BDF / UK MoD Strategic Leadership Course

BDF Media Release| 11 Sept19

Photography credit: BDF Media

The Barbados Defence Force and the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence conducted a Strategic Leadership Course in the Hodgson Hall Conference Room, St Ann’s Fort, over the period 2 – 6 September 2019. The Course was delivered by Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Taylor from the UK Defence Academy and Dr. Iftikhar Zaidi from Cranfield University’s Centre for Defence Management and Leadership. The Course itself was geared towards providing opportunities for senior officers and officials, drawn from the Defence and Security sectors, to acquire further knowledge that enable the enhancement of their strategic leadership skills.

The Course is part of HQ BDF’s strategic level studies programme, a trajectory of activities with international, inter-ministerial and inter-agency partners, intended to help enhance collective understanding and response capacities to the risks and threats that exist in the modern interconnected security environment.
The Course was based on a blended approach of lectures, discussions, case-studies and exercises, where participants were encouraged to share their leadership journeys, drawing on personal insights, challenges and solutions. The Course, an export version to one run in the UK, is premised on the fact that leadership is a critical factor in all forms of organisations and is a rapidly changing and diverse discipline.  Leadership challenges in the strategic environment are marked by a larger scale of input and effect.

The Course’s participants were drawn from the Barbados Defence Force, the Prime Minister’s Office, Dominican Republic Military Academy, Jamaica Defence Force, Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force, Royal Grenada Police Force, CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), Belize Defence Force, Royal Barbados Police Force, the Headquarters of the Regional Security System, Royal Cayman Islands Police Force, Barbados Prison Service, Royal Montserrat Defence Force, St Kitts and Nevis Defence Force, Department of Emergency Management, Barbados Fire Service, Barbados Immigration Department, Civil Aviation, Customs and Excise Department and the Grantley Adams International Airport.

Highlights