Ryan Shaw GAICD believes his years in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) have given him the skills and training to make a strong contribution in the boardroom.
While the military shaped Ryan Shaw GAICD’s career, it was not his first choice. He grew up playing sports and aiming for professional leagues. “When I started to see my colleagues getting picked up for contracts with clubs, it became obvious I needed to make plans for my future, as I wasn’t going to play football for a living,” he says. “One day, my uncle asked me what I wanted to do. When I said I didn’t know, he suggested the army.”
Over a decade of service, Shaw had several harrowing experiences, in particular his deployment to Afghanistan, where he was posted to an isolated area outside Tarin Kowt to mentor Afghan National Army soldiers. This presented tough mental and physical challenges. “I learned the hard way that mental health is time-expensive and you need to stay on top of it to function,” he says.
Shaw has also served on peacekeeping operations in East Timor and on border and maritime protection postings. He has represented Australia in international military competitions and, until recently, was still actively involved in the ADF as a reservist. These experiences taught him to always ask if he doesn’t understand something. “I’m more uncomfortable not knowing than I am asking a stupid question,” he says.
Going corporate
After leaving the military in 2017, he joined global defence contractor and aerospace company L3Harris Technologies as a radio communications field engineer. After a stint as a management consultant, he recently returned to L3Harris as an account manager. He says it took him a while to discover what drives the private sector. “To survive, the corporate world places a strong emphasis on profit and efficiency, which was a huge change from the service-orientated culture of defence.”
Shaw is a director of the Queensland Rifle Association and the Gaythorne RSL Club. His first directorship was a volunteer role in an organisation that provides support for veterans and their families. “When I was discharged, I needed to find paths to continue serving,” he says. “Volunteering in the community was the most natural way of achieving this. First finding myself in the boardroom was very daunting, but I quickly realised that a lot of the skills required to perform as an effective director were skills I already had and took for granted in the ADF.”
Shaw believes his attitude toward continuous learning and staying informed about industry trends was a key tool in helping with his transition and points to the Socrates quote: “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing”.
“When I left the defence force at the age of 30, I acknowledged I was well behind my peers in the corporate world,” he says. “That drove me to learn more. I went to university, completed the Company Directors Course and joined groups focused on personal and professional development. What drives me to learn is that I don’t like having known unknowns — to be an effective member of a team, you have to boost your known knowns.”
Shaw is currently completing a master’s degree in business law at Southern Cross University. He believes he underestimated the importance of networking outside defence. “You are very close- knit in the ADF, but it requires a lot more work to stay in touch and create new connections in the corporate world.”
He has since created a strong network and is using it to help veterans leaving the ADF who hope to start their businesses, become a director or study further. Shaw also acts as Gaythorne RSL Club’s defence liaison officer, assisting current and former serving defence personnel and their families with accessing employment, welfare and support. He hopes to expand his capacity to serve veterans via initiatives to promote community wellbeing and veteran inclusivity in the boardroom.
Veteran skill set
Shaw lists several unique skills and strengths military veterans can bring to the boardroom. The first is discipline. “Veterans have a strong sense of duty and commitment, ensuring they meet deadlines, follow protocols and maintain the rigour and structure necessary for organisational governance,” he says. “Secondly, military service usually involves making critical decisions in high- stakes environments. Veterans often have a keen understanding of risk management, enabling them to assess risks and make calculated decisions to mitigate them. Thirdly, military service teaches them problem-solving and adaptability. Veterans are trained and tested in environments that require them to analyse complex situations and devise effective solutions. They also have a strong ability to adapt to changing circumstances.”
Shaw is also a fan of the “mateship” ethos revered in the military. “In the boardroom, teamwork and camaraderie are critical for honest and rigorous debate,” he says. “Mateship promotes a sense of unity and enhances collaborative and courageous decision-making. I would argue that veterans’ respect for hierarchy influences their interactions with executives and operations staff. Veterans value hierarchy and recognise the chain of command. We respect rank and this means respecting our fellow directors and their contributions. It also helps facilitate an empathetic and collaborative relationship with the executives the board oversees.”
He points to the ability to judge well, developed while in military service. When it comes to the boardroom, this skill helps directors assess whether the team’s vision and mission align with emerging trends, market dynamics and competitive landscapes. “We used very similar tools in mission planning to ensure we made informed decisions that kept our unit competitive and adaptable in rapidly changing environments,” he says.
Another influence is servant leadership, which prioritises the needs and welfare of the team above all else. “It is embodied in the idea to ‘serve’ rather than ‘lead’ mentality,” says Shaw. “When translated into a corporate setting, this philosophy enhances boardroom dynamics and effectiveness, particularly the relationship between the strategic board and operational executive. True leadership inspires people to follow you because you serve their need for purpose, value and direction.”
Shaw says prioritising the wellbeing of his team and fostering their growth was a powerful lesson he carried from the military into the boardroom. “By placing empathy, responsibility, mission focus and adaptability at the heart of my leadership, I create a cooperative, respectful and productive organisational culture that thrives on growth and success.”
This article first appeared under the headline 'Military Mindset’ in the August 2024 issue of Company Director magazine.
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