Why Knowing Yourself is Important with LTGEN John Frewen
Today, I'm very excited to be interviewing a wonderful human being, Lieutenant General John Frewen. With more than four decades in the Australian Defence Force, John has an incredible story and a long history in key leadership roles. In this episode, John shares his thoughts around maintaining physical and mental wellbeing in high stress environments, and why knowing yourself is crucial to sustain great leadership.
After graduating from the Royal Military College at Duntroon in 1986, John went on to command operations in Rwanda, the Solomon Islands and Afghanistan amongst others. He led troops from different countries Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Tonga. Appointed Member of the Order of Australia in 2004 for exceptional performance during operations as the Commander of the Combined Joint Task Force in 2003, John is now also Chief of Joint Capabilities of the Australian Defence Force as of 2021.
In discussing wellbeing within teams, John recounts a touching story from a time of working 18 hour days while stationed in the Solomon Islands. On recognising his extreme fatigue, his subordinates intervened and made arrangements for him to take a break and recover. This taught him a valuable lesson in prioritising wellbeing, and John discusses how he now views it as a necessity, rather than a nice-to-have.
John's experiences highlight the significance of addressing trauma in the workplace. He advocates for psychological support, sharing how ADF's mandatory sessions with psychologists provide a platform for reconciliation and early intervention. We discuss the need to destigmatise such services, likening psychological help to having a personal trainer for the mind.
Perhaps the most poignant part of the conversation was John's description of his time in Rwanda. Encountering the aftermath of genocide, he learned the effectiveness of group discussions in expressing emotions and shared experiences, fostering healing. He has employed this strategy in various leadership roles since.
John was incredibly open about his learnings through extremely trying times, and his story serves as a powerful testament to the interconnection between leadership and wellbeing—two elements that must be mindfully balanced for true success in any field.
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