Rear Admiral Martin Connell, CBE, Royal Navy - Director Force Generation and Rear Admiral Fleet Air Arm

As Martin puts it, Born in Rotherham, 'Made in the Royal Navy'. Rear Admiral Martin Connell, CBE is Director Force Generation, Head of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, it's 5,000 personnel supporting around 200 aircraft in roles ranging from ranging from Air Sea Rescue, Anti-Submarine and Anti Ship Warfare to Commando support operations. Martin takes us through his career starting as his days navigating a Lynx Attack Helicopter in the days prior to 'Digital' to his experiences leading the UK's Amphibious Task Group in operations in the Mediterranean. Martin highlights the changing roles of technology in the Military and also the need for an exponential approach to leadership, underpinned by the need for continuous learning.

Transcript

Leadership in the Digital Age

Rear Admiral Martin Connell, CBE

Director Force Generation and

Rear Admiral Fleet Air Arm 

[00:00:01.930] - Matthew Smith

Welcome to our series, Leadership in the Digital Age. I have the pleasure of welcoming today Rear Admiral Martin Connell, CBE director force generation and Rear Admiral Fleet Air Arm Royal Navy. Admiral McConnell, was appointed senior responsible owner for the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers and Rear Admiral Fleet Air Arm in February 2020. As the Royal Navy returns to carrier  strike in 2020. He assumed increased responsibility for force generation of all aspects of the naval service. Commissioned in 1987, he qualified as a frontline Lynx helicopter observer and his early career was spent at sea in various frigate and destroyer, Lynx flights and also as an officer of the watch.

[00:00:48.660] - Matthew Smith

In the early 90s, he became a qualified observer instructor at 702 Naval Air Squadron. Followed by time as a flight commander, as well as a front-line aircrew instructor officer. Martin subsequently specialized as an antisubmarine warfare officer for which he was awarded the Wilkinson Sword of Honour. Martin has had the privilege of commanding at sea in every rank, from lieutenant to Commodore, including Her Majesty's ships, Chatham, and the aircraft carrier illustrious. As the commander of the United Kingdom's task group in 2015, he was the joint task force commander for two operations in the central Mediterranean, which included tackling the worsening migrant crisis.

[00:01:32.340] - Matthew Smith

Away from sea duties, Martin has completed three tours on the central staff of the Ministry of Defence, including being the deputy principal staff officer to the chief of the defence staff, and, prior to taking up his current role. He was the British naval attache in Washington, D.C., responsible for overseeing and advancing the vital UK, US defence relationships. A graduate of the U.S. Naval War College, the Higher Command staff course and the US capstone course, he is a younger brother of the Corporation of Trinity House and is the president of Royal Navy Football. He was appointed CBE in the Queen's 2020 New Year's honours list. Welcome, Martin. 

[00:02:13.130] - Martin Connell

Thanks, Matt. 

[00:02:15.180] - Matthew Smith

So early in your career, when you started as a young naval officer on the first day, standing on the parade ground in your civilian clothes, Britannia Royal Naval College waiting to head up to Hawk Division to get squared away. What were your goals? What did you want it all to go? 

[00:02:34.170] - Martin Connell

Goodness me. That seems like a long time ago now.

[00:02:36.840] - Martin Connell

My goals back then, I think were very short term and perhaps like you, Matt, it was, can I make it through today? Can I make it through this week or this module?

[00:02:48.990] - Martin Connell

But soon after, when I realized that I could keep up, that I had something in common with everyone around me and that I was enjoying it. Soon My priorities and goals shifted it. More then, to, Can I make it through flying training? Can I make it onto a front line squadron? And then after that, can I make it to perhaps be an instructor? And soon I learned and there's nothing magic in this formula.

[00:03:15.810] - Martin Connell

Soon I learned that by giving yourself stretch targets to improve and better yourself, Very quickly, that can  lead to quite a fulfilling career.

[00:03:26.250] - Martin Connell

And. Flying was the foundation of my career, and I returned to it every now and then. But being in the Navy, one of those goals was to command a warship. And I'm very fortunate that I got to do that. 

[00:03:43.960] - Matthew Smith

I see. And so obviously, you know, we're talking a little bit about leadership in the digital age today. So your life, much as mine, has crossed that kind of analog to digital divide. The rise of the computer turning from a standalone word processor to a globally network business tool. The circular dial phone to the mobile phone brick to the iPhone. Militarily speaking. The impact of digital technologies is likely to have been transformational. Can you look back and perhaps give the listeners some views on these changes and the impacts that they've had at the times in your career? You know, the need to absorb new technologies, et cetera.

