Boys and girls, welcome back to be inspiration space. Today's episode is one of those that men absolutely massive amounts me. I'll explain in a second who's with I just wanted to talk a little bit about today's sponsor. Which is four five CBD for five CBD is a CBD oil and product company that is owned by George Crews and on day two professional rugby players. I've had them on the show before this and back. The episode is really really good just for clarity. I'm not making any money off of this sponsor. I something that I generally believe has a huge could have a huge positive impact on your lives if used in the right way. I've been using it recently to really help me in my sleep. Scott has been helping me a lot with any anxiety that I've been having during my days. I only take two drops in the evening. And yeah, it's just really helped me in those two areas really has had a really positive impact on me. So if you're interested in purchasing that I definitely suggest it head over to four fives for five CDs website. I will leave the link and this promo code for 25% off in my body in my show notes. So if you go over thrown anything you want into your basket and just type in Inspiration 25, you'll get 25% off your order. Okay today guys. I had Russell Lewis military cross on the show. So Russell is actually the brother or Vanessa Morton somebody who I've come to know very well through the podcast I've run twice she is a psychologist and has had a really significant impact on My Views and thinking towards a lot of mental Mental Health Angles on Zone a variety different things Russell is most one of the most exceptional blokes I've ever had the pleasure of speaking to he was the commander in charge of the 2nd battalion in Afghanistan for six-month tour that really really changed his life and his approach to a lot of things. He had been in the Army for a very long time prior to being the commander for this Battalion and his approach to leadership more than anything. Is the reason I really wanted him on this show and it's really the theme of the episode. Let's say I literally couldn't I couldn't you could probably hear a pin drop from my side in this from my side in this interview because I was just absorbing everything he had to say his book which is one of the best that I have ever ever read. It's called company commander and honestly, I'm going to leave the link to it. You'll be able to pick up on Amazon. It's a helluva were is most Credible read and it's basically his day-to-day Diary of everything that happens within that six month from you know, having a ridiculously close encounters with militia. That was there. Just everything about it how he how he led his troops on a day-to-day basis and his passion really is that leadership doesn't matter whether he did it at the highest level where lies on the line his honest believing thing. He's most passionate about is leadership is It's variable into any environment the same leadership that we use there is transferable to any environment and I really urge you to listen through out because if this guy is positive and is attitude and everything the way he approaches day-to-day life is remarkable and I was really felt privileged enough to just speak to him for an hour. I'm definitely going to get on the show in the future. So yeah guys absorb. Listen and enjoy it's real real Corker Russell. It's been a long time coming. I've been really really looking forward to getting you on the show. We've had a lot of back and forth. I've read your fantastic book sitting next to me company Commander. Read it on holiday in Majorca fantastic read. So I just want to say thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule for coming and having a chat while leaving the time to spare me an hour, which is massively appreciated. I think the best thing for me to do right now is probably just for you to give introduce yourself give a little bit of background. On who you are and kind of how your life Journey kind of LED you into the army. Yeah, Phil. Thank you. As you say it's great to finally get together. It took awhile with Diaries. Yeah. Yeah say, my name is Russell Louis. I am former regular army officer now a reservist officer. So part-time but basically spent all of my adult life in the Army as an officer in the parachute regiment, I think background wise as I was telling this story, so when I was four, My grandparents took me to what was the role tournament which doesn't exist anymore. Unfortunately see this massive show that the Armed Forces put on in healing has caught sorry London. It was massive and each year. The service is revoked. Eighth Army Navy Air Force would lead but I remember us about probably four or five my grandparents took me and it was the wrong brains actually ironically did this did did the final attack and he's like guys abseiled down from the ceiling and they're all firing and these armored vehicles. The bevies which are Arctic vehicles came in and I remember just sitting there utterly transfixed and thought Oh my God. That's what I want to do much to my parents sort of decision a pretty much got I was and then my doll forward my secondary school, you know went to a 13 how to get that Force and and that was probably from where it launched from something that I wanted to do to an absolute Obsession so you could enjoin the cadet Force. You were 14. So year for you had to do that first year you had to do a taster of D of e and Cadet force and all this other stuff. I did Army and I was so obsessed. I used to hang outside the cadet Force, huh? Every lunch time till someone came out and said look, who are you just come in and they got headmaster's dispensation for me to join the cadet force a year early. Wow. I remember going on summer camp because I was the only one from my year with all the you know, the big Lads and being scared witness, but we Went to a place called stoneybridge, which is in Wales when we got there. The parachute regiment were there to power the second Battalion the parachute regiment and I'll start major got us together and said steer away from these guys. They are Auto Psychopaths and that was a warning and we've been out and about there's a thing called an athlete which would be this big bar cafe and a coupling I would come in there. You know. I was only 13 going in there to buy me a chocolate bar at night and I walked in and it was just this sea of maroon. So the parish Region where this maroon Berry and all the guys were in there. They're all smoking and they're all canned up in all the faces black and because they've been out doing a night shoot and they've got all their rifles on the floor and I walked in and I can see my friends at the bar, you know buying some chocolate and some trying to weave my way through all these parents to get to the bar and accidentally booted one of their rifles just kick caught my foot and this rifle spun across the floor and stood up in front of me and I was like, she could offer college and it's going to pull my head off ha ha ha Oh, sorry. Wait, let's try to make them worry about it and just and kicked the rifle back under the table. I'm still stood there because like a rabbit like chance fixes right there. You're right. It was like I'm so sorry mate, don't worry. So I got to borrow my Mesa God you suppose your parrot, you know, yes, but I was utterly obsessed. It's all I wanted to do. I decided not to go to university because that just seemed like that was just getting in the way. So I took a year out and then her past election to go to Santa. Joined the joined the army and then whilst at Sandhurst decided to join the parachute regiment approach to the parachute regiment who is always in your mind to join them. No, it wasn't because when I was 14, I read it amazing book called to powerful plans and it's about to power in the fall shorts and which is the parachute regiment has two of its things which are sort of integral to its culture and its ethos, which is Arnhem and the Falklands, which is basically always wear. are the parachute regiment Prides itself on fighting light and fast so you don't carry much kit UK lots of ammunition and you go fast and yeah, you know you attack something in going fast and the Falklands and it and on and my both examples of where seriously outnumbered they just fought and fought and fought hard and you know on and they didn't win but the way they conducted themselves was phenomenal and in the Falklands, they the way they conducted themselves phenomenon in Goose green, which is one of Press back long as they were outnumbered three to one and they just just has an ethos of you can't beat me love that. Yeah, you know, we'll are you might what there's three of you and one of me cool bring it, you know, you can't beat me and because that's its ethos it resonated with. Yeah, and but I thought well they obviously