I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

This episode is also available as a video podcast on my YouTube channel here:

https://youtu.be/TTlGEKnM2kQ

Having just returned from a week long work trip to Saudi Arabia, it felt entirely appropriate to produce a short thematic episode on the importance of cultural understanding to leaders.

Culture is often talked about in business discussions and training events but, in my view, rather too often the discussion is somewhat narrowly defined and focuses on the fairly obvious behavioural aspects of cultural difference.  Essentially the emphasis is often on what not to do to avoid offence etc, rather than taking a broader look at the aspects of leadership that culture affects more widely.

This episode seeks to put out some broader ideas about why it is important to be culturally aware as a leader.  It briefly touches on trust, decision making, communication, motivation, conflict, reputation and operational effectiveness, and I hope the ideas will resonate with you as you watch.

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

This episode is also available as a video podcast on my YouTube Channel here:

https://youtu.be/ipkhmzY_oFM

Gary Deakin had a highly successful career in the British Army, rising to the rank of Major General, before embarking on what has now become a diverse and equally successful portfolio career outside the military.  

Along the way, Gary has had a series of ups and downs, including a very challenging time whilst he was the MD of GardaWorld UK.  He talks candidly about all these issues and has a lot of terrific thoughts about leadership that he shares in this episode.

I really hope you enjoy what was a fascinating and fun conversation; it you do, please do all the usual things to highlight the episode more broadly and also send me some feedback.  I really appreciate it when I receive feedback from listeners as it helps a lot to build and develop the podcast so please do let me know what you think.

You can find Gary here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-deakin/

Website: https://kingfisherconsulting.uk

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

This episode is also available as a video podcast on my YouTube Channel here:

https://youtu.be/_7UEm53Q68Y

I first met Peter Sorgenfrei through LinkedIn and rapidly realised that we had a lot in common and would have a great conversation.  So it proved to be, and this episode is packed with leadership thoughts and advice that I think you will find extremely interesting and hopefully very useful.

Peter was a serial entrepreneur and founder before a period of stress related burnout forced him to completely rethink his career.  He now focuses on helping founders and leaders to navigate the tricky path to success and, as you will see, we both have very similar thoughts on a lot of issues, despite having very different backgrounds. 

Peter and I really enjoyed this conversation and I hope you do too; please let me know what you think and, if you haven't already done so, please subscribe to this channel to get early notification of future episodes. 

You can find Peter here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sorgenfrei/

Website: https://www.petersorgenfrei.com/

X: https://x.com/psorgenfrei

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sorgenfrei_co/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094743968571

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

With this first episode of Season 2 of the podcast, I return to the personal stories and give an account of my time on an exchange posting flying the RF4E Phantom with the German Air Force, the Luftwaffe.  

It was a fascinating time not least because of the political changes that occurred during my 2 1/4 years with the Germans.  In that time, the Berlin Wall fell, German reunification became a reality, and the Cold War ended.  As a direct consequence, the tour was punctuated with a wide range of fascinating experiences as well as serious challenges.  

I do my best to give a short summary of what was a really busy couple of years and so I apologise if it feels like I touch too lightly on the issues but, if there is appetite for me to do so, I would be delighted to add more detail in later episodes so please keep the feedback coming.

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

Given that I strongly suspect you will have better things to do than listen to me on New Year's Eve when this podcast becomes available, I have made it a reasonably short episode and  focused on providing a review of 2023 and this first season of Leading 4 Life "Stories".

The episode provides a short summary of the episodes so far as well as my own thoughts on the high points and plans for the future.  If you are new to the podcast, it will give you a decent overview of what the previous episodes contain and signpost a few of my personal highlights that you might wish to dip into if you haven't already.

Season 2 of the podcast will launch at the start of 2024 and I would really welcome your thoughts and input as to what you would like to see as I develop the podcast further into next year and beyond.

Whether or not you are a regular listener, I am extremely grateful for you giving up some of your valuable time to listen to what I have to say and I am even more grateful if you have subscribed, reviewed and / or provided me with direct feedback.  Please keep that coming as it means the world to me and I read it all!

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

As this episode goes live on Christmas Eve 2023, I thought I would keep it very short and to the point.

I have had a good deal of time to personally reflect over the past couple of weeks and that thinking time has allowed me to focus on some things that are hugely important at this time of year.  Speaking for myself, I know that I should say "thank you" a great deal more and that I should also make much more time to keep in touch and "check in" with my circle of friends.  

Far too often, we all take things for granted and don't fully appreciate those that  support us or help us along the way.   Equally, most of us make optimistic statements such as "we must get together soon" without ever actually following through and actually keeping in touch properly.  

This podcast is very much a stream of consciousness but, if nothing else, I hope it gives you pause for thought, and is the catalyst for you not only to thank those that you should, but also to check in on some of those friends and colleagues who you've left on the "to do list" for far too long.  

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

This week's guest is General Sir Richard Barrons, the former Commander of Joint Forces Command (one of the 6 UK Chiefs of Staff) and now the Co-Chairman of Universal Defence & Security Solutions, alongside a portfolio of other private sector roles.

Richard commanded at every level in the British Army and saw a huge amount of operational service in just about everything from the Cold War to Afghanistan.  He has a huge amount of leadership and historical knowledge, and some strongly held views about today's geopolitics and the prospects for the future.  

A regular commentator on both TV and radio, Richard's views are thought provoking and sobering, and this is one episode you really don't want to miss.

I really hope you enjoy listening to this fascinating interview - it really was great to be on the other side of the microphone for this one!  


In this interview we cover the following subjects (starting time in brackets):

• Richard's career journey (00.02.22)
• Early motivations (00.07.25)
• Thoughts on career transition timing (00.11.40)
• Adjustments to leadership style (00.16.55)
• Role models (00.29.29)
• Leadership traits and values (00.35.03)
• Advice to a school age Richard! (00.43.24)
• What would Richard have done differently? (00.46.51)
• Most important achievement (00.58.15)
• Career low point (01.01.12)
• Work / life balance (01.07.14)
• Thoughts on current conflicts and geopolitics (01.11.33)
• Perspectives on the USA (01.22.02)
• Most memorable events (01.26.30)
• Most difficult question (01.28.17)

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

This might just be the most important episode of this podcast I have released to date because it tackles the vitally important topic of "work / life balance".  In my experience this is something that is very regularly talked about, especially by very busy people but also much too often either ignored or given too little priority, often by those same very busy people.

