The 2200 overnight journey - From Battlefield to Boardroom!

From a digger in the Battlefield of Afghanistan to a C-Suite Executive - this is my story from Battlefield to Boardroom. In 2003, I joined the Army as a 'Digger' to be an Electronics Technician at the age of 18, at the age of 23 I was in Afghanistan for the first time and then again when I was 27. In 2013 I was promoted to the Rank of Sergeant managing 60 people and decided after 10 1/2 years it was time for my next journey - finally after 2200 nights, I have now reached a career goal of being a C-Suite Exec.

Whilst the journey sounds easy with an amazing outcome; it was extremely hard - full of challenges, personal sacrifice, financial investment and a lot of challenging the status quo.

I realised in 2010, the Army wasn't going to be for me forever. Whilst I had joined as an Electronics Technician - fixing complex electronics systems; from radars, night vision equipment and laser guided weapons, it wasn't where my passion was. It was in leadership, operations and meeting the strategic requirements. Afghanistan taught me a lot about 'strategic impact' as an individual - frankly if I failed in my job - it could mean someone getting killed. It also taught me about resilience - getting shot at, is the most adrenaline filled experience you can have, that verge between life and death becomes so close. It taught me about decision making, literally making a decision based upon the information you had on hand; the outcome being whether somebody lived or died.

I could see as I grew in age and experience, I wanted to take some of these fundamental lessons and apply it to the business world. I was curious, hungry and knew I needed to change to make this happen. My Mantra ever since has been 'I've had worse days' and 'getting sh!t done'. Here are some of the lessons I've learnt in my journey.

Don't be bound by stereotypes!

My career pathway within the Army, meant that when I left, at best, I should be a maintenance manager somewhere. The stereotype of a 'Sergeant' is someone who yells at people, isn't super bright and certainly shouldn't be within the corporate world. When I left the Army - I was managing 60 people, loved complex problem solving and had my Bachelor of Business. This was my market message and what I was looking to leverage moving into the corporate world. I knew I had a learning curve, but was ready for it.

Despite all of this, the question I hated getting asked and still do to this day (especially by anyone in Defence industry) - "what rank were you in the Army". What it did was place me in a stereotype bucket of what; I 'should' be and what I 'wasn't' capable of - not the potential I had. The concept of someone who wasn't an officer, could possibly work in the corporate world was outrageous - I had never tried a cucumber sandwich in my life, how could I handle it (jokes). But at the time, it was a massive hurdle to overcome this stereotype - but I finally did it, landing my first role as a Management Consultant at a Big 4.

Funnily enough, the stereotype of rank and coming from Defence was something followed me for years and I hated it. I had increased my skills and experience ten fold - through my corporate job, I bought, grew and sold 2 businesses on the side, achieved an MBA and learnt from amazing mentors. I was certainly proud of what I had done and the experiences the Army had provided me - but at times, it felt like an ex-criminal would get better treatment. 'Oh you're ex-defence'... Yes I served my country, went to war and have used those skills moving forward - I'm failing to see what's wrong here, why should I feel like I'm made to hide my previous career. It felt like insanity at it's best.

To be fair, it wasn't until recent times, I become comfortable on pushing back on the question. Ultimately why does it matter; I'm happy to talk about it out of personal interest - but who I am today; isn't the same person I was in uniform and to be frank, if someone is judging me negatively or as a stereo type on a role I did ten years ago - I'm not interested in working with them.

Fast forward 6-7 years and its now seen as an amazing asset and skill set, 6 years of the corporate world, an MBA, Business Owner, GM, C-Suite and Defence all combined, has transformed into: 'oh wow you were in the Army and had leadership in war - you must be comfortable with making hard decisions in tough environments. That combined with all of your other experience is really powerful' - I honestly never thought I would hear those words - but it happened.

Be unapologetically truthful about who you are - different!

When you have a different background - you are interesting; which attracts and detracts from opportunities. You aren't a cookie cutter out of the box corporate; many corporates have a similar background and upbringing - I see many veterans who try and change themselves too far, to fit the mold. My approach; has been to never try to fit the mold of those around you, but certainly learn from them - you have skills that they envy, as much as you envy how easy they find the corporate ladder. Being blunt: most veterans have had life experiences that aren't even comparable to most people - experiences so strong, they have fundamentally changed the way we see situations - it's not about being 'broken' or 'wrong'; but understanding how you can use that experience and different mindset in your new journey. What you see as 'easy' leadership in high pressure situations - others have never faced. Just the same as the thought of analysing a millions lines of data scares you - it's easy for them. Both parties can learn and prosper from the relationship - but you are different.

