Leading 4 Life "Stories"

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 soc...

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...

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...

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 serio...

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 re...

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 ac...

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 defenc...

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 oft...

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...

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...

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...

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 A...

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message Having been mentored myself, and having mentored a great many others over the years both formally and informally, I have always been conscious of the value of mentoring.  When I received some executive coaching and subsequently added coaching qualifications to my own repertoire a few years ago, I became equally conscious that the t...

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message This episode is best viewed on video (link below).  It was filmed in an outside environment using an Apple iPhone 16 Pro and Apple AirPods Pro.  As a result the audio quality is a rather variable as the camera shots change.  Apologies for this; I'm sure this limitation is due to my amateurish skills rather than the equipment&a...

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message My guest this week is Onyinye Udokporo, a 26 year old entrepreneur who has already achieved more than many do across their lifetime.  A genuine force of nature, Onyinye started her first business, Enrich Learning, when she was just 12 years old, and has continued to build that company into a highly successful and still growing enti...

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message One of the dominant features of my time in Afghanistan was the volume of senior visits to Kandahar Airfield.   This was mostly positive aspect in that in provided a great opportunity for senior visitors to see at first hand the outstanding work that the thousands of personnel on the base were doing on a daily basis.   However, it d...

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message My guest this week is the incredibly charismatic and engaging Russell Wardrop.  Russell is the Co-Founder and CEO of the training and development company KWC Global, formally known as Kissing with Confidence, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. I am privileged to work with KWC Global as an associate and first met Russe...

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message Some events in my life this week caused me to have to be pretty flexible as I prepared to get this week's episode released, and so I thought that a thematic episode, focused on "flexibility" would be a logical output from those events. Flexibility is, without doubt in my view, one of the key traits of a good leader. ...

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message One of the most interesting aspects of my tour in Afghanistan was the opportunity to get outside the base perimeter and patrol with the Royal Air Force Regiment.   This wasn't just gratuitous on my part.  I believe passionately that leading by example is crucial as a commander and I needed to put some "skin in the game&qu...

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message My guest this week is my friend and former RAF colleague, Howard Burton.  Howard and I served together on the Jaguar Force way back in the 1980s and then our paths diverged significantly.   After a very successful career as an operational front-line pilot, Qualified Weapons Instructor, and instructor pilot on the Jaguar Conversion...

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message I continue the account of my time as Commander Kandahar Airfield in this week's episode, and I focus on the challenge that I faced with cohering a wide range of national contingents of vastly different sizes and with often very different agendas and priorities.   Given my responsibility for all the life support aspects of the...

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message As you will hear when you listen to this episode, a couple of recent events have led me to dive into the topic of optimism versus pessimism this week.  My intent is to get you to do a bit of self-reflection and consider whether you are a glass half full or a glass half empty type of person. Neither is right or wrong, but it is impo...

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message Having thought I was leaving the operational world behind me when I handed over my command of RAF Coningsby, only a little more than a year later, in January 2008 I found myself getting on an aircraft to head to Afghanistan as the incoming Commander of Kandahar Airfield, one of  (at that stage) only two strategic airfields in the c...

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message Another week and another great guest on the show.  Rory Underwood is probably best known for his amazing skill on the rugby pitch.  He represented England for 12 years, and still holds the try scoring record for an England player with 49 tries from 85 international appearances for his country.   Rory was also a highly successful Ro...

I'd love to hear from you; feel free to send me a Text Message Recording my guest for this week was one of the most fun conversations I have had in a long time.  Robert (Cujo) Teschner is a former US Air Force F15 and F22 fighter pilot, who now runs the VMax Group of leadership trainers in the US.   Cujo is a bestselling author and a prize winning speaker and when you listen to this interview...