In this episode I make no secret of my own personal challenge with handling this, but I also share some personal experiences and some reasons why you really should focus more on getting the balance right,  not only for your own health and wellbeing, but also for the benefit of those that you lead.

As we approach a major holiday period, it is the perfect time for you to really try and delegate well, ensure you do prioritise life over work, and to give yourself a proper opportunity to recharge your batteries.  However, uncomfortable it may feel, stretch yourself and step back from the work coalface just for a while and see how much more efficient and capable it makes you when you return!

I really hope you find this useful.  As always, I would love your thoughts and feedback so please do let me know what you think.

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

At the conclusion of a short first operational flying tour at RAF Brüggen in Germany, this episode discusses my move to RAF Laarbruch, another Germany base, and my transition to the reconnaissance role.  

As a now "experienced" Jaguar pilot, this was a pivotal point in my career since reconnaissance was a role that would dominate a significant proportion of my remaining time in the cockpit.  I aim to give the listener a sense of the challenge, complexity, but also fun we all had flying the Jaguar in this role.  It was without doubt demanding but we thrived on the competition and absolutely loved the fact that we got to be seriously good at what we did.  

Towards the end of the tour (and this podcast) I outline some of the challenges that occurred not only as we transitioned the squadron to flying the Tornado, but also for me personally as I faced a tricky choice that would have a significant impact on the next direction of my flying career.

I really appreciate you listening and especially providing me feedback.  If you enjoy this, please share it widely as I'd love more people to have the chance to listen.

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

My guest this week is Komeil Alibai, founder and CEO of MYKA Holdings, a private equity and venture capital business focusing on clients from a variety of industries.

Komeil has a fascinating personal and business background and shares some terrific insights during the interview.  He and I first met during our coaching qualification training with The Coaching Academy.  I subsequently had the pleasure of coaching Komeil, and he is kind enough to allow us to discuss the value of that coaching during the session.

It was lovely to catch up with Komeil again for such an in depth conversation, and I really hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed recording the podcast.


You can find Komeil on LinkedIn here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/komeil-alibai-572356b/


In this inteview we cover the following subjects (starting time in brackets):

• Komeil's career journey (00.02.00)
• Early motivations (00.06.03)
• Thoughts on Komeil's career transition journey (00.14.19)
• Adjustments to leadership style (00.23.29)
• Advice to a school age Komeil! (00.39.24)
• The importance of role models, purpose, and faith (00.46.19)
• What would Komeil have done differently? (00.48.34)
• Most important achievement (00.51.12)
• Career low point (00.57.49)
• The value of coaching (01.02.43)
• Advice to others considering getting a coach (01.14.56)
• Most memorable event (01.17.06)
• Most difficult question (01.25.13)

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

My guest this week is Howard Wheeldon, who is best known as a political / defence commentator and analyst in recent years, but who had a fascinating and long career prior to moving into that realm.  It was a really interesting and wide ranging discussion, which highlights Howards extremely impressive breadth and depth of business experience; I very much hope you enjoy it.

As you will hear from the introduction to this edition this is a particularly poignant episode for me because, at the time that I recorded the interview, I was aware that Howard was seriously ill. 

Tragically he passed away on 21 September, much more suddenly than expected and, having consulted his widow Joanna, this interview is being released the day prior to Howard's memorial service in London on Monday 20 November, and will hopefully serve as an ongoing tribute to a great man and a good friend who will be much missed. 

My heartfelt condolences remain with Joanna as well as Howard's children, Ellie and Giles.

In the interview we cover the following subjects (starting time in brackets):

• Howard's career journey (00.03.48)
• Early motivations (00.17.41)
• Leadership styles and priorities (00.22.33)
• Role models & modern day business challenges (00.31.57)
• What would Howard have done differently? (00.53.00)
• Career high point (01.02.15)
• Career low point (01.08.08)
• Managing work:life balance (01.11.41)
• Views on defence expenditure and relationships with key allies (01.18.11)
• Most difficult question! (01.28.33)

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

My guest this week is Baroness Dido Harding, who is probably best known for her role as the Executive Chair of NHS Test & Trace during the Covid-19 pandemic, and for her role as the CEO of Talk Talk when they went through a significant cyber attack.

However, there is much more to Dido than those two roles.  She has a fascinating business, public service and personal background and, in this really interesting interview, she openly shares a great deal about her highs, lows and overall leadership and personal journey.  I really enjoyed this conversation and I very much hope you do too.


You can find Dido on LinkedIn here:

 https://www.linkedin.com/in/dido-harding-19a6b86a/


In this interview we cover the following subjects (starting time in brackets):

• Dido's career journey (00.02.27)
• "The man, the horse, & the dog!" (00.07.46)
• Early motivations (00.21.33)
• Adjustments to leadership style (00.24.08)
• Role models (00.35.58)
• Advice to a school age Dido! (00.47.50)
• What would Dido have done differently? (00.52.49)
• Learning from the Covid-19 pandemic (00.56.19)
• Dealing with personal attacks and criticism (01.02.52)
• Most important achievement (01.15.00)
• Career low point (01.17.54)
• Managing work:life balance (01.23.43)
• Perspectives on current global challenges (01.27.15)
• Most memorable event (01.37.11)
• Most difficult question (01.38.26)

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

I am conscious that in last week's episode I covered a lot of ground and didn't always provide a lot of detail.  As such, in this episode I blend some personal flying stories with the theme of "Attention to Detail".

I talk through the challenge of mastering the detail required to safely and effectively operate a single-seat Jaguar on a typical front-line ground attack sortie and, where appropriate, I link this to what I have seen in the business world, especially in my more senior roles.

The more senior you become, the harder it is to stay across all the detail.  The mistake that many leaders make is that they still try to do this and it has two negative impacts:

1.   Firstly, it makes it harder for the leader to stay focused on the big issues whilst they are mired in the detail.  
2. Secondly, it often makes their subordinates feel micromanaged and disempowered.  

There are of course plenty of occasions when a leader still has to be all over the detail and I highlight those as well.

