Military personnel at all levels benefit from some of the best training in the world. This includes not only physical fitness but mental agility and acumen.

Deemed as essential to the job role, this rigorous regime ensures the officer or SNCO is in the best possible shape they can be to fulfil the position they are engaged in.

Becoming a world-class non-executive director also requires an element of training. This training needs to be in both practical and theoretical skills, and ideally, a training plan that not only culminates in a professional qualification but one that has opened the door to multiple contacts, that can help the individual fulfil their ambitions.

You may question: what does a world-class non-executive director actually need to know?

Besides some fairly basic “softer skills” that all non-executive directors should hone, and are not especially easy to teach includes:

• Resilience
• Stamina
• Fortitude
• An empathetic nature
• Decisiveness
• A robust sense of humour

A world-class NED must also have some technical business acumen such as:

• Having a good understanding of corporate governance best practice
• An insight into the legal and compliance requirements for directors
• Be able to read balance sheets, profit and loss accounts and cash flows
• Be competent in asking probing questions
• Be confident that the vision for the business is well articulated, understood, fit for purpose and relevant
• That the business strategy has been challenged sufficiently to be as robust as it can be
• And finally, that they understand the market in which the business is operating and are comfortable in challenging the access route

Acquire these skills and append it to your own special personality and you will be fit to deliver a world-class performance.