don't take mere mortals. Like I can't even approach them because I thought they wouldn't take a mere mortal like me, but when I got to sand us I approached them and they won't no, yeah Titan, it's all okay, and I went through the interview process which is you know is very serious and then was selected and then I said you didn't have to go and do the physical section once you finish Sanders which you've got through which is brutal and you and then amazingly dial forward and found myself going straight to Northern Ireland and found myself arriving at to power which was the Battalion that I loved and then meeting guys who Colour Sergeant since all majors and in my head going flat if I heard that name and then looking at my book too powerful currents and these guys were private soldiers and Lance corporals and Falklands, you know, and now they're coming salt majors and they're what's called Ellie officers late entry officers, you know lecture. I I'm I'm walking with Heroes and I'm meeting my heroes. So again, and I had a Falklands veteran in my platoon, you know a guy I've been there and I just just sort of blew me away. Yeah. So yeah. Yeah, so then ended up with a parachute regiment had 20 amazing years combination of which I'm sure we're going to talk about this in 2008 other company commander in Afghanistan for a six-month summer tour which was incredibly hard but also phenomenal, you know, it's sort of a anything you felt like I was put on this planet to do. I was awarded a military cross for leadership and gallantry on that tub, but I would always say genuinely that represents. My soldiers did it doesn't represent anything special that I did genuinely. I am not a hero. I had phenomenal soldiers and the system recognized the phenomenal things that my soldiers did by saying. Well, you must have done something to get them to do that, but I would always say no actually that it's ours not mine. I then had incredible opportunity to write a book and again that is luck and Ansem told the story around the book to some book groups. It makes people shudder because people try so hard to get books published. And what's the story? My sister won't like it so much that my sister's first husband. She's not only on number two. And number two is phenomenal. He's awesome. But my sister's first husband was a professional rugby player. He had written his biography and he mentioned me to the public. My brother-in-law's Afghanistan at the moment and they said oh we're looking for somewhere to books. Does he want to write a book? So I got an email Afghanistan saying, you know Russ this is the Publishers if you fancy writing a book, you know, they'd be interested. But what had happened was I started journaling but for five years before that, I think journaling is a phenomenal activity takes discipline and I started on Northern Ireland tour actually that I just I like this idea of writing down how a days gone on writing how you feeling or writing thoughts and/or capture. Chewing something and I realized when I went to Afghanistan that the The Experience would be so unique that would be worth capturing all of it because you think you will remember stuff and you don't so what is pretty much doing Afghanistan its therapy small T is writing a side of a for a day of the day so I could capture the detail. In fact again the quick funny story or some member I used to do this quite religiously, so and be a space in a Became bit like we talked about earlier bit of me time because allowed to leave me alone. We have this like back office and we were in this old Afghani sort of Fort is the way you describe it. But the back when I say back office, it was one of your rooms that have been all the windows are blown out and stuff, but we've made the desk and I used to sit there and I used an ink pen which sounds a bit pompous. But again, it's something lovely about using an ink pen on paper. It's very relaxing. So I realized this this did become my therapy while I was out there and My in my intelligence Sergeant you lovely guy was a liverpudlian so Scouts and I'm not really excellent by the way sure it but one of the lads my Roblox had come around to try and find me and Scout is outside and I'm right on Saturday desk and he stops this young man answers, but you know what you're doing. So I need to speak to the company Commander said what about he said? Well we've had this message said is it importantly went? Well don't think so. They said well it can wait then leave him and they're having this conversation by a broken window, but the sort of Looking like the window is intact. I can't hear them. So the private soldiers or says what was he doing? So what he's writing? So yeah, it does it. Does that every day Denise? Yes. What's he writing? He's got a posh pain. But again, I didn't I didn't want to write a book I did but I didn't that make sense and then I got back and I mulled over from there and then Journalist was on our tour and he's book came out and I thought well, he'd have told the story but our most serious incident was we lost three soldiers in one incident which was of worse than Afghanistan. We had to Awful days, but that was one of them and I thought and I remember being a book shop in London and I'm leafing through his book and he had interviewed me for two and a half hours about that one day and you know, he's journalist and he had to write a whole book about Holter. The whole Brigade very big and complex, but the loss of my Lads which was the biggest single loss of British lives in Afghanistan at that point in one incident. Unfortunately, I've been beaten or three quarters of a page and I and needs to do it. Like I genuinely looked at that and thought right if he's if he hasn't told our story and he's not going to tell our story of B company to prayer. I will and that email dead. Virgin Random House publishing and said, I don't know if you remember we could we have a chat. He said please do I came in and I had the journal and he said look don't tell what just tell me tell me a couple stories. I've cleared my diary tell me a couple of stories. So I told him three random stories that have almost become a storyboard actually have people book me too and they give me some time in our I do three stories. I do a mad day a bad day and a great day. So I do one of you know, these are Different days one of them which is utterly mad for different reasons the bad days the loss of life and then the great day was when we assaulted in an enemy command and control mode. It was phenomenal and at the end of it he just went right? Okay, great. You write it or publish it. That's the view that was once and again, I've met people of you know, sent manuscripts a hundred ninety times. Yeah clearly want to kill me when I tell my story again. I love you with it, you know just want to go through iter. What's that? It goes, right? So don't sense you do it so much that it was some of the write it for you. Just give me a journalist. I know and then yeah, then wrote the book and then it was published which I still cannot believe again. I pinched myself like you've bought it with you and I see so it's bit battered. No, no. No, I love that means it's red and I pinch myself, you know, like when I see it and yeah, and then it's interesting because when I was writing the book this is going to sound like I'm some boober Make run blindly not just ask my sister. I wrote the book and I was doing a master's the army pay for me to do a masters at the same time leadership and management. Yeah, these shamash important business school and MSC and I just found a Groove. I just loved the writing which I said if you went back in time and spoke to the sort of nine year old version of me and said your idea of heaven will be sitting down writing 2,500 words. I would not believe you. Yeah amazing. Yeah and it but then yeah they said so don't fall. I'd left the Army and then started doing my own thing and then just do a hotchpotch of things now mainly around training. So I do leadership training high performance team training doing more resilience training as well for individuals and teams lot of my own clients, but do someone's called a social worker to work for a great firm called clear track clear Track Performance lovely ex professional rugby player called marks Odom runs that it's a brilliant guy and it again I like I like Let's do some associate work with particular people like hand because you learn from others here is a bit of a danger of just doing your own thing because you can stagnate but then part of the thing is I don't want to stagnate because I think leadership is always evolving and I don't want to I do tell stories but they're from 2008 and that's quite a long time ago. I think you've got to keep topping up yourself and Topping up your experiences. So I'm Ambassador for a charity. I'm in the Army