I try to offer some example based thoughts and ideas that have worked for me when I've been in senior, complex roles.  I hope they are useful for you too! 

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

This episode is also available as a video podcast on my YouTube Channel here:

https://youtu.be/liwjPI9bdF8

One of my most enduring and vivid memories of my time in uniform was our participation in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.  

The military were only ever expected to be in the background of this nationally important event, but the well publicised challenges faced by G4S over their ability to provide adequate venue security, meant that as the Games approached, the military's role grew enormously.  

I was fortunate enough to be right in the heart of this drama as it unfolded.  I was the MOD member of the Home Office run "Olympic Security Board" and I and my team, were in the forefront of the planning and eventual delivery of the response.

As is widely acknowledged, the military support to the Games was a spectacular success and in this short episode I attempt to capture some of the key aspects of the planning, the delivery, and the aftermath of this incredible period.  

I really hope you enjoy the episode and, as ever, I would be delighted to hear what you think if you have the time to provide me some feedback. 

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

With this episode I continue the personal story of my flying career and discuss the completion of my training on the Jaguar Operational Conversion Unit and the move to the RAF front-line on 17(F) and then 14 Squadron at RAF Brüggen in Germany.

As you will hear, this was a really pivotal time in my flying career and I absolutely loved the excitement, challenge and pressure of being on a front-line Jaguar squadron when the Cold War with the Warsaw Pact was still a very big concern for NATO and the West.

There are perhaps less top tips in this episode but I hope you enjoy the journey along with me.  Being a 21 year old pilot in the nuclear strike and attack roles was certainly really special for me and I suspect you will pick up my enthusiasm as you listen.

Thanks again for listening, please subscribe / follow / review and give me any direct feedback that you feel appropriate - I value it all! 

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

My guest this week is Lord Mark Sedwill, former Cabinet Secretary, Head of the UK Civil Service and National Security Advisor.

Mark had an amazing public sector career in the UK Diplomatic and Civil Service and is now on his next chapter with a portfolio of big private sector roles.  His huge experience made him a great subject for this podcast and this is a fascinating interview with an absolute wealth of terrific leadership insights that I am sure you will enjoy listening to.


You can find Mark on LinkedIn here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-sedwill-882aaa5b/


In this interview we discuss the following subjects (starting time in brackets):

• Mark's career journey (00.01.16)
• Early motivations (00.04.19)
• Adjustments to leadership style (00.11.26)
• Role models (00.22.34)
• Leadership traits and values (00.34.04)
• Advice to a school age Mark (00.35.59)
• Career highs and lows (00.45.45)
• Managing work:life balance (01.02.23)
• Perspectives on global challenges (01.07.06)
• Views on the role of the USA (01.13.39)
• Reflections of UK politics (01.18.48)
• Most memorable event (01.23.55)
• Most difficult question (01.24.22)

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

My guest for this episode is Rear Admiral James Morse RN(Retd), the President and CEO of the Rabdan Academy in the United Arab Emirates.

James and I know each other well from our military days having been at the Royal College of Defence Studies together back in 2007.  He subsequently commanded the UK's Joint Service Command and Staff College and that undoubtedly positioned him extremely well for his current role, which he has held since 2016.

Raban Academy is a fascinating institution in an equally interesting part of the world and James has some terrific perspectives on leadership that I know will be of interest and value to you all.


You can find James on LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-morse-a0644520/


In this interview we discuss the following (starting time in brackets):

• James' career journey (00.02.16)
• The Rabdan Academy (00.10.30)
• Early motivations (00.18.43)
• Transitioning from the Royal Navy to Rabdan Academy (00.25.44)
• Adjustments to leadership style (00.31.26)
• Role models (00.40.16)
• Advice to a school age James! (00.50.27)
• Career highs and lows (00.57.32)
• Managing work:life balance (01.05.13)
• A view of the world from the Gulf (01.10.31)
• Most memorable event (01.17.50)
• Most difficult question (01.20.10)

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

My guest for this episode is Jenna Littler, former Senior Vice President at Burberry and now an independent consultant and advisor to the fashion, beauty and luxury goods industries.

Jenna has had already had an amazingly diverse and highly successful career and, by the  time she left Burberry, she was one of the most senior women in the business. 

She spoke to me at length about the opportunities and challenges she has faced and this was a fascinating and really enjoyable interview that I think you will find equally interesting and valuable.


You can find Jenna on LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenna-littler-0469bb43/


In this interview we discuss the following (starting time in brackets):

• A summary of Jenna's career to date (00.01.52)
• Early motivations (00.04.18)
• The move from McKinsey to Burberry (00.12.41)
• Adjustments to leadership style (00.21.30)
• Role models (00.27.47)
• Advice to a school age Jenna! (00.54.36)
• Most important leadership traits (01.19.11)
• Glass ceilings & discrimination in the workplace (01.23.58)
• Career low point! (01.29.43)
• Managing work:life balance (01.34.00)
• Thoughts on the luxury goods and fashion industry (01.38.57)
• Most memorable event (01.44.49)
• Most difficult question (01.47.47)

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

My guest for this episode is Philipp Nattermann, a Senior Partner and CFO at McKinsey & Company.

Having originally been born in East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Philipp started his working life as an academic in the USA, Philipp joined McKinsey in 1999 and has been there ever since. 

He speaks very candidly on a whole range of issues and offers some terrific leadership insights that I am sure you will find both interesting and valuable.


You can find Philipp on LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipp-nattermann/


In this interview we discuss the following (starting time in brackets):

• A summary of Philipp's career journey (00.02.00)
• Early motivations (00.03.36)
• Adjustments to leadership style (00.11.07)
• Most important leadership traits (00.15.58)
• Role models (00.20.41)
• Most important achievement & legacy (00.27.45)
• Advice to a school age Philipp! (00.33.26)
• Managing work:life balance (00.41.01)
• Thoughts on the telecommunications industry & AI (00.46.08)
• The value of consultants! (00.53.13)
• Thoughts on the USA (00.59.39)
• Most memorable event (01.04.34)
• Most difficult question (01.06.46)

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

With this episode I return to thematic issues and focus on personal resilience and self care.

