PLAY PODCASTS
S03E06 | James Middleton - From managing the air warfare battle space in the Middle East to ethical leadership.
Episode 80

S03E06 | James Middleton - From managing the air warfare battle space in the Middle East to ethical leadership.

Veteran Business Community Podcast · Peter Liston, Co-Founder - VBC

January 29, 20261h 1m

Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (media.transistor.fm) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.

Show Notes


New pod release!

S03E06 | James Middleton - From managing the air warfare battle space in the Middle East to ethical leadership. 

James Middleton is a former Royal Australian Air Force Air Battle Manager and Mission Commander on the E-7A Wedgetail, with nearly two decades of leadership experience across military operations and the defence industry. Serving at No. 2 Squadron, James led and mentored mission-ready teams across multiple deployments before transitioning into industry, where he has delivered complex capability development and leadership programs for organisations of all sizes. His work centres on building resilient, high-performing teams grounded in values and purpose.

In this episode, James explores purpose-driven leadership and why veterans often excel in business — but can struggle to scale purpose beyond the founder. He shares how behaviours, systems, and daily practices create genuine connection to purpose, enabling better decision-making, innovation, and resilience when it matters most. Drawing on lived experience, James challenges leaders — particularly in defence industry — to reconnect with the true purpose of their work and build organisations that perform sustainably without constant top-down motivation.


🌐 Learn more: ethiclead.com.au

🌐 Join the VBC Community: veteranbc.com/join-our-community

#VBC #VBCPodcast #VeteranBusinessCommunity #VeteranOwnedBusiness #VeteranBusiness #VeteranLeadership #PurposeDriven #DefenceIndustry #LeadershipDevelopment #HighPerformanceTeams #VeteranBusiness


Topics

BusinessentrepreneurentrepreneurshipleadershipmanagementstrategygrowthsuccessSMEmilitaryoutsourcingtechnology