I recently came across an article in The Telegraph which argued that former military leaders could be the answer to the UK’s productivity challenge. While I agree with several points raised,  particularly the breadth of skills service leavers bring to the private sector, I felt the article’s heavy focus on ‘leaders’ missed something crucial.

In military organisations, success isn’t solely driven by those in positions of authority. More often, it’s the underlying culture of teamwork and fellowship that makes the difference. It’s about uniting individuals around a shared objective, holding each other to account, maintaining high standards, and having the courage to question flawed approaches, even in the absence of formal leadership. That collective commitment and mutual responsibility is what truly drives results, and it’s a lesson just as valuable for business as it is on operations.

During my time as an Infantry Officer in the British Army, I had the privilege to lead teams on operations, training and in barracks. I also worked closely with partner forces from the US, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. That experience shaped my understanding of leadership not as something rooted in rank or authority, but in relationships, trust, and shared purpose. What really stood out over time wasn’t just who was “in charge.” It was how good teams supported each other, especially under pressure. That invisible glue, the way people stepped up, offered challenge, took responsibility, and never waited to be told, that’s what I’ve come to think of as fellowship.

Since leaving the military, I’ve worked in some very different environments, including with Amazon and now with Skewb supporting clients across the UK gas utilities sector. And yet, the core truth has stayed the same: leadership doesn’t work in isolation. It only becomes truly effective when people around it are engaged, confident, and empowered to contribute. This reflection is about that relationship, leadership and fellowship, and how we need both working side by side in any successful organisation. Whether it’s on a military parade square, a logistics warehouse, a control room, or a boardroom, it’s never just about who gives the orders. It’s about how people choose to respond.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Leadership

Leadership gets a lot of attention. It’s often associated with being in charge, making decisions, setting direction. And that’s part of it. But the best leaders I’ve known weren’t just good at giving orders, they were great at listening, creating space for others, and owning the outcome, even when things went wrong. As Simon Sinek argues in Leaders Eat Last, “Leadership is not about being in charge. It’s about taking care of those in your charge.” That’s the difference between positional power and relational trust.

Good leadership often looks like:

• Having a clear sense of purpose
• Communicating simply and honestly
• Staying calm under pressure
• Knowing when to step forward and when to step back

But Fellowship Matters Just as Much

Fellowship, in my view, is the often-unsung side of the coin. It’s the behaviours and mindset of those who support, challenge, and ultimately deliver the vision. It’s not passive. It’s not about doing as you’re told. It’s about choosing to be part of something and taking ownership of your part in it. Robert E. Kelley, in The Power of Followership, writes: “In the best organisations, followers are as important as leaders. Without active followers, nothing gets done.” He identifies effective followers as independent, critical thinkers who carry a strong sense of responsibility for outcomes.

Strong fellowship usually looks like:

• Thinking for yourself, but always with the team in mind
• Giving honest feedback, even if it’s uncomfortable
• Spotting problems early and fixing them
• Supporting your teammates, no matter the pressure

You don’t need a title or a formal leadership role to lead from within. Some of the most influential people I’ve worked alongside, both in uniform and in industry, were those who simply set high standards, held others accountable in the right way, and stepped forward without waiting to be asked. They didn’t command authority, but they earned trust. Being a good member of the fellowship means showing up, taking initiative, and helping the team succeed, even when no one’s watching. That kind of contribution is often what makes the biggest difference.

Leadership and Fellowship: A Working Partnership

It’s not about one being more important than the other. Leadership and fellowship are interdependent. They feed each other.

Peter G. Northouse, in Leadership: Theory and Practice, notes that “leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.” But for that process to function, the group, the followers, must be engaged, thinking, and contributing actively. The best leaders I’ve worked with, military and civilian, created environments where people felt they could speak up, offer ideas, and take action. They didn’t need to have all the answers. They just made sure the right people felt trusted to help find them.

