Captain Sheridan Lucas (RLC) is a trailblazing leader and advocate for servicewomen. As the first female Company Sergeant Major at the Infantry Training Centre in Catterick, Sheridan brings insight into leadership, resilience, and wellbeing. In this edition of WEDAsks, she shares her perspective on supporting others, creating change, and leading with purpose.

For readers who may not know you, could you start by telling us a little about yourself and your leadership journey?

I am Capt Sheridan Lucas MBE, I have completed a 22-year soldier career making it from Pte to the role and rank of WO1 regimental sergeant major before I commissioned across to late entry officer contract.  I believe leadership is everyone’s role and I have had the pleasure of working in many different jobs across the Army including 11 training jobs in places like the Royal Military academy Sandhurst teaching future officers and training establishments like Pirbright, Harrogate and even at the centre of army leadership and each one of these jobs have taught me something new about leadership but also stretched my leadership abilities encouraging growth.

Leadership isn’t easy and I have been led by toxic leaders also, but this just shown me what not to be and how not to lead so every moment there is a lesson to be learnt.

The hardest thing in my career to date as a leader is supporting a unit through the grieving of losing a solider and not an experience, I wish on anyone but the unfortunate truth of how diverse the responsibilities are as a leader. I was the senior soldier, and my role was to support the command team and be the voice for the soldiers. Nothing ever prepares you for that and nowhere is there a guild that says to be a good leader in a time of grieve you must…. But in your heart, you know what’s required.

I am forever learning as a leader and will continue to do so until I no longer serve but I am grateful to all I have had the pleasure of serving with and alongside more so those I have led.

You were the first female Company Sergeant Major at the Infantry Training Centre in Catterick, what did that role teach you about leadership in a male-dominated environment?

The first women are not what is important, what’s key is “you cannot be what you cannot see”. I’m a big believer in a glass floor not the glass ceiling, once you watch someone walk across it you are more likely to follow.

The women who went through ITC did so on their own merit my leadership was only called upon to make sure they were given the same opportunity and had someone to talk to that understands a male dominated space. The environment was truly amazing I would work there again in a heartbeat. The soldiers and staff are very professional and where welcoming to the change. If you treat everyone how you wish to be treated, then you will go far.

I pride myself on not giving someone the opportunity to question my professionalism or my leadership and if that meant I pushed myself physically and mentally then it’s worth it. The team I had where exactly that a team. Each of my section commanders and platoon Sgts new I was there to work with them, I would never ask of someone what I’m not prepared to do myself I see myself as a transparent leader and firmly believe that those I worked with benefited from my styles as much as I would of theirs.

I was judged on my leadership not my gender. The most heartwarming thing I take away from working there is the thanks I got from the staff for just bringing a different voice and approach.

You were part of the Forces Atlantic rowing team, how did that experience challenge you, and what leadership lessons did it give you?

Force Atlantic 24 was the first all-female crew from across defence to ever row an ocean and we rowed 3000 miles of hot, fierce and diverse Atlantic Ocean racing from San Sebastian de La Gomera in Spain to the paradise in Nelsons Dockyard Antigua. 

But the first challenge was not just the row it started well before that we had a 3-year campaign and a long selection process. Once selected the challenges didn’t stop, I was a regimental sergeant major (RSM)of 6 Regt RLC a very deployable unit that was on very high readiness, so I had to train whilst remaining professional and competent in my everyday role. This meant whilst deployed I would train very quietly in the back of a vehicle on a spin bike knowing that I had to stay fit and healthy for the row to not let my teammates down.

Once on the row  challenges kept coming , the race is completely unsupported so you have to deal with every situation there and then for example we snapped 3 ores and you need the ability to row 3 people at a time when the weather gets bad (the weather was bad the whole crossing) so we had to think how we could fix the ores with limited supplies . I fixed them with tubes of suncream forming a cylinder of the two half’s then used Denzo tape and a bit of broken ore to form a splint then wrapped it in electrical tape to waterproof it , if we hadn’t done this we would not of been able to row safety or effectively and we even used that ore to row in to the finish line.

One of the challenges was sleep deprivation, the plan was to row 2 hours on 2 hours off but again unfortunately due to the weather we ended up with about 3 hours sleep ever 24hrs in 30 min blocks. One of the crew members would hallucinate.

We faced many challenges as a team but together due to the training we had received and all of us as individuals we faced ever challenge and now, we smile about all the times even the testing ones.

The leadership lessons it taught me be is to be patient, adaptable and the importance of tailored communication. I will always hold people accountable but one of the most challenging but formative leadership experiences was working with someone who struggled sometimes with motivation and consistency it forced me grow.

How do you see your role as a leader in uplifting and inspiring the next generation of women entering the Army?

The answer to this is what we had as are believes when formed as part of Force Atlantic These beliefs aligned us to the moto and aim to PROMOTE. INSPIRE. BELONG.