Reserves. I joined the Army Reserves. I work in santurce. Center for Army leadership, which is the Army's leadership think tank. So again that keeps me very current. They do some awesome work and they're always exploring emerging themes and Trends and I said very randomly. I'm also a board director for the National Association of commercial Finance Brokers Tom and Ned. So I do sort of day or month day every other every other month for them as well. It's amazing. Honestly, there's about a thousand things. I could have I could pick on there to talk about it. Really Able to hear yabbies is this wigs that I can hear you in? This book that I've been reading but it's like actually get it's fun. They say basically when people have met me and I give them a copy of the book. Yeah if met me and then they buy it. Yeah, they say how funny is because it because it's a first-person real-time Diaries your that was The Way It Was Written the Publishers suggested because my journal was third person reflective. So we went out we dig so I wrote it at the end of the day and that was Was the hardest part is I had to rewrite it real time. But the idea was is that your sat on my shoulder and you will come with me on this six-month tour and I will narrate to you but it also means that's why the straight line from the original copy of the book was what would you do? So because I'm telling you first person what is happening? You could almost press pause. Sure go. Okay Russell's just describe this situation. What would you do and then you can press play and keep going to go. Well, this is what I did for right or wrong. Again, people say when they met me before hand is like they say it's like you're narrating it to me your voice is now an amazing the book to be main before we get on to the main topic of leadership. I mean just talk about journaling just a little bit more. You went through some extremely challenging and difficult periods in that six month how how did writing it down? Like you said it was it was therapy, but Did it was it difficult to get it down on those specially those difficult days. Was it challenging to write it down or was it more like a release just to get it down on paper? Yeah. I know that that's a really good question actually because At the time it was really good release just to get it down on paper now fortunately for me. I was so busy. I didn't have a huge amount of time to myself which was not a bad thing. Secondly why I realized in Afghanistan the penny dropped was and this can sound quite dramatic, but particularly hell are all four day. What it said to me is do you know what when you lead it is all about them. It is not about you. Everyone needs something from you right now and your job is to deliver it and so do not worry about yourself. Now again, probably finesse was listening she would correctly argue that's going to be damaging but I thought I have a responsibility. I am an officer in the British army. I'm not suing the parachute regiment. All of my soldiers need me to do something for them right now. So do it and park your emotions, you will come back to yourself later on but is not about you. Okay is about them and I believe in that Sandhurst motto, which is not very nice. English is served to lead but it means the reason why you are serving is to lead others and that is utterly writing problem. You know, I could be dramatic and her British army officer. So no for leaders, you know, you should lead there is a responsibility to go that goes with that. So the book that has three the journal was a release, but when I came to write the book that probably became therapy much bigger T. And oh my God, I hit points where I could write five thousand words a day, you know when I was in the groove, And it took me less than six months to write the book because obviously had the journal and I could do a week in a day, but it took me five days to write the one day when we had the suicide bombing incident and because I was so conscious of who would be reading it firstly people would read it. But secondly, there's a strong chance that the parents of the three that died would read it and therefore I had to get it perfect, but it also meant I had to relive that day every day for five days solid. I thought I'm going to do this. I'm going to get this done but I was challenging. I mean, this is probably a good point to kind of read the little extract that I wanted to pull out my first got here. I was thinking about in the car on the way over and you kind of touched on it there about leadership and it's it is all on the day of that incident. It is at this instant. I truly understand leadership. It is all about those that you command at that single moment. They will need you more than you need yourself your feelings your emotions. Your thoughts are utterly irrelevant. It is there's there are important and I just I mean you told when we first go at you like you get annoyed when people say oh, yeah, but in the Army is slightly different, but I mean I kind of I mean I manage a small team but that's honestly something that I really try and do now after reading that but I did try and do it before but I really I'm at I sort of a lived to sort of manage them and their feelings are really they're so important to me and the business and I like I've kind of learned that from almost that chapter obviously, obviously the very different circumstances, but I kind of Moving forward that's the way I kind of view what leadership is now because of that. So I mean I think muscle first question around leadership with you know, did you always have these leadership qualities or more? Was it something you grew and you learn as you went along. I mean this one of the things about this podcast is about a growth mindset. I mean, yes about constantly having that flexibility of and I learned this from Vanessa. Yeah that's ability of action and thought and I mean, that's a massive question. Did you did you always have these leadership qualities? That is again. I think that's that's the question. So I'm I've just written a it's not a book. It's probably more of a pamphlet for Durham University. I did a lot of work with Durham University now with the students training student executive, which is brilliant. I really I really like what I call Bright Young things, you know hungry young people who want to learn about leadership, but that that, you know, the ongoing question is always are leaders born or bred discuss. It's like I sort of Sandhurst essay question. Sure. I believe the answer is yes. What we teach is for both. Okay, because I think that some people are born with every just some people are born great leaders. They will just have all the skill set that is requires that enables them to and again I suppose I'm very soundbite Rich. I'm very quite Rich. What do I think leadership is is probably a good starting point. Now I think leadership is about being the person that your people need you to be when they need you to be it because I think of all the great people I've worked for and I work for some phenomenal people in the Army and I've seen some phenomenal people since I've left is when you watch them they had the they have phenomenal emotional intelligence the and again my definition of most intelligence for what it's worth is understanding the impact you have on others. It's a great leaders understand what's going on with their team right now understand the team and the individuals needs and provide it. So, what do you need me to? Because some some teams need you to be put their arm around them and and give them nice words and something just need a fucking ghetto kick and a shovel whatever but great leaders get that spot on and the converse is true. So some of the bad leaders of work for and yeah, unfortunately we learn a lot from Bad leaders and the Army is no different to any other organization. It has phenomenal leaders. It has not so good leaders. They got it wrong. So when the team needed a hug it gave taboo and when the team needed Boot It gave it a waffle a speech and so, you know, I I really got that so some people have it but I think leadership is a skill set and like in any skill set. It can be learnt and it can be bettered through practice. And so, you know again, if you sort of thought I'm not a great leader don't worry create the opportunities to learn and improve your skill set. It's a skill set. It's like a muscle memory. You know, I know what you It's a muscle that can be improved. It's what do questions actually do. I think I had it. I don't know if I'm probably not but I think like everything things come together. Don't they? I mean, I remember when I went to Afghanistan I felt so phenomenally prepared for it. You know, the Army prepares you brilliant. I mean again, what way does it accelerate it that that's what well again what I find amazing. I you know, I work