The Transition from Military to Civilian Leadership
Date and time
Location
Robinson Point
39 Robinson Rd #11-03, British Chamber of Commerce Board Room Singapore, 068911 SingaporeDescription
Singapore has a long history of bringing talented individuals into the civilian sector once they leave the Singapore Armed Forces, but the gap between military and civilian working environments is getting wider. From structural issues like strict hierarchies and clearly defined roles, to day-to-day interactions such as following orders without question, many elements of military life are very different from the rapidly changing civilian world.
As former SAF personnel come into your organization, they offer a lot of benefits, but getting the full value of those benefits means adapting to the leadership needs of the modern workplace. There are many military leadership methods that are useful in the civilian context, but there are also some changes that often need to be made. We will discuss some of the challenges of this transition that Singaporean companies have already identified, including:
UNDERSTANDING THE TALENT MARKET
Both regular SAF and NSmen have commitments that prevent them from suddenly leaving for a new job, whereas Singapore's tightening talent market creates difficult recruiting and retention challenges.
MAXIMIZING WORKFORCE PERFORMANCE
Military leaders spend much of their time issuing orders, but in the civilian world, leaders get business value from their employees by enabling and facilitating their work with resources, training, and creating the most effective working environment.
LEADING A DIVERSE WORKFORCE
Military leaders come from an environment that is predominantly male, largely young, and entirely Singaporean. Their civilian employees come from a much larger, and much more diverse, talent pool.
TAKING OWNERSHIP OF THEIR OWN DEVELOPMENT
The military has career paths that are well understood and offers development opportunities at certain points during an individual's career. In the civilian sector, leaders need to take more responsibility for meeting their own development needs as their industry evolves and their organization transforms.
The discussion facilitator is Dr William Thomas. Dr Thomas is the Chief Teaching Officer for Designing Leaders, where he conducts leadership seminars for growing organizations. He retired from the US Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2010, after serving as a nuclear missile officer, a strategic planner for special operations, and an international affairs specialist at the Pentagon. Seven years of his 21-year career were spent as a professor at the US Air Force Academy, where he focused on military transformation and counterterrorism, and he also served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. From 2012 through the end of 2014 he was based in Singapore as the Executive Advisor for CEB Corporate Leadership Council, where he supported the Chief HR Officers at over 50 organizations across Asia, in such industries as airlines, banks, telecoms, government agencies, and more.
Dr Thomas has also taught as a professor at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and as a Fulbright Scholar at Nanyang Technological University. He holds a PhD in Public Policy and an MBA.