Being unapologetic about who you are, this isn't about being arrogant, but being very self aware and being prepared to back yourself. The amount of times, I have been in conversations and heard - oh but your main experience is in 'Defence', so we're not sure. Address it head on - You are absolutely correct, I don't have experience there, but what I do bring is experience from A,B,C,D and can drive a new perspective and approach. Don't be limited by people being unsure about what you don't bring and lead with your front foot, on what you do bring.

At the same time, don't be scared to ask for help or acknowledge gaps you might have - there is nothing wrong with working hard to improve yourself. Whether its at professional skills, physical and mental fitness or relationships. People who 'fake it, until they make it' always get uncovered... At the point the rubber hits the road and it gets real - they get exposed very quickly. All veterans talk through actions., not words - play to your strengths.

Create your own career - experiences that count!

Because I was different and very ambitious, it was clear I needed (and wanted) to create my own experiences. Whether its for professional reasons or passion - I made sure that everything I did was for a purpose. For example doing my MBA was a clear professional step, but buying, growing and selling businesses was for passion - but in turn; provided me with an amazing experience in my professional skill sets; management of PL, customer transformation, leading a different group of people, accounting and business management.

At the same time, I always valued learning from mentors, or observing the best in class in what they did. For example the ability to not tell people the solution, but help guide them in discovering it for themselves. Having hard contract negotiations or presenting and shaping extremely senior personnel. Hearing people at the very top of their game, talk about the hard struggles they faced and how they overcome them. All of these experiences were absolutely amazing - the lessons I learnt from good leaders; I now apply in my approach.

Whilst my career has been different; the ability to articulate how it all comes together is an art and a skill. From the early days of understanding and fixing complex electronics systems - to now looking at business as a system. Instead of producing an electronics capability, it's about understanding how a complex functional integration of departments work to deliver customer value. It seems a world apart - but the application of mindset, lessons learnt, all combined with new skills has led to where I am today.

Pay it forward and Networking!

One of my greatest achievements hasn't been through delivering $x in profit, savings or leadership of x people.... It's been through mentoring other veterans, all of which I have seen 'myself' in - young, keen and hungry - but also unsure how the hell to do it. It's been talking about my experience, the blunt harsh reality and the shortcuts to help them. Many of which have gone on to have great success also. Personally this has given me significant purpose and I will always take them time to help someone. As my network has grown, my ability to help people has also grown. The circular economy of paying it forward always comes back. Even the people that helped me when I left, I am now able to help them - which is amazing.

The other part that comes into this has been networking. Initially I focused heavily on connect with senior people in the corporate world who were ex-defence and that network has unbelievable power. People are willing to help you - no matter what stage of your career. But as I moved forward, that network is still very strong, but I had to learn to network within other circles and network with people that matter. As your career and status grows, your ability to have a mutually valued network also increases. Much the same as paying it forward - delivering value to your network, will in-turn see value delivered to you. Be precise about who you engage with, you will soon figure out who's who in the zoo. But getting a foot in certain circles - will see you have more doors opened for you.

My Mantra - Get sh!t done and you've had worse days.

Looking back to date, there has been a lot of refinement and development about who I am, what value I bring and where I am going. It's been exciting but very hard work. That said there are two simple mantras I live by:

• Get Sh!t done: At the end of the day, actions speak louder than words. Whilst you need to learn how to articulate why you are doing something and what it takes - people of value are those who get sh!t done. At times has that meant 18 hour days to not let the team down - absolutely. But by god, like at war - being a trusted set of hands who delivers results; is far more valuable than than talking what you can do or 20 coffee catch ups a day.
• No matter what happens - If I wake up and I'm not getting shot at, then today is a good day. The pressure of deadlines, something going wrong or somebody not being happy with me has absolutely nothing on what of experienced in my past. It's this simple approach and resilience that has helped me significantly through my career. I appreciate everyone hasn't had the same experiences - but for veterans: you have definitely had worse days in the office.

We all have our quirks and features

There isn't a veteran out there that doesn't have quirks and features - but that's across society also. From having arthritis in my knees, degrading discs in my back, a loss of hearing and surprisingly I'm not a fan of fireworks or the dreams I have from time to time - all in my 30's.

That being said, it's about being very aware of what your limits are, what resources your have available and taking action to address the 'maintenance' - as opposed to being a victim of your circumstances. You will never be 100% of what you once were - so what can you do to make life better. I have absolutely no qualms in saying that my best friend Winston is absolutely amazing.

Here we are today

The main focus of this article, was to outline the reality of what it actually takes. A lot of boldness, a lot of hard work and a lot of time working on yourself. It's not pretty but it is achievable.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the next 20 years brings for me. But I hope this article resonates with people in my network. The journey hasn't been smooth, easy or comfortable - but the ability to adapt and overcome has certainly proven it's way. Adapting to new environments, understanding how to overcome the obstacles, create your own experience and always remember the lessons you have learnt.