Lead with Bubba Scott

Tom Clifford is the founder of Without Limits, an accomplished endurance athlete, coach, and race director who has spent decades studying what it takes to perform at a high level.

Tom’s relationship with running started early, shaped by his siblings, his father, and a competitive drive that eventually took him to collegiate running at Eastern Michigan. But over time, his understanding of performance changed. He learned th...

Lang Barth is a Naval Academy graduate, former Navy surface warfare officer, product marketing leader at Intuit, and the founder of Civilian Compass, a platform designed to help veterans navigate one of the most difficult questions that comes with leaving the military: What do I actually want to do next?

Lang's own transition began with a single conversation that turned into hundreds. He developed a systematic way to l...

What if one simple question could change the way you lead?

In this episode of Lead with Bubba Scott, I sit down with West Point graduate, former Army officer, Stanford GSB MBA, educator, coach, and author Doug Crandall for a conversation about leadership, reflection, high standards, and the way our words affect the people we lead.

Doug shares his unconventional journey through West Point—including leaving after his firs...

Patrick Nugent spent much of his life drawn to physical challenges. He grew up playing football, hockey, and lacrosse, played football at The Citadel, became its regimental commander, and ultimately achieved his goal of becoming a Marine infantry officer.

Then, during a live-fire training exercise in Hawaii, Patrick was struck by a bullet and sustained life-changing injuries. At 26 years old, he was confronted with an uncertain ...

Content note: The conversation deals directly with death, military aviation loss, grief, and the long process of healing that follows. It is a heavy discussion, but it is also one about love, resilience, empathy, service, advocacy, and learning how to move forward while continuing to honor those we have lost.

On June 8, 2022, Swift 1-1, an MV-22B Osprey, crashed in eastern California following a mechanical failure, taking the li...

In this episode of Lead with Bubba Scott, I sit down with my good friend and Naval Academy classmate Isaac Seals, a former Marine officer whose career took him from leading Assault Amphibian Marines, to the Silent Drill Platoon, to serving as a White House Social Aide.

We talk about Isaac’s upbringing in Decatur, Georgia, his path to the Naval Academy, walking onto the Division I track team, and the legendary videos h...

In this episode of Lead with Bubba Scott, I sit down with Colonel Kyle Phillips, an active duty Marine officer whose career has spanned the infantry, law, command, teaching, national security work, and military justice.

We talk about his early lessons in leadership, his transition from infantry officer to Marine lawyer, advising commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan, working national security cases at the Department of Justice...

In this episode of Lead with Bubba Scott, I sit down with Dr. Jim Womack, one of the most influential voices in modern manufacturing, management, and Lean Thinking. Dr. Womack is the founder of the Lean Enterprise Institute and helped translate the Toyota Production System into what the world now knows as Lean. We talk about his early curiosity, what he learned from studying General Motors and Toyota, and why Lean is much more...

Shane Mitchell on Reputation, Rugby, and the Veteran Transition

In this episode of Lead with Bubba Scott, Bubba sits down with Shane Mitchell, a Navy veteran and Northeast Regional Customer Support Manager at Makino.

Shane shares his journey from growing up in a military family to serving as an enlisted aviation maintainer in the Navy, where he worked on helicopters and F/A-18s. He reflects on the importance of reputati...

In this episode of Lead with Bubba Scott, I sit down with Andrew Little, co-founder of Goldholly, to talk about leaving finance, building a purpose-driven startup, and introducing people to yaupon holly, the only naturally caffeinated plant native to North America.

We discuss entrepreneurship, sustainability, small-team leadership, and what it means to bet on yourself.

Where to find Goldholly:
Website: goldholly.com
Social...

Gilly Lane, head coach of Penn Men’s Squash, joins Lead with Bubba Scott to discuss his journey from Penn standout to professional player to national championship-winning coach. Gilly shares how his parents shaped his competitive mindset, why failure taught him more than winning, and how he builds tough, selfless, player-led teams. The conversation explores elite performance, recruiting for character, leading intern...

John Nagler, a high school history teacher and department chair, discusses his journey from a teaching internship at a boarding school to becoming a leader in the classroom.

They explore what it means to go beyond teaching content and instead develop students into confident, independent thinkers. John shares his approach to building a “democratized classroom” where student voice, discussion, and writing take center stage...

 In this episode, ER physician and former Navy doctor Kevin Sullivan shares insights on leadership, decision-making under pressure, and managing chaos in high-stakes environments. We explore the parallels between military and medical leadership, the importance of humility, competence, and empathy, and practical strategies for thriving in chaotic settings.

Chapters

00:00 Chaotic ER Stories

04:02 Early Life and Influences

06:59 Path...

In this episode of Lead with Bubba Scott, I sit down with Dr. Kevin Mullaney, a retired U.S. Navy Captain, Industrial and Organizational psychologist, and executive coach, to explore leadership in high-stakes environments.

Kevin shares his journey from growing up in an Army family to serving as a nuclear submarine officer, and how those experiences shaped his understanding of accountability, ethics, and leadership deve...

"Lead with Authenticity"

In this conversation, Lieutenant Commander Andrea Howard shares her journey from growing up in Norcross, Georgia, to becoming a Naval Submarine Officer and pursuing a PhD at MIT. She discusses the importance of authenticity in leadership, her experiences in diverse environments, and the value of mentorship and higher education in the military. Andrea emphasizes the significance of building trust and cama...

In this episode, Zac Blanchard shares his journey from Louisiana to the Naval Academy and his subsequent career in local government as a city councilman in Baltimore. He discusses the importance of community engagement, the importance of education, and the significance of local government in addressing everyday issues. Zac emphasizes the need for affordable housing and shares insights from his campaign and legislative efforts, high...

In this episode of LWBS, Dr. Joe Thomas shares his journey from a small-town to becoming a renowned leadership scholar and director of the Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership at the Naval Academy. He discusses the importance of mentorship, the evolution of leadership education, and the need for measuring the effectiveness of leadership development. Dr. Thomas emphasizes curiosity as a vital trait for leaders and highlights the ...

In this special bonus episode of "Lead with Bubba Scott," Bubba Scott interviews Professor John Carey of Dartmouth College to discuss the recent US strike on Venezuela and its implications for Latin America. The conversation covers Professor Carey's insights on leadership, his experiences in academia, and his work on democratic resilience and electoral systems. The episode dives into the geopolitical landscape of Venezuela and the ...