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I am Bob Judson and I spent over 34 years in the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom as a fast-jet pilot and then eventually as a senior leader, retiring from the military in 2015 as an Air Vice-Marshal (2* General). I subsequently transitioned to the corporate world as a consultant at Deloitte, but in 2019 I stepped away from all that and co-founded Leading 4 Life.
I am passionate about helping to develop the leadership skills of individuals and teams and that is what this podcast is all about. You will hear from me, and from a wide range of special guests, many of whom have had incredible leadership journeys and risen to the most senior level of their governments, militaries and corporations. The focus won't only be on success; there is also much to be learned from the failures along the way!
Thank you for listening!
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judsonbob/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudsonBob
Website: https://leading4life.co.uk/
121 Episodes
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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 sep...
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/0l9PXJzJCRI This episode will be published on Remembrance Sunday (9 November 2025) in the UK and so I thought a short thematic piece on remembrance would be very appropriate. These are very much my personal thoughts and perspectives, but I hope that at least some of the content will resonate with you too. Wherever you are when you...
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/TfiK-iBRp2k Jon Geldart is the Director General of the Institute of Directors, an organisation with a main focus on improving the quality of directors, and which represents business at the most senior levels of the UK government. Prior to his IoD role, Jon had a great career in marketing and professional services. He has tr...
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/YUdCx-58zkQ Tammy Barlette has had an amazing career both in the USAF and subsequently with her work as a keynote speaker, mindset coach and trainer. Her flying background is incredibly diverse; she started out as a first assignment instructor pilot on the T37 before subsequently moving on to the A10 Thunderbolt (aka the Warthog). ...
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/MIQoHdtZQUU Lord George Robertson is a man with a justifiably extremely impressive reputation. Formerly Secretary of State for Defence in the UK, and subsequently, Secretary General of NATO, George is the only man (so far at least) to have ever invoked NATO's Article 5, the collective security guarantee, in the aftermath of the att...
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/qBZWcS8rmA8 Sally Orange is an extraordinary lady and, as you will discover in this episode, she has had to overcome a number of major challenges in her life. Those challenges continue as, at the time of recording, she is undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. I have had the privilege of interviewing a lot of inspiring p...
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/jy8hNj4vbEE I have had the privilege of knowing Lord Kim Darroch for a number of years and he has had a remarkable career in the UK Foreign Service. As he explains in this episode, he came into the diplomatic world via a very non-traditional route but he has gone on to have some of the biggest and most influential jobs and his life...
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 entreprene...
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 ...
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 podcasti...
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 su...
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 a...
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 ra...
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 ...
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 ...
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 th...
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...
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 respo...
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. O...
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 Afghani...
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