Promote – Women across defence and show what talent we have across mixed ranks, promote sport and women in AT and especially in Ocean rowing, but now going forward promote ordinary women doing extraordinary things.

Inspire – Others regardless of gender, age, background, show what is out there and what can be achieved, inspire members of the forces and public from children to adults in any way, one person’s goal is important to them it’s not how someone else sees it.

Belong – We all want the sense of belonging I want to be able to inspire others to find their space of belonging or create a space where they get a sense of belonging.

I just want all women to see it’s ok to fail but never stop trying, go after what you want and don’t let others stand in your way. Just always think someone is watching even from a far we can also empower others and promote each other.

What role does adaptability and empathy play in leadership, especially when operating in diverse environments such as the military?

In the military it’s a very fast changing and people centred environment with thousands of soldiers trained to deploy anywhere around the world at any moment, so adaptability and empathy are probably the most relevant leadership traits. Adaptability is key as we always need to be able to think on are feet and change things in the heat of the moment especially on operations where things change fast but you need to make big decisions whilst also looking after the troops. Adaptability will also drive innovation and empower the teams encouraging problem solving this also helps to maintain momentum when plans don’t work out.

Empathy is the base line for any leader it’s a must; you need to be able to understand feelings, perspectives and experiences of others. Every single soldier is different that’s what makes us the best Army in the world we draw on the talents of every single solider someone weakness is another person’s strength, you don’t have to agree with another person’s feelings or perspective, but you must show empathy. This will only ever make a team stronger it’s about really understanding who is to your left and right for that they will believe in your leadership and value it more.

In short, a leader who listens to a team member without judgment and adjust their workload shows empathy and therefor earns respect.

How do you balance the physical and mental demands of leadership while maintaining your own wellbeing?

This is often overlooked but so critical to succeed but also wellbeing and mental health is key in sustainable success for me it’s about being effective when I’m working and needed but allowing myself down time making sure, I get to the gym as that is my space where I relax and allow myself to destress and refocus. Remembering to not take on too many tasks by communicating my availability and workload. I don’t take my laptop home everyone is entitled to switch off don’t feel you need to prove you work the latest that shows nothing in the leadership space.

Delegation is a key attribute to wellbeing; there is no point in doing everything yourself if you delegate it allows your team to also grow but shows them you trust them any encourages empowerment.

Don’t play lip service to how important exercise, sleep and meals are it sounds simple but in a high pressure environment you can be working away and before you know it you have missed lunch this then becomes the norm and before you know it you no longer move from that environment till you leave at the end of the day. You must understand your own stress signals and start to understand what your mind and body need and when.

Strong leaders always know when to ask for help and when to lean on others I normalise asking for help. I encourage a healthy working culture.

How important is it for leaders to create safe spaces for people to speak openly about their wellbeing?

Everyone deserves to feel valued and part of being valued is that you can speak about your wellbeing, it will only ever present as a positive for performance and retention.

Performance and ability to focus can be effective if someone is struggling physically, emotionally or mentally so they need to be able to express that so as a leader you can assist in their workload or at least understand their performance and why it is how it is.

Leaders should create a workspace where there is no stigma to wellbeing this will prevent burnout and sickness but also, they will then feel cared for so are more likely to be loyal and motivated supporting better team dynamics and outputs.

Every day in work I go out of my way to say “how are you” this is an open question that breaks the first barrier allowing people to speak openly.

What advice would you give to emerging leaders, particularly women, who want to make a meaningful impact in their teams?

A short answer is the best for this “be yourself as women we bring so many other skills into the leadership environment “I always think with any team stay credible and never let standards drop. value every team member and never forget where you came from. I say this as what I have experienced over the years is a leader makes it to the position; they desired then forgets to support the next generation of leaders.

What challenges do you see for women in the armed forces today, and how should leaders address them?

We are a product of society, and the Armed forces are forever evolving and changing to grow as an organisation many positive changes have happened over the years, I don’t think we should forget this but as with any organisation we can always improve.

There is still a gender bias and some stereotyping making women feel like they must work harder to prove themselves or to be taken seriously by peers or superiors. The leaders can address this by continues training among the troops so that everyone regardless of gender knows what they need to achieve in their role to be recognised and rewarded through the reporting system.

Looking ahead, what leadership legacy would you like to leave for future generations of servicewomen?

I think as far as a leadership legacy I would like it to be that I had empowered others promoted an inclusive culture where positive behaviours grew. I would like to change the way service women feel around senior leadership roles and start promoting this change, so all service persons are noticing there is leading women in these roles now but be able to coach and mentor others to find where they belong. I would like to think I have made a positive impact on service women to challenge themselves and support others around them. I would like to be remembered as always striving for change whilst challenging and calling out issues.

But most of all my favourite “there is no glass ceiling only a glass floor, once you have seen someone else cross safely, you’re more likely to follow”