I chose to cover this theme now partly because of the recent World Suicide Prevention Day, but also because I recently delivered a workshop on this topic to a client and it landed really well, so I thought it would also be useful to those that listen to this podcast. 

Personal resilience is a critical attribute for any leader, and a good leader also needs to be very conscious of the resilience of individual members of his / her / their team.  

In this episode I focus on: 

• Why resilience is important
• Why personal resilience is linked to, but different from corporate resilience
• Some ways to self check your own resilience
• Ideas to help improve your own self care
• Resilience through crisis and change
• The value of optimism 
• Knowing when to quit!
• The benefit of assertiveness
• Why happiness helps
• The importance of practice!

If you have not already done so, please follow / subscribe to ensure you receive early notification of future episodes.  I would also be extremely grateful if you would provide a review and, if you have the time, some direct feedback as that most definitely helps me to improve and to give you the best possible product.

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

Trigger Warning: This episode contains discussion of aircraft accidents and fatalities.

In this episode I continue my personal story as I finish officer training and move into the Royal Air Force's flying training system.  

I'm extremely conscious that I could easily have filled an episode or more with each segment of the flying training system, since I learned so much about myself as I was going through it so, depending on the feedback this episode generates, it may well be that I return to cover some more specific elements in future episodes.  However, I reined myself in and Episode 7 will give you a c.30 minute overview of everything up to my move to the front-line Jaguar Operational Conversion Unit.  

It hits the high and low points of my time at RAF Linton-on-Ouse (Basic Flying Training at No 1 Flying Training School), RAF Valley (Advanced Flying Training at No 4 Flying Training School), and RAF Brawdy (No 234 Squadron, Tactical Weapons Unit).  

As normal, I try to pick out some useful tips and personal learning points along the way and there are plenty to choose from during this formative and fast-paced early stage of my military career.

I really hope you enjoy this return to personal stories - do please give me your feedback; I really do value it a lot!

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

My guest for this episode is Phil Crossman, a friend of mine for nearly 20 years and the former Managing Director of Honda UK. 

Phil spent his entire career in the motor trade, and has huge experience with a number of manufacturers, culminating with some 17 years at Honda.  He has a vast amount of leadership experience and the interview covers a range of topics that I'm sure you will find interesting. 

There are some great and amusing car stories, and Phil also provides some fascinating insights into his perspectives on the future of the motor industry.


You can find Phil on LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-crossman-95b27820/


In this interview we discuss the following (starting time in brackets): 

• A summary of Phil's career journey (00.02.55)
• Early motivations (00.10.20)
• “Old Man Honda” (00.16.53)
• Adjustments to leadership style (00.24.49)
• Role models (00.29.42)
• Advice to a school age Phil! (00.31.20)
• Most important leadership traits (00.33.12)
• What do you wish you had done differently? (00.40.45)
• Most important achievement & legacy (00.45.50)
• Thoughts on the future of the motor industry (00.50.25)
• The most fun vehicle he has ever driven! (00.59.35)
• The most difficult question he has ever been asked (01.04.20)

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

This episode I am delighted to be able to introduce and interview Susie Ballentyne, my co-founder and partner within Leading 4 Life.

Susie and I have known each other since 2011, when we worked together in the UK Ministry of Defence.  She is a social psychologist / behavioural scientist, and has a long background in working with the government as well as in the private sector.  She is in the final stages of completing a PhD and has huge research experience and academic knowledge of leadership issues and, consequently, brings a very complimentary skill set to my own as we work together in this space.

You can find Susie on LinkedIn here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/susie-ballentyne-7483b132/

In this interview we have an in depth conversation and exchange of ideas that covers a broad range of topics including (starting time in brackets):

• A summary of Susie's career journey to date (2:50)
• Early motivations (7:48)
• Role models (10:37)
• Leaders that have impressed the most (14:19)
• Advice to a school age Susie! (20.57)
• Glass ceilings! (24:17)
• Leadership traits and behaviours (29:03)
• Why we founded Leading 4 Life (44:58)
• A psychologist's views on my podcast!! (49:56)
• Leadership myths! (59:45)
• Training & development success (1:05:00)
• Susie's most memorable event so far! (1:10:02)
• The most difficult question she has ever been asked (1:13:33)

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

This episode I was very privileged to be able to host General David Petraeus US Army (Retired) as my very first guest on the podcast.  

It is the first of what will be many interviews in the future and, in every case, I will seek to get the best leadership thoughts, tips and advice from those that are generous enough to give me their time for an interview.

Even a cursory glance at General Petraeus’ career history will reveal what an amazing life he has had and why his views on leadership are so relevant to anyone with an interest in leadership issues. 

A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1974, General Petraeus served for 37 years in the US Army, rising to 4* rank and completed 6 consecutive commands as a general officer, five of which were on combat operations, including command of the Surge in Iraq, command of US Central Command, and command of all coalition forces in Afghanistan.

He subsequently served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency in 2011/12 and is now very active in business as a Partner at KKR and Chairman of the KKR Global Institute.

General Petraeus' academic credentials are also incredibly impressive.  He is the only person in US Army history to be the top graduate of both the US Army Ranger School and the year-long Command and General Staff College.  He has a PhD in international relations and academics from Princeton University and, from the 1980s to the present day he has been actively involved in senior roles with a range of prestigious academic institutions.

Over the years, he has been named as one of America's 25 Best Leaders, a runner up for Time Magazine's Person of the Year, the Daily Telegraph Man of the Year and numerous other accolades.

For more on his background and current activities please see:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidpetraeus/

https://www.kkr.com/our-firm/leadership/david-h-petraeus

General Petraeus’ new book “Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine”, co-authored with Andrew Roberts is published in October and is available for pre-order on Amazon at this link.

In the interview we cover a wide range of issues including (starting time in brackets):

• Adjustments to his leadership style across the course of his career (2:18).
• His early motivation to join the Army, and a model for strategic leadership (13:58).
• The leadership traits that he values the most (29:13).
• His reflections on what he might have done differently across his career (35:48).
• His most important achievements and reflections on his legacy (39:04).
• The influence his father had on him (47:46).
• The advice he would provide his younger self (56:00).
• His reflections on the state of the world as it is now (1:05:02).
• What next for Ukraine and how does it might end (1:10:48).
• The most difficult question he has ever been asked (1:19:50).

