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/fbdkM56Wn6s Season 4 of Leading 4 Life "Stories" kicks off in style with an interview with Andrew Dyckhoff, the Founder and CEO of Energising Leaders. Andrew has a fascinating career and very diverse career history with a range of CEO roles and some momentous achievements behind him. As the Founder and CEO of Energising Leaders he...

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/2FxAZyM0hHQ In this final episode of Season 3, I provide a review of Leading 4 Life "Stories" across the year of 2025. It is a season that includes 15 personal story episodes, 11 thematic episodes covering a wide range of themes, and 26 amazing guest interviews. As I reviewed what we have covered this season, I was really st...

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/gu9CR1eAvyc Emma Henderson is now a highly successful motivational speaker and a published author, but this episode focuses mostly on her back story which is an amazing and very impressive one! Married to a Royal Air Force pilot soon after university, Emma also had the desire to fly, and a chance posting on exchange to New Zealand offere...

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/gOpH-qjGW8c Having a purpose in life is fundamental to your health, well being and personal happiness, and yet, when asked the question "why do you do what you do?", many people struggle to be able to actually articulate their reasons. In recent weeks a number of people have asked me exactly that question and it led me to reflect o...

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 narro...

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 ...

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 televisio...

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 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 travelled extensively and also has an incredible life outside work as an explorer, mountain leader and co-dri...

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: 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 h...

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...