadership in the 21st Century involves. At the heart of the lecture series is the question, what is the responsibility of leaders? - Not just in relation to their organisations, but to wider society?”
Whilst the leadership model established by the British Army is emulated worldwide, Major General Skeates will be discussing how it must evolve its approach as it prepares the next generation of leaders for even more complex challenges. Major General Skeates explained: “Leaders are both born and made. The British Army has been developing leaders at Sandhurst for over 200 years; but it was not until the 1960s, when Professor John Adair brought social science into the Academy, that ‘leadership development’ was expanded from an academic and anecdotal approach into a deliberate, practical curriculum. Since then, the Academy has established a model that has served the Army well in the most recent campaigns; but as we prepare a new generation of leaders for the battlefields of the future, we must continue to evolve and equip our leaders at every level with the necessary skills to win.
“By reviewing our current approach, it has reaffirmed the need to base our leadership model on values which are underpinned by sound moral understanding, and to introduce a new Code of Leadership which blends transactional and transformational styles to give our people the edge against our future adversaries and enemies. We recognise that there is much we can learn from our allies, our colleagues in the public sector, from academia and from the commercial sector.”
Educated at The Judd School, Tonbridge, King’s College London and Sandhurst, Major General Skeates has held many revered posts in the British Army, including commander of the 19th Light Brigade in Northern Ireland and Deputy Commanding General of 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward) in California and Afghanistan. He has served on operations in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans, Cyprus and Northern Ireland. He holds a BA (Hons) degree in History (King’s College London) and two Masters degrees in Defence Administration (Cranfield University), and in Defence Studies (King’s College London) He is Honorary Colonel of the 26th Regiment Royal Artillery and President of Royal Artillery Orienteering.
The Centre for Governance, Leadership and Global Responsibility was launched in 2014 as a University-wide research centre It aims to address issues in governance and responsibility, across all sectors, in a global context. For more information visit the Centre for Governance, Leadership and Global Responsibility.
The full list of talks in the series is:
‘Developing Leaders in the British Army - giving our leaders the edge for the battles of the future’ – Major General Skeates, Tuesday 3 November 2015 from 5.30pm to 7pm.
‘International business and the response to corruption’ - Laurence Cockcroft, Thursday 19 November 2015 from 5.30pm to 7pm.
‘Adding Value in the Public Sector’ - Professor Dean Fathers, Thursday 28th January 2016 from 5.30pm to 7pm.
David Welbourn, Thursday 18th February 2016 (TBC)
‘Process, practical coping and performance: Achieving sustainable excellence indirectly through phronetic self-cultivation’ - Professor Robert Chia, Thursday 21st April 2016 from 5.30pm to 7pm.