It is a fascinating and wide-ranging discussion and I very much hope you enjoy it! 

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

This episode is also available as a video podcast on my YouTube Channel here:

https://youtu.be/UMB3ac2V2iE

Jeff Nielsen has a fascinating aviation career history.  A former United States Air Force C141 transport pilot, then an instructor pilot on the T37 trainer, Jeff subsequently had a 35 year career in Delta Airlines, rising to become one of their most senior captains.

Alongside his flying career, Jeff also started podcasting more than 20 years ago, and has produced a huge number of episodes across multiple shows.  He is currently the main host of The Airline Pilot Guy show, a weekly aviation podcast that covers a wide range of aviation topics and has a very broad and large audience across the globe.  If you are interested in aviation, this is definitely a show to have a listen to and all the relevant links are below for easy access.

In this episode we talk about lot about flying but also cover some aspects of Jeff's podcasting life as well as leadership of course.  We definitely finished the discussion feeling that there was more to talk about, and so we will definitely have a Part 2 to this episode at some point in the future.  It was a hugely enjoyable conversation and I really hope that you get a sense of that as you watch or listen to the episode.

The best way to connect with Jeff is via The Airline Pilot Guy Show and you can find all the links to that below:

Web: https://airlinepilotguy.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/airlinepilotguy

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/airlinepilotguy/

X: https://x.com/airlinepilotguy

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@airlinepilotguy

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/airlinepilotguy

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

Trigger Warning: This episode contains emotional details about premature birth,  neonatal death and serious illness.

With this episode I dive straight into the topic of the week and focus on "the loneliness of command". 

Command roles, when you are at the pinnacle of an organisation, can be immensely rewarding but they come with their share of challenges.  Who can you talk to when the going gets tough?  Who provides you advice when you want to test your thinking and ideas?  Who can you simply blow off steam with when you need to air your frustrations?

Loneliness of command is a real issue and most if not all leaders will have experienced it at some point.

In this podcast, I initially set out my own view of why loneliness of command is an issue, especially for leaders in roles where they are at the top of an organisation, however large or small.  The reality of loneliness of command is likely to be very familiar to anyone that has been in such a role but the aim of this podcast is twofold.  

First, I offer some preparatory advice based on my own personal experiences for those who are heading into those leadership positions.  

Second, I leverage some personal examples from my past to highlight why this issue is just as important for those being led as it is for the leaders themselves.  Being a trusted team member might well offer you the opportunity to help your leader at a time when they need it most.

The bottom line is that loneliness of command really is a "thing" and, left unchecked it carries the risk of completely derailing an otherwise extremely competent leader so it should not be underestimated.  Having an understanding of this, whether you are a leader or a team member, should leave you better prepared to face the challenge when it comes!

If you have not already done so, please follow / subscribe to ensure you receive early notification of future episodes.  I would also be extremely grateful if you would provide a review and, if you have the time, some direct feedback as that most definitely helps me to improve and to give you the best possible product.

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

In this, my second episode, I initially outline in more detail the 3 types of podcast episodes I will be creating.  You will be able to see the specific type in the title; either Personal Stories, Themes or Guests and, each week, more detail will be provided here to give you an outline before you listen to the episode itself.

This thematic episode will focus on Credibility, Self-Awareness, and Imposter Syndrome.  

To establish some credibility of my own, I give you a short synopsis of my whole career, from young 18 year old RAF Officer Cadet, through to becoming an Air Vice-Marshal in the RAF's Senior Leadership Team, and on to Deloitte, before starting to run my own company back in 2019.  

I do this to give you some perspective on my own leadership experience, with the aim of establishing my own credibility with you the listener.  My knowledge is borne more of experience than academia, and I hope that I make an adequate argument as to why I am worth listening to on the subject of leadership. 

Credibility is crucial for a leader but it is only one aspect of a much more complex puzzle and consequently, I also start to discuss the concepts of self-awareness and imposter syndrome in this episode.  

Self-awareness is vital for a successful leader and so this is undoubtedly a topic that will feature in later episodes as well.  Imposter syndrome is common for many leaders, especially those with heightened levels of self-awareness and so, once again, it is a theme that will feature in further discussions.  Both are introduced here as, in my view, they are essential to consider early in any ongoing discussion about leadership.

If you have not already done so, please follow / subscribe to ensure you receive early notification of future episodes.  I would also be extremely grateful if you would provide a review and, if you have the time, some direct feedback as that most definitely helps me to improve and to give you the best possible product.

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

In this first episode of Leading 4 Life "Stories", I talk briefly about what I hope you will get from my podcast as future episodes roll out on a weekly basis, but the majority of this episode is very personal.  

I realise that your time is precious and that you have a lot of choice about what to listen to in this very crowded market, so I wanted to give you a much deeper insight into my background and the early stages of my entry into the Royal Air Force.  

This episode takes you through some of my childhood challenges, my education, and on to my officer training at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell, picking out some specific tips along the way that I hope will help you for the future.  

Future episodes will continue to cover my life story, where it is relevant to the leadership skills and personal resilience I have developed along the way.  There will also be episodes that cover specific themes that I believe are important to all leaders.  Last but certainly not least, I will also regularly host conversations with great guests from a wide spectrum of leadership roles, industries and age groups.  

Along the way I reflect on some tips and thoughts that I hope will resonate with you, and help you on your own leadership development journey - that after all is the whole point of me doing this podcast in the first place!  

I do hope you enjoy it and I very much look forward to your reviews and feedback.  After all, "there is no failure, only feedback!"

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

A short trailer about Leading 4 Life "Stories", which is launching very soon.  Hope you enjoy it!

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

This episode is also available as a video podcast on my YouTube Channel here:

https://youtu.be/dSrc0y8GXZQ

I've been intending to talk about leadership traits and authentic leadership in particular for some while now, but my work at Deloitte University this week provided a perfect catalyst for this episode.  Authenticity in the workplace was a significant topic of discussion and I consequently thought it would be a perfect subject to cover in this week's thematic episode of the show.

The episode is short but I hope you find it both interesting and valuable.  Given that I have only recently started video podcasting, I would be particularly interested in your feedback on the visual format if you have used it.  

