In this episode of Solo Spotlight, Ryan MacDougall sits down with Martin Brooker, a retired Commodore from the Royal Australian Navy, leadership speaker, coach, and advisor, for a conversation about what real leadership looks like when the stakes are high.

Martin joined the Navy at just 15 years old and went on to serve for 37 years, leading people through complex, high-pressure environments. But this conversation goes beyond military rank and career accomplishments. It explores the human side of leadership: earning trust, managing pressure, admitting mistakes, asking better questions, and learning how to lead with self-awareness.

Ryan and Martin discuss the difference between authority and actual leadership, why technical skill alone is not enough, how leaders build trust with their teams, what happe ...