Toxic leadership

Pete BlaberRetired U.S. Army Delta Force commander, author of The Mission, The Men, and Me and The Common Sense Way, later a biotech executive

• Blaber argues that disconnected chains of command are biologically incapable of making sense of a battlefield because sense-making requires the senses.

  “decision-making and problem-solving made by disconnected chains of command who aren't there, never has and never will be capable of making sense of what's happening on the ground”

  The Shawn Ryan Show: #294 Pete Blaber - Part 2: Delta Force Commander on Pablo Escobar, Takur Ghar, and Pat Tillman (Apr 6, 2026) · Listen from 3:06:23

• Blaber recommends the military require commanders to issue orders verbally over the radio rather than through staff officers or email.

  “If you're a commander... You do not issue an order to subordinates who are in the field unless that order comes out of your mouth”

  The Shawn Ryan Show: #294 Pete Blaber - Part 2: Delta Force Commander on Pablo Escobar, Takur Ghar, and Pat Tillman (Apr 6, 2026) · Listen from 21:33

• Blaber argues that institutions must actively seek out and fire toxic leaders because toxic leadership kills.

  “we will seek out and fire every toxic leader that comes up on the radar we're not going to fix the problem”

  The Shawn Ryan Show: #294 Pete Blaber - Part 2: Delta Force Commander on Pablo Escobar, Takur Ghar, and Pat Tillman (Apr 6, 2026) · Listen from 19:21