Last week, St Andrew’s College welcomed former student, Adrian Birrell, former Irish National Cricket Team Head Coach and Protea’s Assistant Coach. Birrell presented an inspirational and informative speech to the St Andrews College Grade 11 ‘s.
In his message, Birrell shared with the boys his leadership philosophy. He spoke of the importance of leaders having a clear vision and a strategy or plan to achieve that vison. He emphasised the importance of “having a cup of tea” – in other words, sitting down with the people you are leading, getting to understand them and ensuring that the channels of communication are established.
Birrell spoke of the importance of doing the basics well and establishing a work ethic from the word go, understanding that actions have consequences, acknowledging contributions from others and valuing their input. Mr Birrell shared his thoughts on dealing with individuals according to their strengths and weaknesses.
He said that leaders need to know when to be “tough on the tough and tender on the tender” and brought this message home to these senior boys, whose role it will be to mentor and care for junior boys in the school, treating them as individuals. Most importantly, he challenged the boys to think about where they wanted to go in life and to dream big.
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