BITESIZE #69 | Lord Richard Dannatt: Reconciling your career and personal ambitions

On the weekend of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, today’s bitesize features General the Lord Richard Dannatt, who concluded his forty year military career as the head of the British Army. His leadership and decision making affected hundreds of thousands. 

This clip features Lord Dannatt talking about how his faith was challenged as a soldier, and how ambition in the job can unsettle the work-life balance if unchecked. 

This episode had an incredible reaction and it’s easy to know why. The challenges, successes and failures that Lord Dannatt navigated during this career inspired so many. Please check it out. 

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Listen: https://pod.fo/e/c6a61

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In this episode, General the Lord Richard Dannatt, a distinguished military leader with a 40-year career in the British Army, shares his insights on faith, ambition, and work-life balance.

Dannatt's faith was challenged during his military service, particularly after witnessing the deaths of fellow soldiers. While he initially dismissed these experiences, he later began to contemplate the deeper meaning behind them.

Dannatt emphasizes the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance, cautioning against letting ambition overshadow personal relationships. He believes that while ambition is essential for career progression, it should not become the sole focus, as it can lead to neglecting family and personal well-being.

Dannatt's experiences in war zones, such as Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, reinforced the significance of focusing on the task at hand and making decisions based on what is right, even when faced with personal challenges.

Reflecting on his career, Dannatt acknowledges that his dedication to work may have sometimes come at the expense of his family life. He emphasizes the need for prioritizing and finding a balance between professional and personal commitments.

The episode offers valuable insights from Dannatt's extensive military career, highlighting the importance of faith, ambition, and work-life balance for individuals seeking high performance in their respective fields.