with all sorts of organizations now big and small. All particular when you work with a big organization you chat to the chief exec wherever they go. I love the day you're going to be delivering Russ. I love the look of it. You know for whoever team I'm delivering it for ya. I'd love I'd love to have had something like this when I started and I say to me, oh, you know what how much leadership training. Have you had through your career tone? Um, yeah versus the army, which is Santos is a year. That's a whole year and what is it is training you to be a leader and and through your career. You'll do other courses. You'll be expect you'll be put in positions where your leadership is challenge. So I it's almost the other way, you know it trains you all the time to improve your leadership. Well, and I find it amazing with how many organizations do not train their leaders because then it's almost like chance or luck that you're going to have a great leader in the organization unless that individual is going out of their way to develop themselves. So I think I probably had some Sparks if that makes sense, but I think the Army probably know Richard them and develop them. And as I said, I felt phenomenally well prepared when I went to Afghanistan and I think we as a company will well prepared and I think that probably bore out when we were there actually that you know, the latter I mean the lads were phenomenal. I love that appreciation you show in the book for you take consistent me like how much pride you had and I'll sort of how much appreciation you had for your troops. I mean, I think the first Bit the book is your home your you talk about your hero being that guy the front of that's probably my favorite bet ya see. I was last year. I was asked to do a speech before lunch. Like I read that as the extract and again, you probably liked this story. So where did where did that become family came from? You know the realization as I said, I used to watch the point man walk out. And as I said that the Maya wrote to the point man just for everyone is the guy that leaves he's a very tip of the spear right and I we'd you know, their normal day in Afghanistan will be getting Up at 3 or 4 in the morning because it's cool, you know and in the summer, I mean it's Afghanistan is a mind-bending place. But in the peak of the summer is hitting 50 degrees Centigrade at midday and that is and we carry 80 pounds of Kit your body armor, which is it's not a bulletproof vest but that is the equivalent sure and helmet. So You Can't Sweat, you know, you're not in shorts and t-shirt your boots full clothing body armor helmet and then kit 80 pounds of kickoff you walking around. In 45 degree heat, it's been five months so hard so we used to get up early to go out on night vision goggles to get somewhere while it's cool and then do what we needed to do but as that played out, I remember watching so many times is the sequence was almost identical that we'd all be set and I'd be sapping my group I have what's called a Detachment. I have a group. I have do the mention now Mark Barker lance corporal Barker box was my radio operators. He always comes with me and he An unofficial role of bodyguard as well and he's just the most phenomenal guy. So loyal to me and you know, just so loyal it's called Mad Dog and you don't get the nickname Mad Dog in the parachute regiment for no reason but like most Mad Dogs, he's phenomenal oil and you know, I love that man in the in the sort of sort of Band of Brothers sense. He was so loyal to me, but he would always be with me and that you know, I got comfort from always having him with me and I could always talk to him as well. He's very very low so he I could always talk to him, but I used to just watch this scene unfold as everyone checked in because you could look through your night vision goggle and see everything going on everyone would check in and basically we're all good to go. And then I'd say to my Ops room. We're good to go. And I'd say right, you know to the front call sign. Let's go over the radio and I click my goggle out the way and you just watch it unfold you said you'd see that the glow of the cigarettes and as we smoking and you'd see there. The bright glow, you know the last token and then it's stamped out and then you'd see them having to pull each other up because we've got so much kit on and then I'd click the goal down rather watch and I just see this young private Soldier, you know, as I set the front in the book. I don't know who he is because I can't see that far and I Regional or but you know, he's probably a 19-year old lad, you know, he's joined the army and he's joined the army because he wants to be part of the best and he's joined the parachute regiment could he wants to be part of the best but I never saw a backward glance, you know, he would just show Can just walk straight out into this like this Abyss this darkness. And as I say in the book, you know, he has no idea what's in front of him. He knows what's behind him is 65 armed to the teeth paratroopers, you know, as I said that that mentality you can't beat me and you certainly can't beat us with all the Firepower we've got, you know, you can't on the battlefield, you know, the amount of Firepower that they can deliver their I could call in which we means it's very very unlikely that we will be tactically beaten. But that's not to say that that young lad doesn't know that all that is in front of him is the unknown and he is statistically the most likely to bump bump into the enemy and just get on with it. Yeah, and and you know and therefore probably most at risk because you know Afghanistan it's the time from get all the guns into action. But that means that the front end of it that initial minute is just slightly a good old-fashioned gunfight. Yeah, you know, it's guys with rifles. Again it out until me the company Commander can start calling in artillery and mortars because once the big guns start coming in swings back in my favor core, but that nishal point. Yeah that that initial point is he's getting all bets are off. Yeah. Yeah because the enemy is going to initiate they'll see you coming. They can see you come into he's going to initiate on his terms. He's going to start firing at you. So he's swinging in his favor and it will swing back in our favor as soon as I can get the big guns in but for that initial 30 seconds to a minute. Minute it is just young parachute regiment soldiers flipping slugging it out with someone and that's why I was always so much in all of them, you know, because they'd come in that sort themselves out and then to go again tomorrow and again tomorrow, maybe I mean no, I mean the number one thing I really took from from this book and regards to leadership. And what made my mind Boggle was the ability that you kind of had to respond react pressure and and setbacks quickly, you know, like, you know, You get information very fast in the most abrupt kind of way and you have to react and you talk we spoke a little bit before we started recording about you know, how you're deeply passionate about how yeah, that's an extreme sense of leadership, but it's very transferable into every living environment. I mean, but I mean and I'm that fascinates me and I really want to talk about that but I mean talk us through those moments in the book and throughout your career where You've had to react and what the kind of processes that go through your mind in those moments of complete and utter chaos. I mean realistically that's the best way to describe my yeah utter. Yeah, if you say so the neck and the next sound bite is your leadership is never tested on a good day. Yeah, it's tested on a bag. I've got that thing. Yeah, I believe that on a good day when everything is going. Well, you almost don't know what you're doing. I said I can I can pitch a couple days in. Where it was like conducting an orchestra where everything is so perfectly harmonized. It's almost again. I know I'm and Middleton, you know their special forces. Yeah, he goes on about this quite a lot. I haven't read any of this stuff yet, but probably going to about Peak flow and I get that that you know when you're in zone and you'll probably know this from me all your expenses background when you're in zone with training or performing there's a fluidity to it that you almost. Are you running fast in your conscious? It's sort of like you can see a point to of a second into the future. It's just amazing. But on the word on a bad day, you know, everything is clunky isn't it? You know, nothing works and everything is feels like it's conspiring against you. So I think you know, that's that's the big thing is that you have to realize that it's going to be on the bad day that you're going to be tested and therefore that's what you need to think about and that's where you'll get your Just