"I didn’t realise that a part of me would change over the next ten days"

“As a retired British Army officer, former senior Police Officer and latterly MD of a large commercial entity, I rated myself fairly well as knowing my way around the art of leadership and I wondered if my investment in the Kimberly Leadership Programwas a sensible use of resources.  It took fewer than a couple of moments with the Outback Initiatives Staff and my team mates on day one to realise that I was stepping into a new realm and that I was about to see an approach to leadership that I hadn’t heard of or been exposed to previously.  I realised very quickly that I needed to learn some humility, adjust my mindset and that if I wasn’t willing to accommodate completely fresh ideas then I would miss out on a unique opportunity.

I was helped in this endeavour by the Kimberley itself, which has a disarming charm, beauty and mystique, and is an incredible conduit for change.  I didn’t realise that a part of me would change over the next ten days and that I would view myself in a different light there after as a person; a husband, a father, a friend and as a leader.  Crucially, I would also view others in a different light.  So much for knowing it all and so much for thinking I knew myself.  As I write this piece I’m on a plane on my way to start in a new position in Somalia – an extremely challenging leadership role in a very demanding environment, but I’m doing so in the comforting knowledge that I will undertake this as a far more rounded leader and one that is conscious of his strengths, failings and vulnerabilities.  The Kimberley program is not just an epic of leadership discovery but also a venture into the delicacies of the human condition.” Peter Hill

See more here: from Gallipoli