[00:00.000 -> 00:03.760] Welcome along to this bite-sized episode of the High Performance Podcast,
[00:03.760 -> 00:07.360] the podcast that turns the lived experiences of the planet's highest performers
[00:08.000 -> 00:11.680] into your life lessons. And we're just going to share with you now a clip from one of the
[00:11.680 -> 00:16.240] amazing guests who's joined us over the years on high performance, just to give you that little bit
[00:16.240 -> 00:20.240] of inspiration. Maybe you're just searching for something, maybe you're struggling, maybe you feel
[00:20.240 -> 00:25.760] great. Either way, this is here for you. It's absolutely free. I hope you enjoy it.
[00:25.760 -> 00:31.000] It's today's Bite Size episode of High Performance.
[00:31.000 -> 00:36.680] My faith was challenged as a young man. I mean, I've told you about the moment when
[00:36.680 -> 00:41.800] the soldiers either side of me was shot. That evening, back in barracks, I thought to myself,
[00:41.800 -> 00:48.360] gosh, was I just lucky or was someone trying to say something to me it's often said that there are no atheists in a foxhole you
[00:48.360 -> 00:51.280] know when the issues of life and death confront you then think quite deep
[00:51.280 -> 00:56.520] things well you know as a young man I shrugged it off. A couple of years later
[00:56.520 -> 01:03.240] operating in the border area near Cosmo Glen we were conducting operation to
[01:03.240 -> 01:06.000] diffuse an improvised explosive device and I was with my company commander in Roeddwn yn cyflawni operatiwm i ddiffus a chyflawni'r debyg ar gyfer y defnydd.
[01:06.000 -> 01:13.000] Roeddwn i gyda'n cymdeithaswr cymdeithasol a chyflawniadau ffyrdd i ddeal ag ymgyrch fawr
[01:13.000 -> 01:16.000] a'r rhai rydyn ni'n meddwl oedd y debyg ar gyfer y defnydd.
[01:16.000 -> 01:21.000] Roedden ni'n mynd ymlaen, Peter Willis, fy hun a'r tîm o ffyrdd,
[01:21.000 -> 01:27.000] i ddangos iddynt lle roedden ni'n meddwl o'n pwynt cy ddod o'r ffordd i'w gweithio'n dda.
[01:27.000 -> 01:31.000] Ar y dechrau i fyny, roedd Peter Willis yn fy nghael a rhoddwyd yn ffotograff y ffyrdd.
[01:31.000 -> 01:36.000] Roedd yn dweud, dwi ddim yn boblog i ddod ymlaen, rydw i eisiau i chi ddod yn ffwrdd arall yma y diwedd,
[01:36.000 -> 01:39.000] ddewch i chi ddysgu'r ffotograff.
[01:39.000 -> 01:44.000] Wel, roedd yn fyny, ychydig o 30 llwybr, 30 eiliad,
[01:44.000 -> 01:48.240] a dyna'r ffyrdd o'r blaen, a chael, ychydig i 30 o ffyrdd, 30 eiliadau nesaf, roedd ymdrechion ffantastig ac roedd y cwm o'r cwm wedi'u gael.
[01:49.040 -> 01:52.800] Nawr, rwy'n sylwi, os oedd e ddim wedi'i stopio, byddai wedi cael cin o fwyn, oherwydd
[01:52.800 -> 01:57.360] roeddwn i wedi bod yn trwy le o'i chyfran. Yn ôl y ddyn yma yn y
[01:57.360 -> 02:01.280] Crosmagen polisi, rwy'n meddwl, oh, byddai hwnnw'n ddiddorol,
[02:01.280 -> 02:06.000] neu beth? Felly roedd yna nifer o weithiau pan roeddwn i'n sylwi'r byd
[02:06.000 -> 02:08.000] mewn cyfathrebu o bobligaethau,
[02:08.000 -> 02:10.000] a byddwn wedi cael ei lwysu, ond mewn gwirionedd
[02:10.000 -> 02:12.000] nid oedd. Felly yr hyn rydw i wedi'i ddechrau
[02:12.000 -> 02:14.000] arnaf, oedd, dyma ddynion y ddreth,
[02:14.000 -> 02:16.000] dyma'r gwaith cyfathrebu.
[02:16.000 -> 02:18.000] Gadewch i ni byw'r ffordd mwyaf
[02:18.000 -> 02:20.000] y gallwch, gwneud eich swydd
[02:20.000 -> 02:22.000] mewn ffordd mwyaf gallan,
[02:22.000 -> 02:24.000] ymchwilio'n fawr, gadaelwch y gwraig
[02:24.000 -> 02:28.480] a chyfathrebu'r ffyrdd fwyaf yib, ymchwilio'n fawr, gweithio'n fawr, cofio bod y gofod yn bwysig a gweithio'n fawr y gallwch fod. Felly roedd yn rhan o'r
[02:28.480 -> 02:32.840] deddysg dynol os ydych chi'n hoffi, ond dod o'r sylwadau
[02:32.840 -> 02:36.160] y byddwn yn dal i fod yma ar y cyfansoddau.
[02:36.160 -> 02:41.920] A sut wnaethon chi ymgyrchu ymdrechion fel hyn o'r cyfansoddau
[02:41.920 -> 02:48.000] hirachol, gan fod yn gysylltwyr a phawr i children?
[02:48.880 -> 02:54.160] Wel, pan roedd y mwyaf o'r cyfnodau hyn, yn enwedig ym Mhreinidd y 1970au,
