Episode 58 - Leadership lessons from a tank commander with Waitman Beorn

Battling with Business

In this week’s episode we welcome back Waitman Wade Beorn, this time not wearing a historian’s hat, but instead a very natty stetson reflecting his time as a US Army Cavalry officer, commanding an M1 Abraham main battle tank. We explore with him the complexities of commanding a small team whilst also having to manage a much broader and fast-paced battle space outside of his small metal box with tracks.

We also investigate the challenges that an officer fresh from training faces, when stepping into his tank with his new team for the first time. We also discuss what makes a small team truly effective, and how Waitman adjusted and developed his leadership style in this confined world.

As always, we delve into the surprising and unsurprising cross-over between the civilian and military world and explore how commanding a tank crew isn’t a different as one might imagine from leading teams in any kind of business.