Episode 49 - Apex Leadership - Professor Alexander Evans OBE

In this episode, temporary host Lieutenant Colonel David Love - former SO2 Leadership at the CAL, speaks with Professor Alexander Evans OBE, a distinguished academic and seasoned diplomat with a career spanning over two decades in both public service and academia. Currently a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Army Leadership, Professor Evans brings a wealth of experience and insight into the complexities of leadership at strategic levels. We delve into the power of relationships — whether through ‘management by wandering around’ or investing in the ‘trust batteries’ of your team. Professor Evans introduces the concept of ‘Apex decision-making’, shedding light on the immense pressures and responsibilities faced by strategic leaders. He highlights the critical role of followership, encouraging leaders to foster environments where constructive challenge is welcomed and valued. Adaptability and humility emerge as central themes in this episode. Professor Evans discusses the importance of learning from other cultures, embracing failure as a tool for growth, and remaining a lifelong learner. Effective leaders, he argues, are those who are willing to reflect, correct, and evolve throughout their journey. This episode offers a deep exploration of the challenges and opportunities in leadership, with valuable insights for leaders across all sectors. Whether you’re navigating complex decisions or striving to build trust within your team, Professor Evans provides thought-provoking perspectives that will resonate with leaders at every level.

Om Podcasten

Drawing on over 300 years of British Army leadership experience, ’The Centre For Army Leadership Podcast’ looks to get to the heart of what is required of our leaders and our leadership, to meet the challenges of both today and tomorrow. For the British Army leadership underpins everything that we do. It not only ensures we do right by our people, but critically it underpins our operational success. This Podcast Series seeks to harness diversity of thought and experience, from leaders across the military, sport, academia and business worlds, stimulating debate, awareness and critical thinking. Leadership matters to us all and our successes, and indeed our failures, are so often defined by how well we are led, or indeed by how well we lead. We hope by sharing our experiences and by learning from others we can promote the value of great leadership, and together we can develop ourselves, our teams and in turn the society in which we live.