83 | Beyond the Barracks: Building Cultures of Trust and Accountability | Mark Mellett & Rena Kennedy

Building Better Cultures

The culture and structure of military service is completely unique, and yet on some levels there are commonalities with commercial organizations of any type. In this episode of Building Better Cultures, Scott welcomes two front-line officers whose experience shaping the Irish Defence Forces offers lessons applicable within any workplace environment.

Vice Admiral Mark Mellett, recently retired Chief of Staff, and Sgt Rena Kennedy, Head of Internal Communications, have devoted their careers to fostering excellence in leadership and pride throughout the ranks. Like all complicated institutions, the Irish Defence Forces has its own challenges with internal communications, diversity, accountability and effective leadership.

Whether within a commercial enterprise or military line of duty, find out why the concept of Just Culture has an important role to play and how ego can undermine trust, pride and morale among IDF ranks – or among the ranks of enterprises of any other type. Many of the most innovative workplace ideas are generated within military institutions because of the many challenges that must be met: messaging across distributed locations, cross-generational communications styles, security requirements and an atmosphere in which soldiers, regardless of rank, feel safe admitting error.

Enjoy this fascinating exchange about the nature of accountability, tools for promoting individual growth within organizations and leadership techniques that engage team members at any level or stage of career development. Vice Admr Mellett and Sgt Kennedy offer perspectives that you’ll find extremely thought-provoking.

To learn more about the Building Better Cultures podcast and related services, visit www.buildingbettercultures.com

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Mark felt the call to military service early, first volunteering with the Irish Defence Forces as a 14-year-old reservist and ultimately launching a multi-decade career upon signing up to be a cadet at 18.
• Rena has 27 years of service, mostly spent in the communications space. She, too, was inspired early as a schoolgirl impressed by the role of the Irish Defence Forces serving with the United Nations.
• The true nature of leadership within the military framework and how it has evolved over the course of Mark’s tenure. Diversity of thought is key, and something impressed upon Mark from his earliest experience in military service.
• About the three strands that together define IDF leadership:
• • Warrior – Tip of the spear.
  • Scholar – Open, reflective, growth-oriented mindset.
  • Diplomat – Able to bring complex, diverse institutions and professions together with a common vision.
• Diplomacy is a critical tool for collaboration and progress across military and civilian sectors alike.
• Rank has a role to play in executing missions, but for Mark, competence is the glue that binds teams together and creates a unified, highly effective culture.
• Ego is the enemy of rank – a toxic ingredient that can put at risk the fabric of operations and undermine the authority of those in leadership.
• When Rena and Mark work together they bring diversity of age, gender and perspective that plays a critical role in advancing teams in unison.
• Whether in military or civilian, commercial culture, the fact that you have a title in no way guarantees that people will follow or execute your wishes.
• Communications in the military and corporate spheres may differ, but they share the fundamental challenge to disseminate information effectively and accurately.
• Email is one of the means for delivering messages, but the IDF deploys other modalities that may not be “cool” but get the job done. Flags, for instance!
• Delivering a singular message to a cross-generational, broadly distributed audience with security requirements is a primary challenge for Rena. Communications are increasingly pushed through hand-held social media such as Facebook and Twitter, but there are limits to those formats and the personnel they reach.
• Administrative and more routine internal communications involve messaging strategies quite distinct from operational tasking up and down the ranks. Among Rena’s tasks is the mandate to support IDF service members and their families with as much lead time and information as possible.
• Things the IDF have done to enhance communications skills and efficacy?
• • Create a clear presence for Public Affairs representatives within units.
  • Give trainings to teach representatives how best to manage press interactions, compose internal memos, encourage leaders in each barracks to engage in face-to-face communications.
  • Provide augmented educational opportunities to service members at every level and stage of their career.
• The message received often isn’t the message given. Mark shares a tale of miscommunication involving a banquet centerpiece gone wrong.
• Just Culture: Why normalizing openness to dissent isn’t at odds with military structure. If decision-makers are afraid to admit error, there is no basis for the trust and accountability necessary to turn that error into a “lessons learned” process.
• Leaders must be able to discern between errors and violations, the latter being intentional and pernicious.
• At the center of Just Culture is psychological safety. Mark believes it’s paramount that nobody should feel uncomfortable in the workplace and that establishing an atmosphere of safety – and follow-through – is the responsibility of leadership to provide.
• Pride of purpose is rooted in recognition and respect. Offering thanks both publicly and privately (as with the recent very challenging operation in Afghanistan) knits pride into the culture.
• The IDF’s Values Award highlights objective examples of bravery, selflessness, loyalty, physical and moral courage. It’s also a powerful internal communications tool showcasing individual commitment to core values.
• Looking back on his highly successful career, Mark is most proud of his efforts to foster meaningful authority that reflects the strength in collaboration, communication and unity.

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Mark Mellet - @LinkedIn

Rena Kennedy - @LinkedIn

IDF Website: www.military.ie

ABOUT SCOTT MCINNES

Learn more about Scott McInnes, Founder and Director of Inspiring Change, by clicking here.

ABOUT WORKVIVOTo discover Workvivo, a workplace communication and engagement platform that offers seamless digital integration, please click here.