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

This episode is also available as a video podcast on my YouTube Channel here:

https://youtu.be/NLGG5OAMCNo

Mark Cheshire is a fantastic man with an amazing career track record behind him.  Starting with a 30 year career in Lloyds Banking Group that saw him rise to be the CEO of the Lloyds UK Private Bank, in more recent times he has built a highly successful portfolio career with a particular emphasis on board advisory work and executive coaching.

He has a lot of great tips and advice for leaders in senior roles and I'm sure you'll find this episode both interesting and enjoyable in equal measure.

You can find Mark on LinkedIn here: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-cheshire-12252b3b/

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

This episode is also available as a video podcast on my YouTube Channel here: https://youtu.be/Nx1yfjz0POU

Hetti Barkworth-Nanton is a remarkable individual.  She is the CEO of Ploughshare, Chair of Refuge UK, Co-Founder and Patron of The Joanna Simpson Foundation, but those are just the formal positions she holds.  Listening to her story, it is clear that, in the margins of her mainstream roles, Hetti is supporting a range of other individuals as they deal with a variety of traumatic personal situations.  

Hetti's own journey is an emotional one, but it is a true tale of triumph over adversity.  The related story of her campaigning, together with Diana Parkes (Joanna Simpson's mother), to ensure the continued imprisonment of Joanna's killer has received mainstream media publicity, and resulted in both of them being honoured with the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire), as well as winning a Pride of Britain award in 2024.

Hetti's passion, emotion and drive are very evident in all that she says on this podcast.  It is a powerful and fascinating story, and she provides a range of great advice and thoughts that will benefit anyone who is currently suffering or has previously suffered with the effects of trauma.  

I found it incredibly moving, but we also had a lot of fun doing the interview - I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!  Your feedback would be greatly appreciated and, if you like what you see, please share it widely so that others can join the debate.

You can find Hetti here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hettibn/

X: https://x.com/hetnanton

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

This episode is also available as a video podcast on my YouTube Channel here: https://youtu.be/7vYdDL4e1k0

Greg Bagwell and Sean Bell have been colleagues and friends of mine for many years now.  Both are former fast-jet pilots but we all went down different aircraft paths at the end of flying training.  Whilst I went to the Jaguar, Greg went to the Tornado, and Sean went to the Harrier, via an instructional tour on the Jet Provost as a "creamed off" Qualified Flying Instructor.  We all climbed the career ladder to close to the top of the Royal Air Force, with Sean and I making 2* rank, whilst Greg went further and retired as a 3* Air Marshal.

Unsurprisingly, given our similar backgrounds and long standing relationship, this episode is full of banter and flying stories, but there is also a plethora of great leadership advice and plenty of commentary on contemporary events from two guys who are very close to what is happening in the here and now. 

Both have portfolio careers, but Greg is the President of the Air & Space Power Association (https://airspacepower.com/), and Sean is a regular defence commentator on Sky News.  They also come together as hosts of The High Ground Podcast, which focuses specifically on air & space power issues of the moment.

I highly recommend their podcast if you are looking for some expert commentary on this crucial component of defence capability.  You can find it either via a link on the Air Space Power Association website (main link above) or at the following:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1JQusc6SVDIpjmkUH6gPy6 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AirSpacePowerAssociation 

You can also find Greg and Sean individually here:

Greg: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gjbagwell/

X: https://x.com/gregbagwell

Sean:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-bell-1998633a/

X: https://x.com/BellusUK

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

This episode is also available as a video podcast on my YouTube Channel here: https://youtu.be/BsCKsGCDXOg

At the conclusion of my tour at the Chief of Defence Staff's Liaison Officer in The Pentagon, I was fortunate enough to be promoted once again, this time to be an Air Vice-Marshal, which was to be my final rank in the Royal Air Force.

I returned to the UK Ministry of Defence, into the role of Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Operations), a job that I never dreamed I would get so this was a big deal!

The tour was fascinating on all sorts of levels and there is much to much to restrict it to a single episode of the show.  Consequently, as with some of my other big roles, there will be several parts to this personal story, and I begin by setting the scene rather than getting into too many specifics.

I really hope you enjoy the episode; please let me have your feedback as I always love to hear what you think.

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

This episode is also available as a video podcast on my YouTube Channel here: https://youtu.be/FnN6o5eSScI

Having known him for almost 20 years, I was delighted that Tom Tugendhat agreed to join me as a guest on Leading 4 Life "Stories".  Tom is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Tonbridge, a constituency in the South East of the UK.  Although he is now a back bench MP on the opposition benches, for a period in the previous government, Tom was the Minister of State for Security, and was also the Chairman of the important Foreign Affairs Committee.  He has also run twice, so far unsuccessfully, to be the leader of the Conservative & Unionist Party.

Prior to his parliamentary life, Tom was initially a journalist and then an Army officer, and he talks about his journey extensively during the episode.  With such an interesting and varied career, it is entirely unsurprising that Tom has a wealth of leadership experience and tips to share.  It is relatively unusual to get sitting MPs to do long form interviews such as this, and I am extremely grateful to Tom for giving such a personal and candid account of his life and experience.

As well as his personal story, we explore a lot of current issues in the wider geopolitical and UK political arena and, whatever your personal political preferences, I think you will find Tom's perspectives well considered and very interesting.  

This was an interview I have been hoping to secure for some time and it was absolutely all that I could have wished for.  I really hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed making it.  If you do, please share it widely across your own networks.

Should you wish to know more about him, you can find Tom here:

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-tugendhat-138a531/

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/tomtugendhat/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/tomtugendhat

Substack:  https://tomtugendhat.substack.com/

X:  https://x.com/TomTugendhat

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

This episode is also available as a video podcast on my YouTube Channel here: https://youtu.be/U7exNBCMO5M

I have worked with Tabi Haller-Jorden a number of times whilst facilitating at Deloitte University, and I realised a while ago that she would be an outstanding guest to have on Leading 4 Life "Stories".  Tabi has an amazing career background with a wide range of senior and very entrepreneurial roles.  Her leadership knowledge and expertise is fantastic, and she has a ton of great tips for leaders at all levels that I'm sure you will find valuable. 

