“Communicate as best you can in every way you can” says Jim Hutton

Jim has over 44 years of service in the British Royal Navy, Royal Marines Commandos and now the Royal Australian Navy. His focus throughout his military career has been on leading and preparing men and women for operations. From his early experience of three tours of duty in Northern Ireland through later operations in Bosnia, Belize, Sierra Leone, Iraq, Kosovo, and Afghanistan his service has been on the ground, at sea, in operations rooms and joint headquarters, planning and conducting operations and leading in adversity. Since coming to Australia in 2011 he has supported the development of the new amphibious capability through coaching and mentoring of the three amphibious ships’ crews, and commanders and staffs of the amphibious headquarters, over a ten-year period.
His career highlights include planning and conducting the amphibious assault into the Al Faw in Iraq in 2003 and the recent 20th anniversary saw him join with over 200 veterans from 40 Commando Royal Marines to remember the fallen and share tales.

He commanded an Australian Joint Task Group of four warships around the south-west Pacific in 2018 for which he was awarded an ADF Gold Commendation. He uses his experience of leading and commanding on operations in the past to support the development of leaders today.

Through his coaching company, 1 Life Coaching, he continues to coach and mentor amphibians within the Australian Defence Force and has worked with high performing business CEOs, COOs, and senior leadership as well as Defence leaders, offering anecdotal evidence and operational experience on what works in high-pressure environments.

As one of the senior Navy coaches he is sought after to work with new coaches and is regularly asked to speak and facilitate in leadership fora around the ADF on leadership in adversity, change management and preparing for the certainty of uncertainty. He provides both Group and Individual Coach Supervision for Navy Coaches and conducts tailored coaching, mentoring, and facilitating for high quality individuals seeking to exploit their potential and build their resilience as leaders.

His immersion in inclusivity and diversity through the Australia Human Rights Commission and work with the Navy Women’s Mentor Programme give him a unique insight into the challenges of working and leading in a multi-cultural workforce which is evolving its approach to the role of women in uniform.

He has supported NSW as a Civil-Military-Police Advisor during the Bushfires and when Covid-19 gripped the nation in March 2020, he was seconded to the Department of Veterans Affairs, where he led the crisis and contingency planning for three months whilst coaching and mentoring senior leadership.

Jim lives a full life. He sources military folk that would benefit from the great work of Remount, an equine therapy charity that puts PTSD sufferers on horseback. He is Vice-President of his local Business Chamber and is a regular at ParkRun both as a runner and volunteer.

He gets great satisfaction from carving spoons from fallen wood and regularly has a stall at local markets where he demonstrates how to carve spoons and sells his products with his wife of over 40 years, Sally. They live on a 5-acre property in Yass, NSW, Australia, and Jim enjoys the combination of supporting others through coaching and sharing his love working wood. They have great friends in the local community and most look forward to seeing their son Ewan (36) who currently lives and works in the snow fields of Hokkaido, Japan.

Jim’s top leadership tip is:
Be clear on your ‘why’. Before you get into the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of anything you lead, always ensure you know and can convey succinctly, the ‘why’.