Business
From Special Forces to boardroom; what I’ve learnt about leadership
Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on September 26, 2022
7 min readLast updated: February 4, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on September 26, 2022
7 min readLast updated: February 4, 2026
By Ollie Ollerton is the Founder of BreakPoint,
What’s the difference between a Special Forces soldier and a civilian? Not as much as you might think. We’re not supermen, we’re not bulletproof, we’re just exceptionally well trained. And that means that when a plan doesn’t come together perfectly – because no plan survives first contact – we’re what I call ‘battle ready’. That means we’re able to think under pressure and adapt.
Show your ‘minerals’
We can all be great leaders in good times. The true test of a leader’s minerals is when the pressure’s on and he or she is tested.
My company, BreakPoint, works with a range of companies from the corporate world. I define a ‘break point’ as the moment you decide to make a disruptive change in habitual behaviour, in line with a pre-determined goal. It’s when the pressure’s on that you’re most likely to make that change. Because comfort doesn’t promote learning and growth. But when you choose to act on an opportunity, that’s when learning and growth happen. For individuals, it’s the decision to step out of your comfort zone; for leaders it could be a small change in strategy or a complete business pivot.
Share the mission
I mentioned a pre-determined goal above and one of the beauties of the Special Forces is that we’re a group of leaders within a team, all sharing the same goal. Everyone is encouraged to speak up, say what they think might be wrong or could be improved. And when your safety depends on your teammates, you’re naturally more inclined to speak out if you notice something that isn’t quite in sync with the mission.
While this requires input from the individual, in the business world the onus is on the company to define its goals. So many workers in the corporate world don’t even know what their company’s mission statement is. That comes from lack of direction, and I can’t get my head around it. For the individual, how can you not know why you’re getting out of bed every morning and going to work? For the business, why would you not want your employees to be clear on what their objectives are, to promote better focus and productivity?
At the leadership level, put effort into defining your mission and ensuring that your teams are clear on what they’re aiming to achieve. Tangible goals can be broken down into milestones but if your staff don’t know what they’re ultimately working towards, your office will be like a creche for grown-ups.
Encourage open conversation
We challenge each other in the Special Forces – we have to; our lives depend on it. It’s different in business though, where people often feel like they don’t have a voice. Maybe they don’t feel experienced enough or they feel like their ideas will be shut down. But it shouldn’t be different. The best environments – ones of creativity and collaboration – are cultivated when everyone is allowed to express themselves. It’s not a case of simply doing away with hierarchies – you need an element of structure – rather acknowledging that the people are a company’s roots, whatever the industry. They’re at the coalface, seeing how everyday processes are either benefitting the organisation or holding it back; what’s working and what’s not. A great leader will therefore empower his staff to express themselves, whether it’s with creative solutions or new strategies.
Involve your staff
Communication is another key attribute in the Special Forces and a major component of successful businesses. Humans are inquisitive. It’s in our nature; we want to know what’s going on and we hate being left in the dark. So, involve your staff in your decisions, especially if you’re changing something. It helps staff begin to understand how they will benefit from the changes and helps them take pride in what they’re doing. The more you communicate, the more you will learn how your staff are reacting to changes, and the more you will be able to act in their best interests.
Champion diversity
Whether it’s the military or an office environment, leaders should ensure their teams are made up of many different characters. For example, there will be people who are particularly driven, those who are analytical, some who are creative and others who are empathetic. To get the most out of people, you need to really understand these characteristics and strengths. At BreakPoint we use an online assessment tool called PRISM, which was created by neuroscientist Colin Wallace, a former member of Army Intelligence and a psychological warfare expert. Businesses could benefit hugely from using these kinds of tools because they help people define which kind of character they are. A good team leader will be highly competent but can’t possibly know more about everything than everyone else. They will recognise the strengths across their team and pick the right people for the right jobs. But you need to really know your team members to do so, and individuals need to understand themselves in order to develop.
Plan, Brief, Deliver, DEBRIEF
If you plan out a project and deliver a set of results – or fail to deliver those results – what then? Do you just move onto the next project without learning what worked or what didn’t? In the military, absolutely not; in business, all too frequently. The ‘Plan, Brief, Deliver, Debrief’ mission cycle is an old adage in the military and it boils down to ensuring there’s a process for every scenario.
In military and business environments, processes deliver results. But these processes don’t happen in a lot of offices. I speak to people in the corporate world for whom debriefs are an alien concept. But debriefs are where lessons are learned, where you reflect on the day’s work and pooling opinions – they encourage open conversation and allow staff to be involved in decisions. It doesn’t matter if the job went well or not, the debrief is essential and it’s a good thing to be self-critical and learn from mistakes. This feeds into future operations.
In the Special Forces these sessions are sometimes called ‘prayers meetings’, apparently because during the Aden Emergency in the 1960s, the only time the SAS could get together for a debrief was while the locals were praying, including the bad guys. You see that same forensic self-analysis in elite sport, when a football team wins 5-1 and the manager will complain about the one goal they let in. It’s about looking for imperfections in the apparently flawless.
So why not in business too?
With difficult times ahead of us, we face a sizeable challenge of motivating our teams to perform at their best. But, with the right approach and the right tools, we have the ability to help our staff not just survive but thrive in the coming months.
Remember, all leaders are managers, but not all managers are good leaders.
About Author:
Ollie Ollerton is the Founder of BreakPoint, which delivers a range of corporate and individual training programmes that help people change their limiting beliefs and unearth their potential. A former Special Forces operative, he found fame as one of the founding Directing Staff on the acclaimed Channel 4 show SAS: Who Dares Wins and now fronts SAS Australia. Ollie has also become a multiple best-selling author and a powerful motivational speaker, covering topics such as leadership, resilience, mental wellbeing and elite performance. Visit Break-point.co.uk for more information.
Leadership is the ability to guide, influence, or direct individuals or groups towards achieving goals. It involves making decisions, motivating others, and fostering a positive environment.
A mission statement is a formal summary of the aims and values of a company, organization, or individual. It serves as a guiding principle for decision-making and strategic planning.
Team diversity refers to the inclusion of individuals from various backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences within a team. It enhances creativity, problem-solving, and overall team performance.
Open communication is the practice of sharing information freely and transparently within an organization. It encourages feedback, collaboration, and trust among team members.
The debrief process involves reviewing and analyzing the outcomes of a project or mission. It allows teams to learn from successes and failures, fostering continuous improvement.
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