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Tim is a former British Army Intelligence Officer and graduate of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. His work as a Covert Human Intelligence Officer and Target Acquisition Patrol Soldier saw him recruit and run foreign agents worldwide and influence the outcome of extremely sensitive and dangerous situations. Since leaving the Army, Tim founded, and is a director of Sandstone Communications, an international leadership and team building consultancy.
Tim Bradshaw brings together practical insights into leadership, teambuilding and communication illustrated with engaging examples from his extraordinary life. Tim has served in the Army, both on the frontline and as a human intelligence officer, has climbed mountains (including an ill-fated attempt on Everest), and built a business. Remaining humble about his achievements he insists he is an ordinary person, and that anyone is capable of such things with the right knowledge, collaboration, and mindset.
In a military career that took him from Sandhurst to Afghanistan, Tim experienced directly how to work and make decisions under pressure, to trust your colleagues and maintain focus on shared goals. As a human intelligence officer, Tim’s role involved recruiting and handling those within terrorist or insurgent groups, persuading, reassuring, asking the right questions, and managing the pressure they were under. Leaving the armed forces, he undertook a year of challenges from climbing Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn to cycling a stage of the Tour de France and riding the Cresta Run. He and his team’s attempt at summiting Everest was halted by an earthquake which dramatically shifted priorities from reaching the peak to escaping with their lives.
Tim explores why leaders and teams are so often misguided by prioritising perception over reality. Too often processes override outcomes and decisions are left to one or two individuals. A fear of failure, and its repercussions means people avoid being associated with those decisions instead of being a part of them. By openly assessing a situation, collaboratively allocating resources, and empowering people to act, goals are achieved iteratively and within a positive, learning-focused culture.
Tim’s mantra, and the title of his podcast and his school’s initiative, is ‘Because I Can’, something he returns to when undertaking new challenges, and one he encourages others to reflect on. Whether it’s dealing with a crisis or starting a new project, he examines the importance of looking at the facts and resources available, rather than dwelling on what could be or what might happen.
Combining the inspirational with the practical, Tim explores the common mistakes and important lessons in team building, leadership, and dealing with change and crisis. From the vital importance of diversity when making decisions in business, to his time in human intelligence communicating effectively and empathetically with others, and why intelligence is far more important than information when trying to formulate a strategy.
