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TRAIN TO BE A SPY
Secret Me uses UK Special Forces and Intelligence
specialists to teach the concepts of spying. Who better
to train executives in conflict resolution, resilience,
body language and how to manage high-pressure? Sara
Fazlali co-founded the bespoke spy-training workshops
to push people to their limits, unearthing their potential
and teaching them something new in the process.
The workshops run over a weekend or three days
and combine fun elements with personal development.
Espionage trainees participate in everything from
hostage takeovers, to ‘bad guy’ surveillance around a
city, to poker, to mixing the perfect martini. Stressful
situations such as being kidnapped, or taking a group
hostage, develop skills like problem-solving, negotiation
and creativity in a way likely not otherwise endured.
Much of what the course involves is surprisingly
translatable to the boardroom. Poker, for example,
is “about body language and learning how to read
people”. A mission tracking the enemy is about
teamwork, knowing when to control a situation and
when to make yourself invisible. And the pistol training
leads to terrific stress control skills: “It isn’t so much
about the shooting,” says Sara. “It’s more about
knowing how to relax your muscles and completely
control your breathing on demand. It’s about putting
people into a stressful situation and getting them
to relax, breathe, stay in control, stay focused and
continue assessing the environment.” And all followed
by a cocktail party, James Bond-style, of course.
It’s no surprise the workshops are particularly
appealing to executives. “It’s all about the psychology
of it. The skills are just a delivery message, and it’s
something that is sexy, interesting and unique.”
Sara points out that many of us may feel we have
a strong handle on our stress levels and our ability to
manage high-pressure situations, but usually that is
because we are in familiar surroundings and all is
running smoothly. “If you really want to expand who
you are and what you are willing to put yourself
through, then experience as many different
environments as you can,” she advises. “That’s where
the military environments come in, because it’s not
something you have the opportunity to do every day
- to meet Special Forces and have them train you.”
STUDY SHACKLETON
More than a century ago, Ernest Shackleton famously
endured life in the Antarctic after being forced to
abandon his ship when it became trapped in pack ice.
His leadership and innovative skills ensured the survival
of all 27 crewmen for almost two years in the stark,
icy wilderness. Perhaps the biggest testament to his
skills as a leader comes from the fact that eight of
these survivors signed up to join Shackleton on his
next expedition.
Shackleton’s compelling story of survival and strong
leadership against the odds teaches a lot about not
only life but also business – so much so that Harvard
Business School Professor Nancy Koehn has taken
a closer look at the explorer and uses his story in her
teachings. She created a business case called
‘Leadership in Crisis: Ernest Shackleton and the Epic
Voyage of Endurance’, and also authored a book on
the topic, Ernest Shackleton Exploring Leadership.
“Leaders have to be able to manage in stable,
prosperous times and also in very uncertain, dangerous
times. And sometimes they have to be able to lead
when the stakes are much greater than they expected
them to be,” she said in a Harvard Business School
news article.
“One thing Shackleton did very well was to revise
and reset his objectives as the context changed. As
soon as that ship was frozen, he figured out that the
goal of the enterprise was no longer to walk across the
continent of Antarctica. The new goal was to survive.”INSPIRE | Challenge yourself