NCOS | Military Terminology Training 2 2024
Mutual respect and understanding is crucially important when we NCO’s want to act at a professional level in a multinational environment. This Intermediate Leadership Course gives you a lot of tools to be more receptive for other cultures and habits.
My name is Gosse Korenblik, I am an Air Force Sergeant Major from The Netherlands, being employed in the Dutch Joint Support Command. I have been in the military since 1995. After seven years outside the military I was able to reenlist again in 2016. In my current position I travel a lot for the Ministry of Defense. For me this course is spot on. The course is led by a multinational team of instructors, all of them are very approachable and inspiring. Immediately I felt a safe learning environment. During the first days we worked with the DISC profile. Initially I was surprised by the accuracy. I have also used this profile seven years ago. Since then I have changed service and command, been promoted multiple times and had a lot of personal growth. The outcome of the DISC-profile gave me confirmation of my own behavior and thoughts. This was a solid foundation to engage with and receive from, my classmates, from all corners of the globe.
We all did our very best to understand each other and to put our share on the table, this created a very positive atmosphere. Interacting with my classmates was educational. I found out that I should listen longer and more actively before reacting. This is something I can also use back in the Netherlands. Besides that, I loved listening to the native English speaking NCO’s. They had great phrases and accents. All different, I made some notes, loved it!
In a conversation with colleagues from abroad, an assumption or the language barrier, can put the situation easily in a different perspective. Now we are talking about other ones values and culture. That is something we should be careful with.
Most leadership competences are based on communication. My take away for this topic is, that you should make misunderstandings directly discussable. Effective communication is
situation dependent and a perishable skill. As a leader you always need to work at it, use it, experiment, test and adjust. In my opinion, mutual respect is the foundation for the chemistry in a multinational setting, if you want to succeed.
Stereotyping is also a habit we do very easily. But you can accept differences without agreeing, there is no need to judge.
The instructors used a creative approach of making a new topic discussable, it kept me sharp and motivated. Before I knew it we had interesting conversations about morale, habits etc. Being taught about interpretation of verbal and nonverbal communication in different countries, the class showed more understanding for each other and we laughed a lot.
The course is set up to be very constructive. So a few leadership challenges in the field did put the theory of different leadership styles and adaptability into practice. With this positive atmosphere and great classmates, every feedback was a gift.
My biggest take away? I ‹thought› I was a respectful man with enough awareness to adapt into a situation.
In my current position I was task orientated. But now, after this course, I am convinced that I should invest more in communication with the people who are also involved. To get this job done more easily with more understanding. This course taught me that there is so much more at a deeper level! Observe first then do the talking, and listen to understand so that we can work together in a cohesive environment and celebrate each other’s differences.
An assumption is easily made, measure the people with the size of their heart and respect all the differences.
I would like to thank the instructors of BUSA for having me in the course, and all the people of ILC 2_24 for inspiring me.