[00:04:21.080] - Martin Connell

Sure. If I look back at when I started flying and I was flying Lynx helicopters, which landed on the back of our frigates and destroyers, most of the aircraft back then when I started were, were analog aircraft. The cockpits were pressure instruments and clocks and compasses. And there was no such thing as G.P.S. smart weapons or artificial intelligence. So, you learn the basics. And I think that was really important. I actually enjoyed it that and the pure essence of navigating an aircraft over open oceans, you've got that incentive to get it right because there is no diversion if you can't find the warship after a couple of hours flying, you're going swimming. So that gives you a real sort of sense of what's important. Nowadays. All of our aircraft are digital and they're increasingly networked. But that need for stealth still exists. And and as I sometimes describe it to people now, we need to be able to fight with the lights off. What I mean by that? Well, when we're denied the likes of G.P.S. or the electromagnetic magnetic spectrum becomes challenging.We've got to be able to revert to the basics. 

[00:05:37.560] - Martin Connell

So I think it's more of a challenge now that people have to exploit the technology, but they've got to be able to revert back and operate and carry on without it being there. And that's flying, and when I look at ships, you mentioned in the introduction Matt, that I'm the senior responsible owner for the UK's Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier program. These are the largest and most complex warships we've built in the Royal Navy and we've installed technology from the outset.

[00:06:13.140] - Martin Connell

And we've got a proud history of pioneering the way we do aviation at sea. And I think this era that we're entering now is no different. So we've we've developed a thermo metallic spray on the flight deck, which the purpose of that is the jet e-flux from the awesome F-35 aircraft, it's about a thousand degrees centigrade, the aircraft lands and that heat dissipates in seconds. And what that means is you can increase the tempo. You don't have to wait until the deck cools down before you can get another aircraft on or off.

[00:06:46.140] - Martin Connell

We've also installed about two million meters worth of fiber-optic cabling in the two ships to try and build in a degree of redundancy for how we intend to use it. And then finally, we've built in, which I think is quite exciting, a highly mechanised weapon handling system which essentially moves weapons. It's a bit like a mini Amazon warehouse. It moves weapons from a deep magazine up to the delivery point on the flight deck. So we built that in from the outset. But I'm pretty sure that my successor's in years to come will be building in newer technologies. 

[00:07:23.150] - Matthew Smith

So switching a little bit away from technology into leadership. I mean, this is going from, I suppose, the hardware of technology. You mentioned missile systems, you mentioned the F-35, which is obviously a brand new thing for the Royal Navy, going back to fixed wing. People talk a lot about leadership traits and management books keep developing new formulas. You know, action orientated leadership was back in the day when I first started. What do you feel makes an effective leader? And has your view on leadership changed over your career? 

[00:07:53.680] - Martin Connell

It's constantly developing. I think it's quite natural when people think of military leadership. Often there's this image of a loud and autocratic person and there's no doubt there is a time and place for that. When you are on operations in particular, but increasingly for me, as I've grown through my career, I think empathy and an ability to seek out multiple perspectives is particularly important.

[00:08:22.240] - Martin Connell

We've all got those blind spots and it's important you have a mechanism for dealing with that and challenging yourself. Too often, I have seen in some people, hubris creep in, that perspective where leaders are only listening to those who mirror their own, perhaps rather narrow perspective. So being open to constructive challenge is a discipline that I would certainly encourage and something that I encourage myself. 

[00:08:51.640] - Matthew Smith

So with that, obviously, you've been managing and leading people your whole career. Can you give the listeners a couple of examples? Gosh, I mean, having been in command of a warship or two, I'm sure you've had to make some really hard decisions over the years and how you've made those decisions at the time and how you managed them and their outcomes? 

[00:09:10.750] - Martin Connell

Yes, I think in terms of leadership in those situations, it's nearly always those you make while deployed or on operations which are the most important because it's ultimately real people's lives that are at stake based on the decisions you make, both the lives of those who you have the privilege to command, and also potentially the lives of those who could be affected in the situation you are in.

[00:09:36.340] - Martin Connell

Let me just give you a couple of examples. The operations that you referred to in your introduction when I was in the Mediterranean a few years ago, a significant migration challenge. Not the sort of thing that I trained for necessarily, but we had an emerging crisis with thousands of people crossing the Mediterranean. And I have an instinct as a mariner to ensure that people's lives are saved. But I also need to protect my own people who ultimately are willing to go into harm's way whenever necessary.

[00:10:11.530] - Martin Connell

And you've got to get that balance right and ensure that your actions are decisive enough that they can take action to save life, to protect your own people, but also to get at the networks, the criminal networks that are doing this. So that was a fascinating and dynamic period. And if I look back to more uncertain times, there's been a fair degree of instability in the Middle East through my career and a couple of times I've deployed to that region not knowing what the impending conflict is going to deliver.

