Why Tour Battlefields? Drawing Parallels Between Our Shared History and Challenges in Modern Leadership

Quick answer: Why should leaders tour battlefields?

John argues that walking the ground where people made life-and-death decisions, as military officers do on staff rides, gives leaders lessons in decision-making, adaptability, teamwork, and alliance-building that classrooms can't match. He calls these trips for civilian audiences Leadership Experiences.

John was talking with an old friend about the battlefield tours they did during their military careers, the staff rides. Whether at Antietam or in the Ardennes, both still remembered decades later what they had learned and the conversations they had with their teams on the same ground where so many served and died. To someone who has never done one, a battlefield tour might seem like something for history buffs. John disagrees. The dilemmas commanders faced translate directly into the decisions leaders make today, and when the tours are built for a broader audience, he calls them Leadership Experiences. He wonders why more leaders don't take advantage of battlefields so close to where they work. His examples include how commanders adapted when plans failed, how small units held together under pressure, and how nations from around the world united for a common goal. For leaders in business, nonprofits, or politics, he argues, those lessons in resilience, adaptability, and building alliances are hard to learn any other way.

Why it matters for leaders: Standing where others made hard decisions makes it easier to think honestly about your own.

Q: What is a staff ride?

A: A military teaching method in which officers study a campaign, then walk the battlefield to analyze the decisions made there.

Q: What are Leadership Experiences?

A: John's term for staff rides adapted for civilian leaders in business, nonprofits, and government.

Read the full article on LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-tour-battlefields-drawing-parallels-between-our-shared-fenzel

By John Fenzel, founder and CEO of Heroes' Path Foundation