Over the course of this conversation, we discuss Tabi's:

- Career summary
- Early motivations
- Changes in leadership style
- Thoughts on the most important leadership traits
- Role models
- Advice to her younger self
- Career highs and lows
- Tips for integrating work and personal life
- Tips for leaders given today's geopolitical and societal challenges
- Most memorable moment
- Most difficult question

I sincerely hope you enjoy this episode.  If you do, please send me some feedback, and share it widely so that others can benefit from Tabi's great thoughts.

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

This episode is also available as a video podcast on my YouTube Channel here:

https://youtu.be/BLCPo2h6nCU

It was a great privilege to host Martin Shaw for this week's episode of Leading 4 Life "Stories".  Martin has had an incredible 60 year career in acting and, over that time, has featured in numerous, stage productions, television series, documentary programmes, and films.  He is possibly best known for his television roles as Inspector George Gently and Judge John Deed but the list of credits goes way beyond those two and he really is something of a national treasure here in the UK.

I have known Martin personally for more than 25 years but, as he highlights in the episode, we have never previously had the chance for such a wide ranging and in depth conversation so this was particularly special.  Even if you are already a fan and follower of Martin's work, I am certain you will get plenty of new insights into this amazing man's character as you watch or listen to this episode.  Martin doesn't think of himself as a leader but, having reached the top of his profession, and played a number of significant leaders across his career, I can assure you that he has plenty of great thoughts about leadership that emerge during the conversation.

I really hope you enjoy what I think was a particularly fascinating episode.  If you do like it, please subscribe for further episodes, share it widely, and send me some feedback with your thoughts.

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

This episode is also available as a video podcast on my YouTube Channel here: https://youtu.be/X6pWwKLn24s

I won't attempt to disguise that this is something of a stream of consciousness and a personal rant, but I do think that poor behaviour, lack of common courtesy and selfishness is becoming an increasing problem in our society.

As leaders, I don't think this is something we should just tolerate and / or ignore; we have a responsibility to do our best to develop our people to be the best they can be and to positively contribute to the work environment and to society in general.  

In this episode I do my best to set out some of my own thoughts and I provide a number of personal examples of where I have seen poor behaviour and my own approach to dealing with it.  

I would be really interested to hear whether you think I have simply "gone off on one" or whether you share my views; please let me know.  There is no such thing as bad feedback in my view!

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

This episode is also available as a video podcast on my YouTube Channel here: https://youtu.be/jKA5vGqq6tE

Jonathan Bowman-Perks was my guest way back on Episode 24 of Leading 4 Life "Stories" but, given we work in very similar fields and interview a lot of great leaders, we both felt that it would be great to do another episode where we discuss a range of big themes that are affecting leaders in all walks of life at the moment.

Over the course of this conversation, we discuss:

• Intergenerational working
• Hybrid working
• The speed of growth of AI
• The rise of populism and more extreme forms of government 
• Geopolitical threats and the lack of individual / societal resilience in the face of those threats

It was a great discussion and, whilst we certainly don't profess to have all the answers, we hope that we stimulate your thinking and at least initiate a debate within your own leadership circle.

Do let us know what you think as feedback is most definitely "the breakfast of champions"!

You can find Jonathan here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanperks/

Website: https://jonathanperks.com/

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

In the run up to January 2011, I had fought hard to avoid going to the USA as the Chief of Defence Staff's Liaison Officer to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs based in The Pentagon in Washington DC.  

I hadn't fought because I didn't fancy the job; the role was a high profile one and clearly looked as though it would be rewarding and fun.  The issue was that it was only just over 2 years since I had returned from Afghanistan, my wife and I had faced down a lot of personal dramas over that period and, to cap it all, we were right in the middle of building our new house in Sussex.

Nonetheless, having made my points, I had accepted my lot and was now focused on doing the best job I could whilst I was in Washington.  

I had absolutely no idea at that point that it would turn out to be one of the most rewarding postings of my entire career, with masses of operational activity to contend with, as well as the absolute privilege of working with some of the very best in the US military at that point in time.  

The personal bill was high though; I spent a lot of time flying to and from the UK for 36 hour visits to help my wife with the house build and I wouldn't wish that on anyone but, on the positive side, the house got built and we still love it to this day!

I very much hope you will pick up my enthusiasm and admiration for the US military that I worked with over this 9 month period - it was a truly amazing role and I absolutely loved it.  Do please let me know what you think!

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

I am delighted that for my 100th episode of Leading 4 Life "Stories" I am joined by my old friend Paul Beaver.  Paul is a prolific author (his 80th book is about to be published!), an extremely knowledgeable historian and a seasoned broadcaster.  

He has a passion for the military, and has been on the ground in some serious conflict zones both as an Army reservist and as a journalist so, unsurprisingly, we chat a good deal about geopolitics and the current challenges the world faces.  

We also cover a great many leadership points, and Paul's incredibly multi-faceted career makes him ideal to provide some great thoughts on all aspects of leadership.

It was a real joy to talk to Paul at length and I really hope you enjoy this milestone episode - please do let me know what you think!

You can find Paul on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulbeaver/

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

Way back in September 2023 (Episode 8), I published a thematic episode on personal resilience and self-care.  

The world feels very different since that episode was published and so I thought it was time that I put out some more thoughts on resilience, but this time I thought it more appropriate to focus on national and societal resilience, especially given the increasingly challenging geopolitical situation the world is currently facing.

I always try to stay clear of political positions in my podcasts and this is no exception; however, I passionately believe that a much more robust debate on national security and national resilience is long overdue.  Having cut my early career teeth in the last years of the Cold War, I am only too aware of the impact of the resultant "peace dividend" that affected many countries, particularly across Western Europe following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In this episode I also highlight another podcast that has recently been published by Sky News.  Entitled "The War Game", it is outstanding and I highly recommend that you listen to it.  Not only does it have startling relevance to recent events across the globe, it also features role play in the "game" by a wide range of senior UK political, civilian and military figures who have themselves had very prominent roles within the UK Government or wider national security structure.  It is not comfortable to listen to, but it is certainly important to listen to!  

