In this episode I chat with Dave Robinson, a retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel and author of The Substance of Leadership: A Practical Framework for Effectively Leading a High-Performing Team (Per Capita Publishing, Sept. 2021).

Drawing on Dave’s decades of experience in the military, we cover effective leadership strategies, how to influence the culture, getting people on board, and leading in high-pressure situations.



Robinson is also a senior advisor to Fortune 1000 companies in mission-critical industries such as biotechnology, healthcare, transportation and logistics, energy and more. A former fighter pilot and TOPGUN instructor, David is an expert and international speaker on the subjects of organisational leadership and performance improvement.

In his final assignment in the US military, he was the commanding officer (CEO) of a $12B aviation enterprise where he managed a fleet of 250 jet aircraft and led over 2,500 personnel supporting global operations.

Robinson is the founder and CEO of Vertical Performance Enterprises, which helps executives develop high-performing organisations through effective leadership. The company empowers teams to gain a competitive advantage through proven performance improvement fundamentals. Robinson has guided teams to consistently produce winning results in some of the most complex, uncertain environments in the world.

Prior to founding Vertical Performance Enterprises in 2011, David served in several executive leadership positions in the military in the areas of strategy, operations, logistics, safety, human resources, training and more. While serving as the Director of Air Operations in Iraq, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for overseeing more than 20,000 combat missions and over 2,000 medical evacuations. As a strategy director for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, David facilitated numerous studies used to develop the Pentagon’s ten-year vision and budget for the Department of Defence.

We discuss what it means to develop a high performing culture within a team or organisation, why strong leadership is vital to organisational success, and we hear about Dave's incredibly inspiring (and hair raising) lessons from the battlefield.



Key episode highlights include...

• Leadership is people centric and management is process centric.


• Trust is the centre of gravity of a high performing culture.


• Being a leader of a high performing team requires the three C's - Character (intention), Competence (action) and Composure (emotion).


• If we are under pressure we may sense the urge to panic, but the key is to maintain that composure because it really sets the tone for how our team responds.


• Tell them what needs to happen but don't micromanage the how.


• 'Do this because I told you so' doesn't work anymore. If you can get people to understand the importance and the why behind what you're asking them to do, that's what gets them on board with the mission.


• First, get them to understand the why, the mission. Then, show them how they can be a direct contributor to that.

Check out Dave's work in the world over at Vertical Performance Enterprises, connect with him on LinkedIn and Twitter, and make sure to pick up a copy of his incredible book, The Substance of Leadership.

#leadership #business #culture #teamwork #military #navy #unitedstates #change #selfleadership #trust