[02:55.200 -> 03:00.480] oedd yn cyn i mi fwynhau. Felly, rydych chi'n meddwl mwy am y bobl eraill,
[03:00.480 -> 03:03.520] ac mwy am y swydd a'ch hun. Yn ysbrydol,
[03:05.560 -> 03:10.960] are more about the job and yourself subsequently whether it was during the operations in Bosnia or or more recently in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan then
[03:10.960 -> 03:16.680] there are other considerations yes Philip and my wife and four children so
[03:16.680 -> 03:20.520] you you do think about them and the issue of priorities is something perhaps
[03:20.520 -> 03:28.320] we can come back to later but while you keep those things in mind you really have to focus on the job in hand and do what you believe is right because if you yw rhywbeth y gallwn ni ddod yn ôl i'w gwrs, ond trwy'r byd y gallwch chi gael y pethau hynny i'w chydnabod, mae angen i chi ymdrechu ar y swydd mewn eich ddewis ac wneud yr hyn y mae'n ddod yn iawn,
[03:28.320 -> 03:32.480] oherwydd os ydych chi ddim, byddwch yn ymhebhau, byddwch yn ffwrddio, ac dyna'n ymdrech i'ch gweinidog
[03:32.480 -> 03:36.480] gwneud y peth. Felly, a ydych chi'n teimlo bod yn father yn y ddiwedd nesaf yn eich gyrfa chi,
[03:36.480 -> 03:40.080] wneud i chi fod yn father bwysig? Wel, os ydym ni nawr yn ddod yn ddifrifol,
[03:40.080 -> 03:43.600] ac rwy'n meddwl y bydd fy nheulu yn debyg yn rhaid i mi ddweud hyn o'r rhan fwyaf,
[03:44.120 -> 03:47.680] ac rydw i'n meddwl y bydd fy nhrofion yn debygu hyn ar unrhyw le. Dydw i ddim yn meddwl oeddwn i'n fwy iawn o fynyn a phawr
[03:47.680 -> 03:49.280] na'n rhaid i mi fod,
[03:49.280 -> 03:52.920] oherwydd rydw i'n meddwl oeddwn i'n fwy cyfathrebu
[03:52.920 -> 03:54.240] ar y swydd,
[03:54.240 -> 03:56.280] nid yn cyfathrebu ar fy nyrs.
[03:56.280 -> 03:57.840] Mae'r ambysiwn yn iawn,
[03:57.840 -> 03:59.840] ond os yw eich ambysiwn heddiw
[03:59.840 -> 04:02.640] yn ymwneud â gyrraedd y peth nesaf,
[04:02.640 -> 04:05.540] yna dyna ddim yn y ffordd iawn i byw. Mae'r ambysiwn yn iawn o ran y byddwch chi'n eisiau ei wneud is all about wanting to get to the next thing, then actually that's not the right way to live life.
[04:05.540 -> 04:08.520] Ambition is right in terms of wanting to do
[04:08.520 -> 04:11.840] in your current job as well as you possibly can
[04:11.840 -> 04:14.440] in the hope that your superiors might think,
[04:14.440 -> 04:16.100] actually, this bloke's doing a really good job,
[04:16.100 -> 04:17.760] so we'll put him onto the next thing.
[04:17.760 -> 04:20.440] So you shouldn't look over the horizon,
[04:20.440 -> 04:22.680] but you should really focus on what you're currently doing.
[04:22.680 -> 04:29.240] And probably my family would say, whether it was through my own choice or just circumstance. I was away an awful lot
[04:29.240 -> 04:31.840] I was away on operations on my 21st birthday
[04:31.840 -> 04:36.440] I was wearing operations on my 50th birthday, which did lead a friend to say to me
[04:36.440 -> 04:39.220] Come on, isn't it time you grew up and did something sensible? So
[04:39.740 -> 04:42.580] you know priorities are important and I may have
[04:43.480 -> 04:47.220] Sometimes over prioritized work ahead of my wife and family
[04:48.980 -> 04:53.860] Well, as always thank you so much for joining us don't forget you can also check out the high-performance store
[04:54.180 -> 04:56.180] Just go to the high-performance podcast
[04:56.740 -> 05:01.320] Com click on shop and you can see what we've got for you there and there's loads more there as well
[05:01.320 -> 05:06.800] You can join the high-performance circle. You can get your hands on our book. You can get tickets to our live events.
[05:07.160 -> 05:08.400] There's loads waiting for you.
[05:08.440 -> 05:12.800] Just head to the highperformancepodcast.com and I'll see you next time.
[05:13.320 -> 05:14.800] Remember, there is no secret.
[05:14.960 -> 05:16.000] It is all there for you.
[05:16.280 -> 05:20.200] Be your own biggest cheerleader and make world-class basics your calling card.
[05:20.880 -> 05:21.680] See you next time.
[05:21.560 -> 05:23.560] See you next time.