015: Adam Conlon on performance on the frontline in warfare and disaster zones

Adam Conlon was a captain in the British Army, undertaking his officer training at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. He the entered the Royal Artillery, and is a veteran of two tours of Afghanistan. Adam talks about the development path from basic training to the heat of battle, where his job was in leading teams, calling the shots and co-ordinating the use of weapons on the battlefield. Adam shares the intense feeling of receiving volleys of fire from the Taliban, how he responded under that pressure and how his training and camaraderie developed and enabled him to perform. Poignantly, Adam shares the process and the emotions of decompressing after a tour and adjusting back to normal life.  Adam spent a brief time serving Her Majesty the Queen in Human Resources, but now is leadership consultant and speaker, but still finds time to out his skills to use in the first response teams that aid disaster zones and we get into that skill of developing rapid teamworking and the importance of listening and rapport in engaging with survivors and locals in catastrophe stricken areas. This interview was humbling, richly engaging and I would say 1 hour and 25 minutes of pure performance. I finished the interview fascinated, moved and frankly I was thankful that we have people like Adam amongst our population that do what they do in order to make the world a better place. Show notes Adam Conlon and his background Sandhurst, becoming a soldier, captain and leader Leading people and making the decisions to fire artillery within the infantry The importance of 'fit' in finding the right people for the right roles Variety and being a generalist 15:15 Leading people, by developing followers - ego and vulnerability Upping the pressure to test your skills Being relaxed in chaos High performance industries develop people because if they don't the consequences are high Nad Ali and the operations in Afghanistan Getting on the front foot with the enemy Response to the first rattle of fire Humour as a pressure valve Fight or flight is a good option, freezing is not Decompression on the way home from a tour Stressful heart rate response to post-tour come-down Letting the emotion out with crying Working for Her Majesty the Queen Learning what he didn't want to do From tax consultant to frontline operations through sport Applying skills to disaster zones Operating in the Caribbean in 2017  Get face to face  Listen, empathy and trust Arriving in Dominica - it was like a bomb had gone off Sensing when there might be trouble - being observant when something is out of place - the absence of the normal  Who supports Adam, family, friends  Supporting Champions on Twitter www.twitter.com/support_champs Steve Ingham on Twitter www.twitter.com/ingham_steve Supporting Champions on Linkedin, www.linkedin.com/company/supporting-champions Instagram https://www.instagram.com/supportingchampions/ A reminder if you’re keen to pre-register for the next wave of Graduate Membership enrolments then you can do so at https://supportingchampions.co.uk/membership/ If you’re looking for some coaching support or some virtual team development help to support you to get to the next level in work, life or sport then take a look at https://supportingchampions.co.uk/coaching-mentoring/ or drop us a note at [email protected] then you can sign up for a free consultation to explore which package is right for you.