Ahead of the Conference for General Practice 2018, we had a chat with keynote speaker, Brigadier Benedict Kite, Commander of the Joint Forces Intelligence Group - UK Defence Intelligence, about his forthcoming appearance at GP18:
1. What are you most looking forward to about the Conference for General Practice?
Understanding how New Zealand GPs are tackling the opportunities and challenges new information technology presents. How are they balancing that ambition with the requirement to maintain their high reputation amongst their patients for trust, respect and compassion.
2. Can you tell us a bit about what you will be speaking about at the Conference?
I will be talking about how an element of the UK’s Intelligence Community manages information/intelligence in high pressure and dangerous environments. How we ensure that the best possible predictive understanding is placed in the hands of frontline commanders and servicemen whilst tackling the challenges of innovation and incorporating new, potentially revolutionary technology. I will touch on the management and leadership challenges in making an important element of the UK Intelligence system work.
3. What are you hoping delegates will take away from your presentation?
Even though the function of a GP is very different from that of a Military Intelligence Officer I expect they will see many parallels in collecting, managing, processing and disseminating information/intelligence, these similarities may be based on human behaviour which is almost universal in character. I hope that this will give New Zealand GPs a broad view and give their own experiences context.
4. The conference theme is all about leadership. If you could share one top tip for being a good leader, what would that be?
The importance of being able to communicate well. Whether that is to inspire, to bolster, to reassure, to create a team, or to explain and direct. A good leader must be able to communicate effectively if their ideas and intentions are to be translated into action. Being a good communicator does not make you an excellent leader – there are many more attributes required and good leaders can come in all shapes and sizes, but in my experience the very best ones were all excellent communicators.
5. What else are you planning to do while you’re in NZ?
It is sadly a flying visit to New Zealand this time, so I will be returning to the UK the following week after a series of meetings with partners in the New Zealand Intelligence community. I hope to come back with my family for a proper holiday and chance to travel in the near future.
Ben Kite will be presenting a keynote address at GP18, titled “A Defence Force leader’s view of leadership and its application to general practice teams” and will also take part in a panel discussion on leadership challenges in primary care.
GP 18 takes place from 26 – 29 July at the Aotea Centre, Auckland.
Register now for GP18!