[00:10:45.640] - Martin Connell

And you've got to really then go back to the basics of, Professionally, ensuring you're as ready as you can be. And those around you are as ready as they can be. So that's about thorough preparation, table topping, as we say, different scenarios and having those around you rehearse them so that instinctively they know what their actions on are. And I think that's an important part of leadership to ensure that everyone around you is as prepared as they possibly can be.

[00:11:16.160] - Matthew Smith

Now, looking at leadership and its intersection with technology, do you see technology as a tool, or a critical element for today's leaders or perhaps somewhere in between? 

[00:11:28.470] - Martin Connell

I certainly see technology increasingly as a vital tool and used correctly, it's a critical enabler in this information age that we're living through. But, you know, how often is it that we've been deluged with with data and information which stifles our ability to act decisively, so we must become better at critical analysis and therefore that leads to decisive thinking.

[00:11:57.600] - Martin Connell

But you also need to have an important human touch. Because as a leader, I think you have to be visible, people have to see and hear you and get those human perspectives. You can't just be an automaton that's surrounded by good quality data and, you know, and rely solely on that. 

[00:12:20.180] - Matthew Smith

So given that sort of changing landscape, I suppose in the last three years or so, things have changed a lot. I mean, certainly in the non-military world, we've seen leaps and bounds in technology. What  sort of things in the last three years, bearing in mind the experience you've had in Washington, D.C., the things that you've looked at as you've taken over the fleet air arm and the new carriers. What are the things that have really surprised you the most?

[00:12:47.440] - Martin Connell

Yes, well, I suppose a few things. As you say, Matt. We're living in this exponential age where it seems the only constant is change. And that rate of change is increasing. And generally speaking, in the military, we tend to resist quite a lot of change in places. And that's a leadership function which needs you to provide a compelling narrative. That sort of burning deck perspective or analogy that you've got to explain why the change is necessary if people are going to come with you on that.

[00:13:24.080] - Martin Connell

And the challenge I think we have is. It takes years, years and years to design a warship and build a warship and, impressive as they are when they are built, you've got to then build in tomorrow's technology into them. I think that's the challenge for all of us in the years ahead in my business is, you need to, I think, invest more in research and development to get ahead of your potential competitors so that you can have that decisive edge.And that's where I think as we look ahead with those exponential technologies, it will be really important. 

[00:14:04.580] - Martin Connell

And then organisationally, I think, I mean, I talked about people resisting change. I think you've really got to challenge that within your organisation and strengthen those champions of change and encourage followers to come along that that particularly on that journey with you. 

[00:14:26.200] - Martin Connell

And then the final point I would I would just offer is certainly the last 10 or 20 years, whether it's industry or indeed public sector. You've got this 10 percent approach, which is either, you know, can we aim for 10 percent growth or can we find 10 percent efficiency? You know, it's all in those little smaller margins. And I think as we look ahead,  it's probably a multiple of 10 process you need to focus on because that's what the exponential age opportunity is going to present to us. 

[00:15:04.480] - Matthew Smith

That's extremely interesting because obviously that's the technology of tomorrow. But then, of course, without people, your technology is at the end of the day, just an enabler. So let's talk a bit about the talent of tomorrow. I mean, the Royal Navy has a very long tradition in turning out the leaders of tomorrow. And today's entrants into the job market. Are all digital natives, much different from when we entered into the job market. So there's many new languages that those of us who've been around a while might not understand, complex emojis, all of those different things. So how does the Royal Navy reach out to the talent of tomorrow? And what is the advantages of the technology? And also, you know, how do you use that as a as a recruitment aid to motivate these people to join the Royal Navy? 

[00:15:51.070] - Martin Connell

Well, I'm very proud of the fact the Royal Navy is one of the biggest and best apprenticeships in the United Kingdom and most of the people in the Royal Navy are either technicians or engineers. And that reflects the nature of our business these days. And just if you take the last couple of months, we've gone from a recruiting model, which frankly hasn't changed an enormous amount since  I joined 30 plus years ago, whereby you would go and fill in some tests and have some interviews that take place over a few days and a couple of leadership exercises. And at the end of that, you were given a yes no, congratulations. 

[00:16:35.360] - Martin Connell

In the last few months, we've now put more of that on line. And we've just recruited our first officers who didn't go through that process, who had basically Web interviews and that speed things up.

[00:16:48.290] - Martin Connell

And you might say there's a bit of risk in that, but we've got enough time to train out some deficiencies or weed out where we've got it wrong. So with that the whole process of recruiting has improved.

[00:17:01.430] - Martin Connell

We're in the midst of a training overhaul in the Navy and there's much more we need to do. So remotely accessed training VR, XR, networked, federated. The fidelity of simulation, for example, is much better than when when I was flying. And that means we don't need to fly as much on the actual aircraft themselves as an opportunity cost there for how we might invest in the future. And increasingly, we can now train at a time and place of our choosing rather than have training done in fixed geographic locations or at fixed times.