learning experiences from but for me on that worst day, you know what happened was and I'm you know, I don't I won't describe the incident in detail, but effectively we'd been out for quite a long time and the guys would run out of water back to that heat piece. And so I cut the patrol short and said to the front callsign as we refer to them and just make the most direct route back to the operating base the father's it was known forward operating base. So they took the most direct route that involved cutting through a battered old vintage. I'm going down an Alleyway as as they did this they were going through what would be called a vulnerable point a local stepped out started coming towards them. One of the lads at front was a pashtun speaker. So the commander called the Bailey directed two of The Lads to go over which is a gambling with Murray to protect him to speak to the And as he got close cuff, but Kathy Cuthbertson was a bit further back gpmg gunshots machine gunner and the guy had a suicide vest on and detonated himself and killed those three Lads and I was about a hundred meters away. But in a hundred meters is a long way in Afghanistan. So but then had to come forward as you say the characters you say is a great we're just going because I came forward to this scene of utter Carnage just calm Which which I'm not going to describe. But I remember again, I do think one of the best war films I've ever seen now that I've been in battle is Saving Private Ryan that opening scene on the beach where he loses his hearing and people are talking to him and time starts to get distorted which are quite common actually for combat situations you get different distortions, but that's not combat. That will be high pressure situations and I got exactly that I came forward and the tune come on is trying to tell me something and people trying to tell me something I'm I want to take all this scene in there's so much going on and I could fill my brain slowing down like a fill time slowing down. Like I'm Sunny hitting treacle and I could hear my hearing closing down Pete. I could look at people like see no mouths moving they're not but I couldn't hear and I like and end sense this what would be overwhelming panic down in the pit of my stomach starting to rise up my chest and as it got to probably diaphragm level this archetypal generic color Sergeant. So it sounded you're trained by color sergeants and who are phenomenal they are the best in the British army, the color soldiers of the get selected their selection to end up at Sanders is phenomenal and it means that the guys that end up there either. Best in the British Army in fact slight Rabbit Hole in Sanders the other day and I bumped into one of the guys is mentioned in the book join John McAvoy who's one of the Lance corporals in the book. I have not seen him for years. I mean cam I'm here sir. It's Russell says he is now just been selected to be a color Sergeant. Wow, and I could not be more proud. It's like there's like a proud dad. You know, I wanted to hug him was a oh my word and one of the tunes sergeants who's in the book waiting sites is the regimental salt major there. So when you see Your guys last same phenomenon combat, and now it's Anders. It makes me so proud but this archetypal color sergeant boomed in my head like on the playground if ever there was a time to do your job properly it is right now now get in a fight. Those were the exact words in my head and it was like someone slap me I just had instant Clarity while it was like I described as Flatline, you know, hey, it's gonna split your utter Clarity is like Everything was removed and I just let you know right stop. Boom. What's that? Where is that where security and just started directing what was going on? And I looked at the situation and thought right? What do I do? I can see the lads being treated by the medics. So I can't do anything there salt major was a qualified paramedic. So he was treating when the casualties and I just felt right. How do I develop this situation? So I pulled back slightly Wayne psych Sergeant Sykes came over and helped me and we have to send casualty reports and stuff like that, but I just pulled myself back so I could see all of the scene and book kept myself out of it and then just started slowly working through the situation. The other thing was I remember thinking when you reach what's with the Press will box. That's your radio. We have what we had what's called an all inform Network, which means everyone with a radio is on the same frequency. I remember going for the pretzel box and formate stop. And again, this comes from a story way back I was The acting company Commander into Power few years before I was actual company commander and we're up doing some live firing. The commanding officer is a very cool guy called Jamie t as well, and we walked all the way through the night to get to the range and then we were waiting and he arrived and he mumbled over and he just he's such a cool guy. He just one more day over and he flopped down the side me went right? That's fine. Yes. Yeah. It's a good night. You know, he had to walk through the night cause I Yeah, I've been walking all night to get here. Yeah got plan on settling. Yeah, could I can I give you some advice and this was a guy you listen to because he had done some really quite gnarly stuff which you know comedy talk about but he'd done some quite naughty stuff on me. So this is a guy you're gonna listen to he'd been in battle. I said, yeah. He said always be cool on did it and you did it in a really sort of passing on did it? You've lost me on the net said when you speak on the radio, everyone's going to hear and they're going to hear the words, but they're going to hear how you're saying it. Mmm and the inflection. So before you press the press or box. Make sure you're clear on the net I went. Okay, don't for to Afghanistan were when my leadership is being tested to breaking point. I go for the pretzel box and I hear Jaime doing Jamaican accent. Cool London it I thought maybe everyone's going to hear what you say. So be cool because yeah, I can't go on a reading. Oh my God, we got three casualties on the freeway. I like 0, this is 0 Alpha, you know got to be cool. Got to be cool. And then we had some challenges. We couldn't we couldn't we couldn't bring the helicopter to the lads because the enemy were aware of what had happened I had to call for my quick reaction force was in vehicles. And again, I would love to mention this which is to get the vehicles out of operating base takes 30 minutes because they have to probe for mines. The enemy will put mines in the surrounding area and start major Mitchell Mitch was commanding the qrf and he'd been listening and he said we're on our way. I said no. No, I'm I need you to get. As quickly as possible, but safely when yeah Roger I said, do you understand what I'm saying? Yeah, Roger drove up to minutes later. Unbelievable. I mean I did I did I did if you don't say this, but I wrote him up for gallantry award for that which unfortunately he did not get but he should have done which is and all the lads great the like right Lads we can spend 30 minutes and they're like no, let's go I believe you know, and that's the Loyalty back to the Lord here the red, you know, we're coming and they rocked up they took the guys out to the desert. Hello. Stop to pick them up, you know, but unfortunately it was it was too late. But I remember getting back in and once we checked all the lads in 7rh a who's the on the artillery they welcomed us back in over phenomenal looking after us. They gave a quick speech and then afterwards when and then barks couple Barker with with me, I took my helmet off and I was broken one that point, you know, I just you know, and I started to walk back up and he's just behind me and easy. These are tough guys still is Much bigger than me and just to slap them aggressive muscle and I said, so do you mind if I say something I said? No, you should have worked it out as a walking in. I've been company commanders radio operator for 14 different company commanders. I went. All right. He said I don't think I've ever seen anyone as cool as you were out there. Well, I hope you don't mind me saying and I nearly burst into tears and I just held it together and I said I cannot tell you how much that means to me. Thank you, and he said No, honestly, so I don't know how you did that and I thought well, thank you that generic color Sergeant who slapped me mentally to get me into zone for what I needed to be. But again, that was the Epiphany about everyone needs you mate. You're here to make decisions and take the decisions and improve the situation leadership as they are more important than you, you know, you can't feel sorry for yourself will be overwhelmed by Panic or fear because they need you to do