How many times have you sent your staff on an office based or outwards bounds course? Has it all become somewhat the same? Well, now is your chance to use a method tried and tested by armies around the world for over one hundred years - The Staff Ride. Learn leadership from the masters! William the Conqueror, Edward I, Henry V, Wellington and Montgomery were all experts in leadership and strategy. And what better way to learn from them, than to stand where they stood, see the land as they saw it. With a historian to guide you, now you can!

What is a Staff Ride?

Staff rides were developed by the Prussian general staff early in the nineteenth century and have been used
intermittently by the British and other militaries ever since. In the 1970’s, the Army and the RAF turned to them with
particular vigour, and today they form a staple of instruction in advanced military schools such as Sandhurst as well as field units.

What is the purpose behind a staff ride?

A staff ride differs from a guided battlefield tour in two respects. First, it is an educational technique for studying leadership. In a staff ride, participants ask the historian’s questions “What happened?” “Why?” “With what result?” but then press further: “Did this commander make the right decision at this juncture?” “How would I have acted in his place?” “Should he have made a different decision given the information he had?” It is, to use an unpopular term, a judgmental exercise, and often a counter factual one. A staff ride resembles a business school case study, but conducted, as it were, on-site. Secondly, a staff ride requires active participation. The challenge and the pleasure of this activity lies in its character as a collective effort, and its success rests on the participants themselves.

What makes staff rides particularly stimulating is that they are group exercises, in which we examine many aspects of command and management. To that end each participant takes a turn giving a short talk, in most cases playing the role of one of the main participants in the battle, and is questioned by his or her colleagues about that participant’s view of what has transpired on the battlefield (success or failure) ? ”

How does a Staff Ride differ from a Battlefield Tour?

The German view of Omaha Beach

Although participants plunge more deeply into a particular historical episode than do most casual visitors
to a battlefield, the purpose is not to satisfy historical interests, but to address larger issues. Some of the questions a group might explore are: “What are the limits imposed by loyalty on dissent against the chief ’s
policies?” “How detailed should the guidance from a superior to a subordinate be?” “How can a senior leader
make use of a competent, but overzealous and headstrong subordinate? ” “Why do some leaders seem able to exploit opportunity, and others not?” “What explains repeated organisational success (or failure)?” The leadership issues posed in a staff ride transcend time and even the military frame of reference.

A Staff Ride can be tailored to suit not only your budget but also your needs. So if you have leadership issues that need to be addressed, there is a battlefield for you.

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For the more adventurous there are the battlefields of Europe, famous English victories such as Crecy, Agincourt or Waterloo can all be explored. Leadership of armies during the trench warfare of World War One can also be examined. During World War Two, how did the numerically and technically superior succumb to the German Army of 1940? What were the leader ship challenges when the Allies mounted the largest amphibious landing in history on June 6 1944? And don’t forget about the Italian campaigns either! Why did it take so long for the Allies to reach Rome? If time allows you can also investigate whole campaigns including routes taken and detailed logistical problems

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Contact us today to find out how we can help you.

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