Battling with Business

Episode 153 - Royal Marine, Yeoman Warder and Arctic Explorer : Baz Gray The Most Interesting Man In The World - Part 2

Leadership under extreme pressure is rarely about heroic speeches or rank. It is about judgement, trust, and knowing when to lead and when to follow. In the second part of our conversation with Baz Gray former Royal Marine, polar explorer, leadership coach and now Yeoman Warder of the Tower of London we explore what Shackleton’s Antarctic expeditions really teach us about leadership today. Baz draws on his own experience recreating Shackleton’s most dangerous journey, sailing and climbing with 100 year old equipment, to unpack how teams survive when everything goes wrong. We discuss why selecting the right people matters more than technical brilliance, how leaders earn authority by being good followers, and why humility and self awareness are non negotiable in high pressure environments. Baz also reflects on transitioning from extreme expedition leadership to a highly traditional public facing role at the Tower of London, and what modern organisations can learn from both worlds. This episode is for anyone leading teams through uncertainty, complexity, or sustained pressure. It challenges simple leadership models and replaces them with something more honest, demanding, and human.

Episode 152 - Royal Marine, Yeoman Warder and Arctic Explorer : Baz Gray The Most Interesting Man In The World - Part 1

In this episode of Battling with Business, Gareth Tennant and Chris Kitchener record from one of the most iconic leadership environments in the UK, the Tower of London, joined by Baz Gray, former Royal Marine, Arctic explorer, and Yeoman Warder. Drawing on a career that spans reconnaissance operations, mountain leadership, extreme expeditions, and senior military command, Baz explores what calm, credible leadership really looks like under pressure. The discussion challenges loud, performative models of leadership and instead makes the case for quiet competence, consistency, and trust. From leading soldiers in whiteout conditions to shaping behaviour in corporate boardrooms, Baz explains how leaders are revealed under stress, why patience and observation matter more than charisma, and how high performance teams are built deliberately over time. Listeners will gain practical insight into decision making under pressure, the importance of self control, and how leaders earn respect through behaviour rather than authority. This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in leadership that endures when conditions are hardest.

Episode 151 - Influencer #7 Re-Release - Charles De Gaulle Loyal Only to France - Part 2

Battling with Business returns with Part Two of its Influencers series on Charles de Gaulle, moving from wartime exile to political dominance and lasting national legacy. In this episode, Gareth Tennant and Chris Kitchener examine how leadership is forged not just through bravery or competence, but through narrative control, political instinct, and an unyielding sense of purpose. As de Gaulle outmanoeuvres rivals, frustrates allies, and repeatedly puts the idea of France above consensus or popularity, the discussion asks an uncomfortable management question: when does conviction become arrogance, and when does arrogance become effective leadership? We discuss the rivalry with Henri Giraud, the power of communication and symbolism, leading without formal authority, and how long term vision can outweigh short term cooperation. The episode also explores de Gaulle’s post war leadership, his role in reshaping the French state, and the enduring impact of values driven leadership. This is a nuanced discussion about legitimacy, influence, and the cost of single minded leadership. Ideal listening for anyone leading teams through ambiguity, politics, or competing centres of power.

Episode 150 - Influencer #7 Re-Release - Charles De Gaulle: Loyal Only to France - Part 1

In this Part 1 of 2, re-release of an earlier Influencers series of Battling with Business, Gareth Tennant and Chris Kitchener explore the leadership and influence of Charles de Gaulle, a figure often overlooked in British narratives of the Second World War. Through the lens of military history and modern management thinking, they examine how conviction, strategic foresight, and personal ego combine to shape leaders in moments of national crisis. What does it take to declare yourself the voice of a nation when no one has elected you, few are listening, and defeat seems inevitable? Charles de Gaulle did exactly that, and in doing so reshaped France and Europe. In this episode we'll learn that leadership is not always granted. Sometimes it is asserted. We'll also hear how sometimes strategic thinking often emerges from adversity, reflection, and exposure to different perspectives and that rigid doctrine can be comforting, but adaptability wins in complex and changing environments. We learn more about De Gaulle's personal conviction and how ego can both enable and endanger effective leadership. Influence often precedes authority, not the other way around. Join us in this first episode and reflect on how de Gaulle’s journey from overlooked officer to self-declared leader mirrors modern challenges in business and organisational leadership. This episode challenges assumptions about legitimacy, strategy, and what it really means to lead when the stakes are highest.

Episode 149 - War in the Smartphone Age : Why Leaders Must Rethink Everything They Think They Know

This episode explores how leaders can navigate unprecedented change by understanding the hidden forces reshaping conflict, technology, and decision making. In this conversation with Dr Matthew Ford, we unpack how the smartphone has quietly transformed modern warfare and why leaders in every sector must rethink how they interpret information, manage uncertainty, and respond to rapid shifts. We start to look at how the smartphone has blurred the line between civilian and combatant, reshaping risk and responsibility and how modern conflict is now inseparable from a participatory media environment where everyone contributes, knowingly or not. We discuss how organisations struggle when they assume they understand the environment and how leaders must cultivate curiosity, humility, and systems thinking. It's clear that AI is not the beginning of radical change but the acceleration of trends already reshaping society and leaders must protect core expertise while adapting to technological change.