Building Resiliency | Leadership Lessons from Military Veterans
In this on-demand session, you’ll hear two amazing leadership experts, Jenny DuFresne and Kate Philp, talk about their journeys and how resiliency has played a critical role in their lives and successful careers. Both women are military veterans, Jenny served in the United States Marine Corps for 10 years and Kate served in the British Army, the first British female to lose a limb in combat during a tour in Afghanistan. With many more achievements following their military service, Jenny and Kate now each has their own leadership training firms, offering training and coaching to organizations and individuals in both the public and private sectors.
Highlights:
[Min 3:15] Why Jenny and Kate joined the military service
Jenny: “There's nothing like being a woman in the military and to really refine and shape your leadership. I came to the Marine Corps actually through a couple of interesting influences here in the U.S. …. I grew up on the Navajo Nation and the Navajo code talkers were very instrumental in helping win World War II…..”
Kate: “I knew from a pretty young age that the Army was something that I wanted to pursue as a career. There's a great photo of me with my eldest brother when I'm about four years old….we're in combat uniform and holding play rifles….And I've got this huge grimace of like determination… I knew I wanted to do something physical as well as mental…”
[Min 11:15] Kate sharing a story of adversity, where she learned to lead herself and reframe her definition of success
Kate: “It was the most hideous experience of my life. I don't mind being honest about that. I thought I was pretty fit and stronger to push myself physically in the past, but this was a step beyond but it taught me an awful lot about myself.”
[Min 15:43] Jenny’s shares her most important leadership lesson from her time in the military
Jenny: “When you set a different standard, an unequal playing field and you make that the standard, then you create dissension automatically, and you undermine people's ability, you undermine the dynamic gifts that people have...”
[Min 27:24] Kate and Jenny discuss the concept of mission command and the critical need for training and development and delegation
Kate: “You've got to be ready to step up because if your boss, if your leader is taken out of the game… it doesn't just stop. You can't press pause and go, Oh, we'll come back another day.”
Jenny: “These ideas that we've learned in the military, they're very valuable in the business sector. There should be a constant investment in developing people and your leaders because corporate environments are rapidly changing… The fact that we're not training and helping people develop is really a disservice to the mission.”
Jenny DuFresne, CEO, DuFresne Solutions Group
Jenny DuFresne, CEO, DuFresne Solutions Group, a leadership training firm that supports CEOs and mid-level managers build great teams, reduce employee turnover, and create a thriving company culture. Jenny served 10-years in the United States Marine Corps. As a trailblazing leader, she founded the one of the first all-male public charter elementary schools in the US. Jenny writes about her experience in her bestselling book From Empty to Overflow. The book is written for women leaders who desire to create harmonious lives and lead well. Jenny holds degrees from Harvard University and George Mason University.
Kate Philp, Director & Founder, Corran Consulting Ltd
Joining the Army after graduating in Classics from Oxford University, Kate was deployed on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, where her leadership, decision making, technical skill and adaptability were brutally tested in the fast-paced environment of front-line operations. Kate’s tour of Afghanistan came to an abrupt end when injuries caused by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) resulted in her electing to have her leg amputated below the knee, marking her out as the first British female to lose a limb in combat. Persistent medical issues demanded further surgery and she decided she needed a new goal by which to re-focus her rehab. Therefore, at the end of 2013 Kate trekked to the South Pole as part of an expedition organized by the charity Walking With The Wounded. This earned her the honor of being shortlisted in the Women of the Year awards in 2014.
Leaving the Army after 13 years service, Kate now works as a Consultant, Coach and Speaker. Drawing on her experience in leadership, communication, relationship management and providing solutions under pressure from her time in the military, as well as key lessons she has learned from dealing with a life-changing injury, she thrives on helping clients clarify challenges and seek collaborative solutions. Kate holds a CMI Level 7 Extended Diploma in Strategic Management & Leadership, a Diploma in Life & Business Coaching accredited by the Association for Coaching, and is an NLP Practitioner. Kate is also honored to be an ambassador for ABF, The Soldier’s Charity, (www.soldierscharity.org ) and a trustee of the Defense and National Rehabilitation Centre (www.thednrc.org.uk ).