something so start doing it and that's it. You say true that is very transferable into whatever content sharing and a lot. I mean I've been in teams where the Management's only I've not certainly not understood that well as I said to you earlier, my big thing is people were always polite they listen to you. And as we said in and say I'll rush, you know, that's great military leadership or are be slightly different because in my line of work people, you know, don't get killed and you know, as I said earlier, which is first remember, this was my day job. Job, it is what I expect all of my adult life training for therefore. Unfortunately how awful the situation was it was not unexpected. I gave a speech in the Cookhouse before he went to Afghanistan in Colchester. And I said to all of my Lads I said there I think this is going to give us the greatest soldier in Days of our careers, but there's also a very strong chance it will give us our worst days and I was right so, you know, it was not Unexpected if that makes sense. Statistically we were going to get hurt at some point. And therefore I believe great leadership is great leadership Is Not Great military leadership or great sport leadership or great political leadership. You just remove that from word because what I've realized is that the skills that I believe the top three things. I think great leader does or whatever. Well, they'd be great business or that be great sport or the be great and small team management or in tackle, you know, whatever. I'm good leadership is good leadership and bad leader should be bad leadership. No and of yeah, that's that. I mean something when I hear you speak about it and the book is well, it's it's almost like you always got to expect those. I think you actually have said that you got to expect bad things to almost happened to be ready for it. Yeah, and some of you talked about in the book is visualization techniques and stuff like that. You did them prior to going out as well as yeah on on that six month to talk. Yeah. Yeah. Did you talk to us? Yeah. Well, they called program. It's a little It fits in fashion or a professional you get bored with all these things. It's interesting because you know, you've got CBT and there's probably a current one but they they were all nuanced but neuro-linguistic programming is an awful thing, but it title but it does what it says on the tin which is the language of your brain that internal monologue that you use to run your brain and I had I'd read a lot of books on your own linguistic programming but a lot of it is about visualization State Management. There's there is some weird bits to NLP and I'd say to anyone who's interested NLP for dummies is the the best book of a lot. If you're reading something you go God this seems a bit weird move on to the next because there are a couple of wacky things but there's a couple of our I just think of really good things. So it's um, it's your state management and it's basically visualizing when you felt that you're at the top of your game and then really trying to relive that and then anchoring it so giving yourself A physical cue or auditory cue it might be a word it might be, you know, you're pinched your thumb or something, but you can you can anchor that state so that you can then perform at that level again. And again, it's what you know professional sports people would do, you know, I always I mean or of professional sports people because I was working with a lovely guy called Dan hit kiss. He's acting them rugby. Yeah Lester. Yeah. Yeah. Oh my God Center and so humble, you know, I mean, he's just one of those wonderfully humble papers. Basically says he no. No, I'm rubbish at rugby and get weak. You can't be make your play for England and Lester. That's why I don't know how you don't know how you do it. You know, I've been to Twickenham and I don't know how you go down there and have all those people expectantly. What's you but that would because you can state-managed, you know, you can mentally get into Zone but I realize again quite a way out before Afghanistan that back to that point. I would be under pressure as the company Commander the Asians are going to rest with me and if it goes wrong, how do you want to perform and you know what I say to people there's a great quote in there that you will not saw to your expectations. You will default to your training so we can all go, you know on a really bad day. I'd love to be able to perform at this level. The reality is you're going to perform at the level that you train yourself to perform at. So I actively practice this idea of State Management this idea of Being in the zone that Peak flow. I like that, you know of being calm being called on the all these things would need to happen when every single and again the way I describe it is imagine that you know, every single set of eyes looking at you again quite early on in my career. I learned this I was really lucky I had this amazing experience as a second Lieutenant of we were out in Scotland doing this exercise and we've gone up in the hills. It's navigation exercise and the weather really badly came in I had a lance. Poor guy called Lenny double who's really impressive guy and two private soldiers and I'm only a second Lieutenant. I want to impress them and we're up in the hills in the messes come in and offices of famous for that map Reading and find the checkpoint and I can't find the checkpoint. So I get me to go out there to can't find the checkpoint, you know inside. I'm crying. I'm not like an idiot already. So silly we're going to push on to the next checkpoint and we push on and we can't find that checkpoint at all. My God, what happened was the checkpoints were man, but The weather was so bad. The guys had to pull off the Hills, right? So they've been withdrawn and I got again we can find this next checkpoint. So I thought why we're gonna have to get somewhere safe because where there's that back you won't drop down into a valley and put shelter up in the woods and I got I got the guys in so the lance corporal the to private soldiers survived guys. I don't know why we can't find the checkpoint and I think what we should be do is drop down and we'll put shelter up near him. But Lenny double dots called just lent them to me when I sir you're the boss would you want us to do? And I thought yeah, I've really learned that point as in the decisions of yours to make right now. So make them and that's one of my key things. What is what our leaders do make decisions? Yeah, and if you're not prepared to make the decision get out the way and let someone make the decision your decision might be I'm not making the decision you're better place to make the decision. That's my decision trusting. But if you're not prepared to make a decision because really what the leaders do is that's their primary role and function. I think is to make decisions of sin. If you're not prepared to get out the way because you're in the way. Yeah, amazing. Yeah amazing amazing when you go into organizations. How do you you do torso you do any actually work with with organizations and turns like workshops and stuff like that. So what kind of area is do you addressed it? Do they speak at you and tell them the structure or do you get a little bit of background on the structure beforehand and once upon learning that what are your kind of areas that you look at to kind of get stuck into an improve? Yeah. What I really like to do is do fact-finding beforehand point. So talk to different. Levels talk to him, you know managers leaders talked to staff talk to whatever to try and get a feel for what the problem is. All the problems are what you're doing really well what you're not doing so well and then design accordingly but a pretty going to give this away now now want to book me on for this and your work, they'll be no point but never this point Cause I'm glad I've got more what I started doing. I was I did this I did this last year and I thought I'm going to take a risk. I'm going to Do what's called Mystic Ross. So when I get a group of a team in or grouper, so I'm going to write something on this Post-It note and I'm going to I said, I'm going to write what your team organization whatever it is biggest problem is on this piece of paper and I'll write it and I fold it and I'll give it to someone, you know, give it a break sir. I put any wallet. We're going to get that the in the dope take to a lady put that in your purse. I've written one word, which is what your biggest problem in your team right now is and I've not been wrong yet. I've not gone that full sort of like a Time will say if I've got it wrong. You don't have to pay me big risk, but at the end here at the end of the day would have got to the point of saying your biggest challenge your biggest problem. The biggest thing that is slowing your