What I’ve Seen in Business

In the years since leaving the forces, I’ve worked in a mix of sectors, high-volume logistics with Amazon, and now in gas and utilities. Very different from soldiering on the surface, but when it comes to team dynamics, the similarities are surprising.

Fellowship plays out in civilian teams when:

• People flag issues without fear of blame
• Feedback flows both ways, not just top-down
• Staff challenge ideas respectfully and are listened to
• Everyone feels responsible for success, not just their own tasks

In fast-paced, safety-critical environments like these, fellowship isn’t just “nice to have.” It’s essential. As David Marquet describes in Turn the Ship Around!, giving control, rather than taking it, leads to a crew that owns its decisions and performs better: “When you give people control, you create leaders at every level.

The Risks When It’s Missing

It’s easy to assume things are working when no one’s complaining, but silence isn’t always agreement.

• If leaders don’t welcome challenge, they get filtered information.
• If followers don’t feel safe to speak up, risks go unnoticed.
• If no one takes ownership beyond their role, things fall between the cracks.

Haslam, Reicher, and Platow argue in The New Psychology of Leadership that “leaders are most effective when they represent and reinforce the shared identity of the group.” Without shared identity and trust, teams fragment. I’ve seen situations where talented people became disengaged because they didn’t feel heard. I’ve also seen pressure pushed downwards, and leaders isolated because no one felt they could push back or step in. These issues are fixable, but only if we value fellowship as much as we value leadership.

What the Military Taught Me and What I’m Still Learning

One of the things I’m grateful for from my time in the Army is how much it taught me about people, not just leadership, but how much impact a strong, proactive team can have. That stays with you. But I’m also still learning every day. Civilian workplaces are more nuanced in some ways. Influence looks different when you don’t wear rank. Feedback needs more emotional intelligence. Success often depends on persuasion, not just direction.

I’ve learned that fellowship isn’t static. It evolves. And for veterans like me, adapting those skills into new environments is part of the journey. But the mindset of mutual responsibility, humility, and stepping forward when it counts still applies, everywhere.

Final Thoughts: Fellowship Is Everyone’s Job

Great leadership isn’t about being in charge, it’s about creating the conditions for others to thrive. And fellowship isn’t about following orders, it’s about owning your part in the plan.

Whether you’re a supervisor, a technician, a delivery driver, or a senior executive, the success of the team rests on how well we support, challenge, and trust one another. That’s not just leadership. That’s fellowship. And it’s just as powerful.

Further Reading

Below is a list of books that I have read over my time in the forces or been recommended to me through professional career and I hope that they might provide some interesting perspectives for the regular readers amongst you:

• Turn the Ship Around! – L. David Marquet
  A powerful firsthand account by a U.S. Navy submarine commander who broke from traditional command-and-control leadership by giving control rather than taking it. It’s a practical case study in how empowering people through trust and clarity builds high-performing teams.
• The Power of Followership – Robert E. Kelley
  Kelley challenges the notion that leadership is the sole driver of success. He defines different followership styles and argues that effective followers, proactive, critical thinkers, are just as vital to organisational outcomes as strong leaders.
• Leadership: Theory and Practice – Peter G. Northouse
  A foundational academic text that presents multiple leadership theories, from transformational to servant leadership. It’s a balanced, research-based overview useful for leaders at any level who want to understand the spectrum of leadership styles and their application.
• The New Psychology of Leadership – S. Alexander Haslam, Stephen Reicher, & Michael Platow
  Grounded in social identity theory, this book explores how effective leaders shape, represent, and reinforce the shared identity of the group they lead. It’s a deep dive into why people follow and how leaders can build legitimacy and loyalty through alignment with group values.
• Leaders Eat Last – Simon Sinek
  A compelling look at how the most effective leaders create environments of safety and trust. Drawing on biology and real-world examples, Sinek argues that great leadership puts people first and the results follow.

By Edward Walker

Edward Walker is Principal Consultant at Skewb. To speak with him about this topic in more detail, you can connect with him on LinkedIn.