The blog

On the 22nd May 2017, the unthinkable happened...

At 2231hrs on the 22nd May 2017 the unthinkable happened.
A suicide bomber detonated himself in the Manchester Arena during an Ariana Grande concert, resulting in 22 fatalities and 1017 injuries.

Listening to the BBC News program File on 4 reporting on security staff taking short cuts to training and qualifications I am, sadly, not surprised.

To expect a team of highly trained and motivated operators to deal with an event as traumatic as Manchester is a big ask.
To think that you can cut corners in training then perform, is dangerous!

Client testimonial

Some positive feedback!

Be courageous

You still have to find the courage to step through the door…

Telling people to man up is almost as effective as telling someone to calm down!
Neither are effective or constructive!

Ask not what your country can do for you ...

There is much written about toxic leadership behaviours and the types of environments and conditions that companies must create in order to give their employees the best possible chance of success.

There is little written about the behaviours required to be a good employee or team mate. Somebody I once worked for used to use the phrase:

Understand their needs ...

If you want to win a negotiation - influence!

Start by understanding what success looks like for the other side and work out how you can help them achieve it. If you can do this you will find achieving your aims much more straight forward.
You will also build sustainable relationships that stand a better chance of weathering the next storm.

What is influence

Influence has nothing to do with likes and followers...

Don't man up ...

Don't tell people to man up! Invite them to be courageous...

Diary of an aid mission to Ukraine - Part 6

In this video Tim talks about the most high risk portion of the aid mission. Delivering first aid training inside a war zone. Dealing with anxiety and keeping the team focused.

Diary of an aid mission to Ukraine - Part 5

In this video Tim talks about the sense of achievement felt by successfully making the delivery of aid to the Ukrainian volunteers in Kyiv despite ever present risk of air raids.

Diary of an aid mission to Ukraine - Part 4

In this video Tim talks about the teams first night in Lviv and the risk of air raids ...

Diary of an aid mission to Ukraine - Part 3

In this video Tim talks about the importance of focussing on Intelligence not information and having a plan. Transitioning from management to leadership and back again.

Diary of an aid mission to Ukraine - Part 2

In this second video Tim talks about why the team take a tactical pause before proceeding into the more high risk elements of the mission.

Diary of an aid mission to Ukraine - Part 1

Finding a unifying purpose: Leading a team of friends and all volunteers into a war zone!

When you embark on an aid mission which has the potential to go very wrong what runs through your head as a leader?

Influencer - YouTube channel

How do we create influence?

Please support my new YouTube Channel...

Helping to create resilience in Ukraine

Ukraine Aid missions: How you can help and why you should care ...

If not me, who? If not now, when?

Being resilient means that we persist when others quit. The war in Ukraine continues to rage and now is not the time to quit. We are planning mission 4.

Cometh the hour, cometh the woman...

No matter how much we try to sanitise the process or analyse the system there does still come a moment when we need to step up to the plate #Resilience #Courage

Define resilience - The great escape

How do you define Resilience? The Great Escape...

History is full of examples of extreme resilience. Whilst each set of circumstances and the individuals involved are different we can draw inspiration from all of them. We can also look for common themes and patterns that will help us construct our own resilience tool kits.

You are trapped. What do you do?

When you find yourself lost and in the dark you can still choose your mindset.
You have to make a choice...

Are you facilitating resilience or ticking a box?

Nick Gold from Speakers Corner and I discussing resilience and support around the #ukrainecrisis

It has been interesting to see how business and government communities "tick the box" to say they have supported a cause and move on to the next, whilst in the same breath talking about building resilience.

The Leadership Hacker Podcast - featuring Tim Bradshaw

This episode of the podcast sees Tim join Steve Ruch to discuss all things leadership.

Its packed full of leadership lessons including:

Leaders need to make decisions under pressure, how different was that in the military and what can we learn from that.
The secret sauce to resilience and overcoming challenges.
Why wanting to quit is normal and how can we overcome that.
Why is the military approach to leadership is a good blueprint for business.

Resilience - An interview with the Ukrainian volunteer force

I spend much of my day talking about resilience and how to achieve it. A few days a go I was humbled to meet some of the most resilient people I have ever met. Please find 8 minutes to listen to this incredible young woman.

What is the difference between crisis communication and crisis management

Cause and effect - If you ask colleagues to name a high-performance team the answer is often based on winning the world championships or the Olympics. They focus on the results achieved by the team rather than performance or behaviours. In fact the mark of a truly high performance team is its ability to bounce back from failure or overcome crisis. This is certainly true in a business context.

Do you put your own oxygen mask on first?

When we examine our own reactions in a crisis situation there are a number of factors we have to take into account.

Can you afford to lose any more people?

One of the biggest costs to any business at present is a lack of retention. The associated costs of recruitment, training and loss of experience can be crippling…

Because I Can

From special duties selection to an earthquake on the side of Mount Everest, from a gunfight in Afghanistan to a year of endurance challenges, Tim Bradshaw has had to develop a tool kit of tips and skills to help him learn new skills fast, Recruit specialist teams and raise finances.