performance down. The moment is communication and also might get that Post-It note out on the get it out. And it that's what I write is communication. That is the biggest thing that I've seen in all my poison seven years since I left regular service of every firm. Of work with I've worked with some I said big firms oil and gas during University. I'm doing more work with the NHS which is awesome work at the moment, you know down to little too, you know, just individual like coaching for a leader. It's all around the team's communication or the leaders communication again, if I'm going to make good decisions, that's my first one then have got to communicate them. Well, and the big thing with communication is communication effectiveness of communication is Is it by the receiver not the deliverer? Are you I could give you a great speech now boom drop the mic wolkoff really happy happy with myself. And you separate go. I'm utterly baffled. What do you Russell just say, well my communication was just rubbish. Yeah, but unfortunately a lot of people measure their own communication God, like I said a really clear email everyone's got it again a really good examples working quite a big firm. This was last year and they had made a very big announcement. Not quite a controversial announcement via email and it was an utter car crash because they sent the email to line managers to then Cascade. So some line managers has read this thing on this is so serious. I'm going to brief my team. So I'm now going to get my team together other line managers are just emailed it to everyone on but some people are on leave so they've missed it and see you've got this whole hotchpotch which causes massive Ripple but the start pointing somewhere going no. No, I sent them really Email and they were really happy with their communication but it caused an effect within your organization that probably took six months and then unravel and it was just as if they too followed it up. Yeah detail and and again what I'm always amazed at the mill again sort of pension the military do this to death, which is we compound which is contingency plan. So what so what so what right we're going out tonight how we getting back helicopters. So what was the helicopters? Don't fly what we need Vehicles. Okay. So what right we're gonna have to prove. Deploy the vehicles here. So what we have one of the vehicles breaks down right? We're gonna need a recovery track, you know, we continue plan everything. What I'm amazed at is a lot of people and leaders and 10th don't contingency plan. So that would be a good example of that email of so on, you know, they're just your type you Mungo by mapping with that press enter go right. So what what if what if someone manages don't send it on the something? What if someone's on holiday in there miss it but you know the what is this again military call this second and third order effects. Like when I pull a lever here to send you down the trap door what other truck doors open what other problems do I create further down the line by doing an action now and again, you just see a lot of people don't think things through to the what if what if what if but yeah, he's communication is the one of the biggest things I see and that's what I base from. A lot of my training around is is helping people communicate more effectively because you possess that's that Could I develop my leadership skills? Yeah, because you can develop your decision-making ability. There are different ways that you can learn to make decisions. But ultimately the best way to learn decision-making is start make decisions. Yeah, could I improve my communication skills? Absolutely. Everyone can improve their communication skills. So they that's why I mean by you can you can improve your skill set and your son? Yeah you talk. I mean we such a little bit little bit on it before we started recording and obviously massive part of the book. As well is and I felt the emotion of you through your through your writing and 11.2 makes there is the best way to sell a plant your troops is through your voice here and your personality. Yeah, and just I mean what I like to do most in this podcast with everyone speak to his kind of touch on my personal experience, I think is very transferable to people listening. Yeah. So I mean like I've newly into a management position and I really do lead with sort of personality and voice and passion because I'm very passionate passionate guy, but I think I've tended to Be too emotional at point to the point where I'm so I'm just drained and I can't actually it's not sustainable in the way. I knew you talk a little bit, which I really want to speak about is about your time when she when you left the tour. Mmm and you you just you said to me previously that you you kind of once you removed yourself from that environment. You just kind of hit that energy low. Yeah. Could you talk a little bit about that? I mean, I find that really interesting just on a personal. Yeah. I said it links with a point during the tour. My I made the conscious decision that this was not about me. This is about my soldiers and I will deal with myself when I get back I said which is I think was utterly the correct decision, but does have a knock-on effect. And as you said same as yourself, I still am, you know, I deliver workshops and my as I said to my wife knows if one of my workshops has gone well because I literally can't speak I get home. I'll be like a zombie because I live invested my heart and soul into it. You know what? I love about not being the Army anymore not that the armies that serious but it has a way of working and I like to deliver fun workshops. I want people to enjoy themselves and want people to learn but I want them to enjoy themselves. So, you know, it's quite high energy from myself and it's draining but you know, I'll come home and I'll have a glass of wine and I'll chill out and then I'm all right, but you know for six months solid seven days a week 24 hours a day. I mean this was the point about being a company Commander is 7 days a week 24 hours a day. You're on call. You know and I've got woken up in the middle of the night to beat old stuff. I got you know shaking it half five in the morning to be told that you know, we had an incident with the Afghan National Army shot one of my soldiers while I was in bed and just you can make it up, you know what I mean? And and by the end of tour I feelings angst and then I suppose actually it started with Once once I left the base. So you hand over command and people go back and dribs and drabs and we went to Bastian and then we went to Kandahar. And then you fly to Cyprus for what's called decompression, which is a really good thing, but I probably I probably came over really badly to my soldiers because when we got to Cyprus, I was sort of you're not in control anymore the RAF are moving you home and you have to go with that and I got to Cyprus and there's loads of fun activities as you know, you going to see them swimming and you can get kayaking and it's lovely dinner at night and the bars open. There's entertainments really really good, but I didn't want any of it. I just wanted to build my own. And again my top my soldiers probably saw this of like being antisocial in a way, which wasn't it at all. You know, I didn't not want to be with them. I just realized that I was sort of empty as I said to you earlier. I got home and I because I do run on passion and energy and enthusiasm when I got home and my foot was off the gas. And I suddenly sort of looked at myself in with me. I thought oh my God, I meant to I just and I've always been able to recharge the battery and I thought okay now don't panic, you know, it will recharge like a little sort of battery symbol but it didn't and it didn't recharge for months and I started to get really scared because I realize so much in my life. I've run on passing the energy but that that probably is my medium and I remember points thinking what if it doesn't come back because I was like this sort of empty shell I was scared that the This hollow bit in the middle would not refill. And what would I be like for the rest of my life without this and there's a fortunately over time sort of nine months to a year. I could feel it start to trickle charge. But you know and you know through Love of My Wife and Vanessa was brilliant at what she does as well. Vanessa was also the birth of my daughter. My daughter is my life, but it started but it took a long time. Time to recharge that battery and it scared the hell out of me. It really did because I just I felt like I was a different person that part of me is gone and I would say to people if they're experiencing that you know, because I said that's that's not a unique to the military are Russell. That's your no. That's that's the net effect of going through