That picture above was me aged 23.
First week serving with Surrey Police.
Fresh uniform. Fresh haircut. Full of confidence.
Maybe too much confidence.
I’d come straight from the prison service where I’d already been exposed to conflict, court work, pressure and that whole environment.
So when I entered police training in Ashford, Kent, I found it relatively comfortable.
Academically I was doing very well.
Practical elements too.
Truthfully, I was probably excelling a bit too comfortably.
And looking back now, I’m mature enough to admit that probably showed.
Body language matters.
Tone matters.
The way we carry ourselves matters.
At 23, I probably carried a bit too much arrogance.
A bit too much assurance.
And at times, the language I used reflected that environment I’d come from previously.
Now here’s the interesting part.
Nobody challenged me on it.
Not once.
Not in the moment.
Not after the training serials. Not after the scenarios. Not after the interactions.
Nothing.
Then months later, I was suddenly called into an office.
A list came out.
“You said this.”
“You said that.”
“Three months ago you said this during training.”
And I remember thinking at the time …
Why wasn’t this challenged there and then?
Because leadership isn’t just about correcting behaviour.
It’s about timing.
Communication.
Self-awareness.
And having the confidence to address things properly in the moment before they grow arms and legs.
“The longer leadership avoids difficult conversations, the bigger those conversations become.”
Now to be clear…
I’m not saying I was right.
Far from it.
Looking back now, there are definitely things I would handle differently.
That’s maturity.
That’s growth.
That’s self-awareness.
But equally, I look back and realise there was a leadership lesson in it for me as well.
Because people don’t improve through silence.
They improve through feedback.
Clear feedback.
Direct feedback.
Timely feedback.
“Good leadership corrects early. Poor leadership stores ammunition.”
And this is where it links directly into what we do now at Warrior Wellness Movement.
Because communication, behaviour, emotional control and self-awareness are all heavily influenced by health and pressure.
When leaders are stressed, fatigued, overwhelmed or operating under sustained pressure, communication changes.
Patience shortens.
Difficult conversations get delayed.
People avoid conflict rather than address it.
Then eventually things boil over.
I’ve seen it in the military.
I saw it in football.
And I now see it in business.
“Pressure doesn’t just affect performance. It affects behaviour.”
That’s why leadership and health cannot be separated.
Because the way we lead ourselves ultimately shapes the way we lead others.
And sometimes the biggest lessons only make sense years later.
Chat soon, Ollie
#LeadershipLessons #SelfAwareness #LeadershipUnderPressure #ExecutivePerformance #OperationalLeadership #HumanPerformance
