Defence Academy, Tanah Jambu, 9 December 2021 – Colonel (Rtd) Ronnie McCourt from the British Army conducted Psychology of Leadership (POL) sessions throughout the span of four days with Officer Cadets of Intake 20 from 6 December 2021 until 9 December 2021. Officer Cadets were present in the Auditorium of Defence Academy for the POL sessions following the SOP guidelines of Ministry of Health.
Each session began with an interactive quiz conducted by Col (Rtd) Ronnie McCourt through a mobile app called ‘Kahoot!’. This enabled Officer Cadets to compete and compare scores for the questions set out by Col (Rtd) Ronnie McCourt. The questions in the quiz were generally relatable to the topics for the session that are being conducted.
The first session covers ‘Motivation and Team Dynamics’ where different motivational theories are discussed in order to have a better understanding and its application. The session also covers working in teams. More specifically, identifying the common problems of being in teams. On the second day, ‘Communication’ was covered and its importance. Communication in terms of power, influence and persuasion are the main dynamics of the session. Understanding where power comes from and the science of influence and persuasion is important as these are tools of how effective leadership can be. The third session covered on ‘How to Prepare People for Personal Change’. Change is challenging for people and a leader need to understand how to develop subordinates. The fourth and final session was on ‘Thinking Skills’. The session explained how there are different ways of thinking and how it is processed. It also further explained on how to improve thinking skills.
The four-day session concluded with the aim to educate Officer Cadets on the topics covered to further improve and develop them. Col (Rtd) Ronnie McCourt has given time and effort to conduct the sessions with the time differences between UK and Brunei and hoped that the sessions are beneficial for Officer Cadets