[00:17:46.310] - Martin Connell

And we're moving to that already. So if you take the new aircraft carriers, when the jets embark, there will be simulators onboard so they can do a degree of mission planning, mission rehearsal on-board the aircraft carrier. Now, we've never taken simulators onboard in the ship before. So, again, the the rate of that change of the technology available, combined with our methods of training, have shifted and changed. And that's a great opportunity for us. 

[00:18:14.530] - Matthew Smith

I mean, that's fascinating, this rate of change. But I mean, obviously going back to leadership as well, is that as a very senior leader in the Royal Navy, you must often be called upon to give talks, whether it's to college students, young officers or even business leaders. What advice would you give an aspiring leader? And what would there be any role in that for technology in that advice?

[00:18:35.290] - Martin Connell

It's always a privilege to either be invited back, whether it's schools or young leaders. And I often speak to young officers and sailors and Marines, I suppose I would say, and do say, don't be put off by setbacks. And Matt, you and I, I'm sure I can recount plenty of setbacks that we've faced over time. We all face. The key is it's how you adapt, how you learn, how you move on. That's what's particularly important.

[00:19:06.610] - Martin Connell

And I suppose I'd also add, to embrace a culture of continuous learning. In my teenage years,  I hated the idea of sitting in a classroom or doing revision. It just didn't seem to work for me at all. But in my thirties, when I studied in the United States, I had a real appetite for getting after things that I hadn't had the opportunity to study or think about before. And that year of thinking I found to be really stimulating. And I've returned every every now and then to challenge myself on different ways of looking at the world and its challenges.

[00:19:45.800] - Martin Connell

And I particularly enjoy that. And I suppose finally I would say to all of them that they're growing up and they're living in this is network networked and enabled age. Use the technology. Embrace it. Understand it. And and that will give you a significant advantage in the workplace. 

[00:20:08.140] - Matthew Smith

That's quite compelling advice for the leaders of tomorrow. Now, now, a quick one word answer. Leaders made or borne. 

[00:20:16.780] - Martin Connell

One word, Made. You want me to expand on that? 

[00:20:21.680] - Matthew Smith

You know, I've seen the adverts made in the Royal Navy and there I think, yeah, please expand.

[00:20:28.030] - Martin Connell

So for me. Yes, born in Rotherham made in the Royal Navy. That would be my strap line. I suspect not many people thought that the 18 year old me that was there at Dartmouth was a born leader. But certainly a bit of your education, your family, your upbringing certainly shaping you. But I think the best leaders are forged through their own experiences and that constant desire to improve.

[00:20:58.230] - Matthew Smith

Yes. I mean, I think obviously agreeing with you that that continuous learning, a lot of people sort of say we're all prisoners of our own experiences. And so that continuous learning element brings that forward. The more experience you have. So I suppose, as a final question and a leading question for experience, Difficult not to bring up Covid, 19. So you lead a branch of the Royal Navy that's at the cutting edge of the service. And I know it's a difficult one to call now, but what learnings in leadership going forward do you think we might see across the Royal Navy? The military in general as a result of this, what is a world changing event. 

[00:21:37.760] - Martin Connell

I think more broadly we will need to be increasingly better prepared to deal with these sorts of disruptive events. But I've been I've been really reassured about our ability to carry on and continue to deliver these last few months. Our outputs, by and large, have not been effected through this and, I think if you if you put in perspective, see what we've been doing, you'd see that we'd actually carried on pretty much untarnished by all of these events.

[00:22:13.720] - Martin Connell

It's been challenging. I would certainly say that. So resilience is certainly something which will cause us to reflect on the lessons we've identified through this and continuity, you know, whether it's business resilience, whether it's redundancy in our systems and having the ability with military means and working with our industry partners and across the whole of government.

[00:22:39.360] - Martin Connell

We've got to have a number of choices available to us. But I think obviously we've seen a number of changes and we will be using those changes in a positive sense to have a more agile and connected workforce, for example. But in so doing, we've also got to acknowledge that we're potentially opening ourselves and our infrastructure up to increased vulnerabilities. And so we need to think about that, and ensure we protect that which is most critical. And that's, I think, the challenge for us going forward.

[00:23:15.290] - Matthew Smith

So, I mean, I just want to say thank you. I mean, thank you for sharing your insights. Thank you for sharing the advice. And most of all, thank you for sharing your experiences. I'm sure the listeners are going to take a lot away from this. So, again,  Martin, thank you so much for your time. 

[00:23:30.050] 

Yes, thanks, Matt. It's been a pleasure.