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/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudsonBob

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

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/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudsonBob

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

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/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudsonBob

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

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/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudsonBob

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

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 two disciplines are often muddled and confused by many.

In this thematic episode, I aim to provide some guidance both to those looking for coaching and mentoring and to those who provide it. The thoughts are my own but heavily drawn from a plethora of conversations I have had with others over many years now.

I believe it extremely important to be aware of the difference between coaching and mentoring and, although blurring of the two can be done intentionally, there are too many that provide mentoring, but think that they are providing coaching. Both have their place and are highly beneficial to the recipients but, as with all things, clarity about what you expect from the process is very important. I hope that my thoughts will help in that respect.

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/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudsonBob

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

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's capabilities!

I haven't done a video episode of the podcast for quite a while and so I thought this would be a good opportunity to do another one, not least because I was at Deloitte University this past week and had a chance to reflect a lot on what I have done over my career. The video aspect of this episode also affords me the opportunity to show off the stunning Deloitte University campus and so I strongly recommend you watch this one on video if you can. You will find the video version on my YouTube channel here:

https://youtu.be/Eq6_qeeamQE

It is only a very short episode but I hope it also gives you the incentive to be a bit reflective on your own life for a while - I bet you will be surprised at yourself if you really stop to consider all that you have achieved, regardless of how old you are right now. I hope you enjoy the video version of this episode and, as ever, I would be delighted to hear your feedback if you have the time.

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/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudsonBob

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

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 entity that is making a real difference to young people who need additional educational support.

Onyinye is the author of "Dyslexia & Me", an excellent handbook that not only provides great tips to those affected by dyslexia, but which also tackles head on the issues of cultural and racial stigma that many with the condition face on a daily basis.

We had a great discussion about not only what she has achieved but also her views on the challenges facing the younger generation in today's world of work. As with all things in her life, Onyinye does not shy away from expressing some strong views, and this episode should be very helpful to all those who are either working with Generation Z / Generation A young people or who are from those generations themself.

I really hope you enjoy what I thought was a fascinating conversation with someone who really is on an upward trajectory towards phenomenal career success.

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/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudsonBob

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

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 did throw up some challenges and, in this short episode, I try to highlight some of those as well as emphasising the positive elements.

I also offer a few tips for anyone to think about when either visiting or being visited! I 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/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudsonBob

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