Be Fearsome

28/09/2026

Last week we had the privilege of working with the senior leadership team at Venquis Group for a residential leadership day at the stunning Hedingham Castle in Essex.

This was a group of senior leaders, many of whom had never been in the same room before. Different countries, different functions, new faces brought in through changes to the business. Getting everyone together, in person, in a shared environment, was the whole point. Alignment doesn't happen on a call.

In the Royal Marines, we spent a lot of time working alongside foreign forces and embedded units. You quickly learn that trust and understanding don't come from a briefing document. They come from shared experience. From working alongside someone, seeing how they think under pressure, and finding the connection that makes you effective together. That's exactly what Be Fearsome is built to create.

We moved through a mix of discussions, alignment workshops, and command tasks, stopping to talk about what showed up: the behaviours people noticed, what worked, what they'd want to see more of. Over lunch we asked the group how they each got to this point and what brought them to the room. Real answers. Good ones.

The afternoon took them outside for StratNav, Be Fearsome's strategic navigation challenge, working in teams with radios only, solving riddles, reaching locations, and capturing evidence to score points. Simple concept. Revealing dynamics. The debrief after that is always worth the price of admission on its own.

We closed the evening with a banquet dinner in the castle, where we put the final question to the group: what are you excited about for the future of Venquis Group, and what one behaviour or value are you bringing to help get you there? What struck us was how the conversations flowed. How naturally people connected. A group that had barely known each other 24 hours earlier was finishing each other's sentences. That's what shared experience does.

The next morning, for those who were keen, a sunrise workout and a wild swim to close it out properly.

Venquis Group is a business with real momentum and genuinely good people at the helm. It's an exciting time for them. We're proud to have played a small part in that journey and look forward to continuing to support them as they grow.

A huge thank you to Barnaby Parker and the whole Venquis Group team for trusting Be Fearsome with this process. Here's to what comes next.

25/09/2026

Welsh 3000s Challenge

An epic weekend in Snowdonia. Day one scrapped entirely due to 60mph winds and horizontal rain. Day two the weather cleared and the team cracked on hard across the Glyders and Tryfan in stunning conditions.

Plans changed. The pace increased. The mountains delivered.

A lot of hard work, a lot of elevation, and a great group who dug in when it mattered.

A lot of Being Fearsome and just getting out there this trip!

👉 www.befearsome.com/welsh3000

17/09/2026

Corporate Summer Social at On Kew

A great afternoon delivering for Hemisphere Travel at On Kew.

25 guests. Archery, axe throwing, drinks, music, and fantastic catering from Gregory's Kitchen.

Thanks to the whole Be Fearsome Events team and suppliers for making it happen.

14/09/2026

On 29 March 2005, a healthy 37-year-old mother of two went into hospital for routine sinus surgery.

Under anaesthetic, her airway collapsed. The consultants couldn't get a tube in. They tried again. And again.

There was a procedure for exactly this. The nurses could see it. One fetched the kit and brought it into the theatre. Another had already booked an intensive care bed.

Neither of them could make the consultants hear it.

Elaine Bromiley died thirteen days later.

Nobody in that room was incompetent. They were senior, experienced clinicians doing their best in a situation that had overwhelmed them. That's what makes it so hard to read.

Her husband was an airline pilot. He didn't want anyone prosecuted. He wanted to know what happened, because in his industry that's simply what you do.

Matthew Syed's Black Box Thinking is built on that contrast, and it produces a finding every leader should sit with.

In a study of hospital units, the ones with a blame culture reported fewer errors. They also had measurably more patient harm.

Low numbers weren't a safety record. Low numbers were a silence.

So here's the question worth asking about any figure of yours that's heading in the right direction.
Did it get better, or did it get harder for people to tell you?

Full review on the site:
https://www.befearsomeleadership.com/post/black-box-thinking

Matthew Syed's Black Box Thinking, reviewed. Why aviation gets safer and healthcare doesn't, what cognitive dissonance costs leaders, and how to run a real debrief.

10/09/2026

72% of leaders admit they feel overwhelmed at least once a week.

60% of first-time managers fail within 24 months due to lack of preparation.

83% of organisations say developing leaders is critical. Yet only 5% have a system in place.

89% of employees say their leader directly affects their wellbeing and engagement.

Today's leaders are overwhelmed, under-prepared, and leading teams that are increasingly disconnected and stretched. Most have never been taught how to lead people. Only how to deliver tasks.

The C8 Leadership System was built to address this directly.

Four Core Principles. Four Core Practices. Six months of structured, practical leadership development.

Fit to Lead. Ready to Adapt. Built to Evolve.
👉 www.befearsomeleadership.com/c8-leadership-system

08/09/2026

Two mountain experiences in two weeks.

Reconnected Men this weekend in Snowdonia. Two days of hiking, wild camping, and campcraft. A couple of spaces still available.

Welsh 3000s the following weekend. 15 peaks over 3,000 feet. 47 kilometres. 4,000 metres of ascent. 48 hours in the mountains. One last minute space available.

👉 www.befearsomeperformance.com/reconnected-men
👉 www.befearsome.com/welsh3000

02/09/2026

Team Development at Highgate School

Last Friday we delivered a morning of command tasks for 200 teaching assistants at Highgate School.

Two tabletop indoor challenges and two outdoor life-size practical tasks, all built around communication, collaboration, and resilience under pressure.

These are the same activities we deliver for the directors of Formula One, for corporate leadership teams, and for students. The versatility is in how they're introduced, the narrative around them, and how the debrief is facilitated after each one.

The task creates the experience. The debrief turns it into development.

A fantastic group, a brilliant school, and a great morning of delivery.

26/08/2026

Game of Codes at Home Farm

Last week we delivered Game of Codes for a fantastic group from Pillar VC at Home Farm.

Our take on orienteering, geocaching, and code cracking in one fast-paced team challenge.

Twenty virtual lockboxes spread across the local area at varying distances. Teams plot locations using What3Words, decide their strategy, navigate to the boxes, and crack the codes to unlock them.

Every team is tracked in real time by the command centre. Lockboxes have limited lives, so it's a race to get there before the competition.

Game of Codes reveals how teams plan under pressure, communicate on the move, and adapt when things don't go as expected.

Delivered for groups from 10 to 300 at any venue.

👉 www.befearsomeevents.com/game-of-codes

25/08/2026

The C8 Leadership System.

Four Core Principles. Four Core Practices. Six months of deliberate leadership development.

Built from lived experience across military operations, hostile environments, and a decade of coaching and team development. Designed for modern organisations that take leadership seriously.

Fit to Lead. Ready to Adapt. Built to Evolve.

👉 www.befearsomeleadership.com/c8-leadership-system