Our political leaders continue to "talk the talk" about national security but, understandably, they are also driven by the perceived priorities of their electorates and those same electorates (especially in the UK) are certainly not yet feeling any form of existential threat to their own borders and shores.  I believe we need to change that narrative and that will require collective work from across the population.  If you believe in the same priorities, I hope you will add your own voice to this critical issue.

I hope you enjoy the episode; please do let me know what you think.

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

With my epic tour in command of Kandahar Airfield behind me, my next posting took me back to the Ministry of Defence in London to be the Head of Targeting and Information Operations.  

In many respects this was an amazing job and a great tour, albeit that much of it cannot be discussed on this podcast because the majority of the actual work was highly classified.  However, it wasn't the work environment that defined this chapter of my life.  It was the personal challenges that dominated and the handling of which I still reflect on to this day! 

In this episode I try to shed some light on those challenges and offer some advice and thoughts about how you might respond in similar circumstances.  This is definitely one occasion when that advice is mostly focused on "don't do what I did" and I very much hope you find it useful. 

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

We live in exceptionally turbulent and risky geopolitical times and, in a slight break from my normal guest episodes, this week I am delighted to feature Francis Tusa.  Francis is a long standing friend and we have also crossed paths professionally many times during my time in uniform.  

Francis has spent all his career as a defence analyst and is a very frequent contributor to both broadcast and print media on defence issues.  He is also the founder and ongoing editor of Defence Analysis, a very widely read defence publication that has been running for almost 27 years.

Given his CV, there are few better with whom to discuss the defence aspects of the current geopolitical position and, although we do a light touch on Francis' leadership and personal experiences, the majority of this episode is dedicated to a broader conversation about exactly that.  

The combination of my own near 35 year military career and Francis' similar time in defence analysis certainly gave us plenty to talk about, and I hope you find the discussion interesting, although I must warn you that it might not make you more relaxed about the risks we currently face both globally and in the UK! 

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

I recorded this on 31 May 2025, a day which also marks the 10th anniversary of my final day in the Royal Air Force.  Leaving after nearly 35 years was a huge moment in my life and so I took the opportunity to reflect back, not only on my departure from the RAF but also on some other major inflection points in my life.  

All too often I have not handled these significant life moments as well as I would like to have done, and so the prime focus of this episode is to pass on my own experience, together with some thoughts about how you might prepare better than I did, and hence avoid mismanaging your own major inflection points.

I really hope you enjoy the thoughts - please do let me know what you think.

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

Career transition is something that happens to almost everyone, sometimes multiple times through their working life.  In my case, I faced a major transition out of the RAF after almost 35 years, and into Deloitte where I encountered a world full of brand new and very demanding challenges.

In this episode I offer a range of tips and advice drawn heavily from my own experience.  I have had many conversations with people over the past 10 years as they make their own career transitions, and I am in absolutely no doubt that preparing yourself well is key to making the change work quickly and effectively, so that you really do set yourself up for success in the best possible way.

I hope there is something in here for you, regardless of what type of organisation or industry you are in, and if this whets your appetite for more information and help, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me directly.

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

In this final part of my Afghanistan stories, I highlight a range of the key leadership takeaways that really resonated with me at the conclusion of this hugely challenging tour.  Although I was only there for 9 months, I packed in so much and had so many diverse experiences, it felt considerably longer in the context of my overall RAF career.

The scale and scope of the role was like no other leadership challenge that I  faced before or since that time.  It was a tour of massive highs but also huge lows and I have tried to bring those to life over the previous parts in this series.  Although the experience was an obviously military one, and some of the individual features and events are unlikely (hopefully!!) to ever be replicated in the civilian world, many of the leadership lessons translate directly, and are just as relevant to anyone in any senior leadership position.  

I really hope you enjoy the episode and please don't hesitate to give me feedback as to what you think!

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

This episode is also available as a video podcast on my YouTube Channel here:

https://youtu.be/qfN8fkZujZs

My tour as Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Operations) was always incredibly busy but was also punctuated by some amazingly memorable events.  

The London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games, and working in the Government Emergency Rooms (COBRA) stand out as being particularly significant and I will cover them both separately.

In this episode I focus on two specific things: my first experience of travelling to South America (not just once but twice), and two amazing opportunities to experience the breadth of the Royal Navy's Submarine Service's capability.

Anyone can travel to South America if they have the means and the desire to make the trip, but experiencing what it is like to be underwater in a submarine is something that very few have the opportunity to do!  I hope that I capture a little bit of the magic of both experiences here and that my story gives you some insights that you might not previously have had.  

As ever, please let me have your feedback and don't forget to follow, subscribe and share widely.

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

My guest this week is Amy Lane, the Artistic Director of Copenhagen Opera Festival and a Freelance Opera & Musical Theatre Director.  Amy and I met by pure chance whilst sat next to each other on a flight from Copenhagen to London.  We had a fantastic conversation and I knew immediately that she would be a perfect guest for the podcast.

We talk extensively about opera and the great work that Amy is doing to make the art form more accessible to the general public, but of course we also cover her own leadership journey and the many things she has learned along the way.  It was a really great discussion and I very much hope you enjoy it too!

You can find Amy here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-lane-7a023b23/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amyoperagirl/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amy.lane.562

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message

Without a shadow of a doubt, losing people that work for you, and who die in the pursuit of the work you preside over, is the toughest thing for any leader to deal with.  Whilst many commanders on operations have had a great many more casualties to deal with than me, the memory of the loss of the two airmen from 3 Squadron, Royal Air Force Regiment during my time in Afghanistan will stay with me for ever.

This is an episode that I had to cover because it is such a key memory for me but I won't try to suggest that it is an easy listen or an upbeat story.  13 April 2008 was the longest and the hardest day in my RAF career and is one that I will certainly never forget.  In this episode I do my best to tell the story of how we dealt with the loss of SAC Graham Livingstone and SAC Gary Thompson both in the immediate aftermath and over the ensuing days.  

Support the show

Thank you for listening!  If you value the content I produce, please consider supporting the show financially by becoming a member at https://www.patreon.com/leading4life/ or clicking the "Support the Show" link above.

You will have the choice of becoming a Supporter, a Champion or a Patron of the show and any contribution you feel able to make will be hugely appreciated.

You can find more about me here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/

X: https://x.com/JudsonBob

Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Leading4Life