From Fighter Jets to the C Suite, High Stakes Leadership Lessons - Sam Gladman
Fireside Leadership PodcastShow Notes
What can elite military aviation teach us about leadership, teamwork and decision making under pressure? After nearly 16 years in the Royal Australian Air Force, Sam Gladman built a career operating at the highest levels of military aviation. As a Weapons Systems Officer on the F/A-18F Super Hornet, an air crash investigator and now Chief Operating Officer of Sky Network, Sam has spent his career making critical decisions where communication, trust and teamwork have life-or-death consequences. In this episode of the Fireside Leadership Podcast, Chris Turkington sits down with Sam to explore the leadership lessons forged inside elite fighter squadrons and how they translate directly into business. They discuss why high-performing teams prioritise debriefing over blame, how psychological safety drives better decisions, why humility and confidence must coexist, and the communication habits that prevent costly mistakes. Whether you lead a business, manage a team or simply want to improve your decision making under pressure, this conversation offers practical lessons from one of the world's most demanding operational environments. Why elite teams treat debriefing as a competitive advantage How fighter crews build trust through communication and shared standards The balance between confidence and humility in high-performance environments Why psychological safety is essential for honest feedback and continuous improvement How to make better decisions under pressure using structured communication The leadership lessons hidden inside failure and high-stakes training Why constant reflection is the key to sustained improvement Practical ways to improve teamwork, accountability and organisational performance Sam Gladman is the Chief Operating Officer of Sky Network, co-founder of On Target, and a former Royal Australian Air Force Weapons Systems Officer on the F/A-18F Super Hornet. During almost 16 years in the Air Force, he served on operational deployments, became an air crash investigator, and developed deep expertise in human factors, non-technical skills, leadership and high-performance teamwork. Today, he helps organisations apply these principles to improve decision making, communication and team performance. Website: https://www.ontargetteaming.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sam-gladman/ The Fireside Leadership Podcast brings you conversations with exceptional leaders from business, sport, the military and public service, uncovering the experiences, decisions and lessons that shape outstanding leadership. Hosted by Chris Turkington. Produced by Aegis Leadership. https://www.aegisleadership.co.nz
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