really challenging times and using have and having your emotion and energy burn off, but it will come back and And it sounds so how well did you know here we go. I'm about to do the yin and yang of a parachute regiment officer by being really kind to yourself just by being kind to yourself and not beating yourself up and and dinner and celebrating the small successes and I'm just appreciating the beauty of life. You know, I'm really into nature for I love trees and I think you know trees heal me going in the woods heels. Me taking Rufus for a walk in the woods, but accepting that that that is a lovely thing and that's making me feel better as opposed to don't don't don't be soft to make this just take an indoor for walking. But again what I've realized particularly for alpha males and I use that phrase alpha male to also refer to Alpha females as well if she likes and you know people who drive themselves hard and set high standards, which is great hold yourself to account. Push yourself always trying to better yourself, but also be kind to yourself. Yeah and also, Realized realizing that you're damaging yourself not helping yourself. I realized that there's a great book by Anthony Robbins called notes notes to a friend. I think is interesting here. He's really good on one of these stories in it is about I going to play golf with his son and his son is playing really badly and he keeps breaking himself. And in the end is Deadpool. Simone says if your best friend was here now, that's why it's notes to her friend. What would he say to you about how you play see what you probably gently take the Mick and then what we do you say though? He said we probably give me some polite advice and that's it's a goody-goody speech yourself the way you're speaking. What do you call you the words you're coming. So now it will don't call yourself that there and I realized that my inner monologue was being destructive. My inner monologue was false. It was saying the wrong things, you know, and instead of saying you're just being weak, mate. a grip you need to say things like you under so much pressure for six months. Just don't worry about it. Don't be yourself Doug. Don't worry bill, right and go for a walk or go for a swim. I'm a big fan of physical training and that's obviously parachute regiment thing. You know, if your mind your mind if your mind suffering do something with your body mmm again Anthony Robbins again, he's got a he has a nice bath if you know, I just know that I'd like this thing in the morning or any time, you know, if he's feeling certain ways you just He's I mean, you've got that much money. He's got his own dear. Gel. So but he likes both love a nice of her fit willing to jump in the pond. But yeah, I think I think you know what and this is where Vanessa has to go but just because she does but it's be kind to yourself because I said we get honestly getting this destructive track. Do you know where things aren't going the way we hoped or then the Devil Woman which is what I think the devil is, you know, that is that little in among of it starts beating you up as opposed to saying be kind to yourself and you want to just go in the woods and read a book. Well, yeah go in the book go in the woods and read a book for an hour or whatever. Whatever your Escape mechanism is. I think everyone probably does know what their escape mechanism is. They might shy away from it. Well, just don't worry just don't. Yeah. I don't stereotype yourself. Amazing. I honestly there's this is so like so many pockets of Beauty in in this episode and there's two questions. I'll always finish up with firstly such a little bit before and if people want to reach out to you Wow, it's Newton's my my big medium. So, it's Russ Louis. I think it's Russ Russ Louis M. CMS. See it's got the little letters after it linked to him. I'm on Facebook as well. But I do think Facebook is your friends thing. Isn't it? LinkedIn is your business thing as I was joking with you? I don't have a website. Vanessa would tell me off if she was here right now. I don't have a website because I haven't needed a website where we go back to my ATM analogy. If you want to find me you'll find me. Yeah, a lot of what I do is word-of-mouth actually as I said, But if someone wanted to reach out LinkedIn would be the way to find them fantastic and lastly and I think this is a pretty driven towards. Well really the theme of this is all about leadership if you had movie probably touched on it already, but if you had one sort of life lesson that you've learned from all the things you've done. In regard to leadership, you know, what would that one piece of what life lesson you'd pass on to somebody going into a role of management or leadership? Yeah. There's probably probably touch them here. But I mean one thing really stand out. This is probably be in the question. I should have passed over T2. Well, it's a great question because I have thought about if I could go back in time. Hmm. What advice would I give the 15 year old version of me the 20 year old version that made the Drill Vision either 30 whatever and you know, I think it would be is don't worry mate. You'll be fine. And then that I don't know if that was a good answer or not. But it's nice to hear me. Yeah, someone's like, oh, you know, let's just say yourself. No, my you know gonna get another gem that's phenomenal and there's all the pressures that were going to go with that. I hope it doesn't sound flippant. My advice would be I'll make that way better right and that's not to say they won't be challenging times, but you will move through them to quote Winston. Churches Winston Churchill who is my hero? You know when you find yourself in Hell keep going which is brilliant isn't it? Which is there will be challenges and there will be days where you just want to pull the duvet over your head and think I wish I hadn't but the reality is it will be all right, you know, don't worry me it will be. Alright, you'll be fine. So thank ya rasul. Thank you so much. I was almost like a one-on-one leadership. Taoiseach know in a way here to the invoice has probably come through it. I could I love talking about this. You know, I I love this subject and I love talking about it. I love learning about it. I've Loved this. Thank you for your time. Really? Thank you. It's been fantastic. Really? Appreciate it. Thank you.
Major Russell Lewis MC is one of the most incredible men I've ever had the pleasure to speak to. Throughout his Army career he spent 20 years as an Officer in the Parachute Regiment and served in a variety of challenging theatres including Northern Ireland, Kosovo and Iraq. In 2009 he was awarded a Military Cross for leadership and gallantry in Afghanistan. His accounts of this 6 month tour in Afghanistan, where he was the Company Commander, were published in his book 'Company Commander'. A phenomenal read. Russell currently delivers leadership and coaching training to multi national corporations and charitable organisations. He is also a motivational speaker who has addressed the US Naval Academy, Boston College, Greater Manchester Police and the European Nuclear Safety Agency. As well as being a defence commentator for Sky News. What I love about Russell is his passion for the fact that the leadership qualities he has developed in the army are transferable into any environment. And most importantly... these skills can be learnt. Here are some of the topics we covered in our chat: - Why the Army was the only route Russell every wanted to take. ⁃ Russell makes clear that leadership qualities can be learnt and how. ⁃ How the army accelerated his leadership skills. ⁃ Responding and reacting to pressure and set backs is one of the biggest areas of leadership. He explains how this happens in any environment and talks about the mindset to get into when that happens. ⁃ ‘Leadership is never tested on a good day.’ Russell talks us through a bad day in Afghanistan and how he reacted during the most difficult day off his leadership career. ⁃ Neurolinguistic VIsualization Techniques. - Emotional energy as a leader. Russell talks about the importance of using passion to get the most out of the people you are leading. However this does have an adverse affect on you as a leader if you do not take time to recoup your energy levels. ⁃ Russell talks us through some of the techniques he uses when working with organisations or individual’s to improve their approach to leadership. - Russell talks us through the incredible appreciation and respect he had for all of his soldiers. - How being kind to himself was the key to getting his enthusiasm and passion for life back. There Is nothing wrong doing whatever you need/want to do to get back to where you are mentally happy. - I ask Russell a key life lesson he has learnt over the years. Today's sponsor is FourFive CBD. 