From Battlefield Tactics To Tech — Leading With Empathy And Inspiration

According to David Tamm, a 10-year veteran of the United States Air Force, it doesn’t matter how large or small your team is. At its core, leadership starts with knowing the who just as well as the how.

“Leadership, to me, boils down to getting to know your team on a deep level and what motivates them,” he says. “That knowledge allows you to articulate your vision and execute as an organization, whether it’s a combat crew of 30 or a squadron of 300.”

To Tamm, empathy, inspiration, and a focus on the big picture are core components of leading teams of all shapes and sizes. But, as a leader, knowing your who doesn’t start with your team: It starts with you.

An Empathetic Leader Among His Troops

Tamm’s leadership journey started in the military in January of 2007, where he spent 4 years as an Air Weapons Officer. He made his way to Captain, endured combat deployments, and experienced life all over the world.

Throughout his service, Tamm paid special attention to the organizational structure and leadership themes common throughout the military. When put in charge of his own troops as an officer, he remembered his own life as an enlisted airman and sought to lead with empathy.

“Having been prior-enlisted, I had unique insight into the pain the enlisted structure endured and, as an officer, tried to bridge the gap to ensure my troops had a voice,” he says. “I think there are valuable lessons to be gleaned from the precision and breadth of how the military operates, which I believe gave me a leg up in the tech space.”

He left the service in December of 2015 but took these observations with him, applying lessons learned in how the military’s leadership and organizational structures functioned to his career in the corporate world.

Applying Inspiration From Home And Abroad

Tamm’s time in the Air Force gave him a deep appreciation for technology, an appreciation that would inspire his own business ventures after hanging up his flight suit.

He successfully co-founded several tech companies in the real estate space, including a software platform with thousands of users and a digital marketing agency he ran for several years.

After those successes, he wanted a new challenge. A kernel of inspiration would come from an unexpected source: his Grandfather.

“My Grandfather was approaching the end of his life and began to struggle with cognitive health issues,” Tamm remembers. “One of my last interactions with him, I could tell he was having a hard time remembering me, and I thought to myself, ‘I think I can build a tool to help others with the aging process.’”

Pencerita was born shortly thereafter, a legacy preservation platform that uses cloud technology to help others share memories, remember loved ones, and stay true to themselves even after they’re gone.

Staying Confident in the Bigger Picture

Beginning a new business venture is often a fearful gamble for some, but Tamm rarely felt that way at all. The confidence he had gathered from diving head-first into many previous challenges, coupled with his own sense of duty to others, helps him stay focused and hopeful.

“I’ve lived a lot of life in 39 years,” he reflects. “I’ve had far more failures than I’ve had successes, and the rigors of a combat deployment, founding five companies, writing a book, and living all over the world have challenged me in ways I would have never imagined. Now, it’s about trying to create something bigger than myself that will make a positive impact on the world and give people a chance to hear each others’ stories in a totally new way so you can be remembered how you want to be remembered: on your terms.”

What advice would you give to entrepreneurs who are becoming leaders for the first time?

1. Grab ahold of your inspiration.

“Ideas are perishable, so if you have a good one, make sure you write it down and expand on it as soon as possible, because if you don’t, somebody else will. That’s where so many entrepreneurs stall out – they don’t take immediate and decisive action. If you’re lucky enough to have a clean shot, take it.”

2. Never stop learning.

“The pace at which the human knowledge base is growing is unprecedented. I would challenge a blossoming leader to expose themselves to new ideas, however uncomfortable it makes them. Take a night class, grab a new audiobook, or join a mastermind group. You’d be shocked how this will fuel your creative spirit and motivate you to make a difference.”

3. Failure is part of the journey.

“You’re going to lose sometimes. It’s inevitable. Perform a thorough debrief of what went wrong and why. Internalize it, socialize it with your peers, and learn from your mistakes. You’re allowed to beat yourself up, but not forever. There are millions of people that would give anything to have your opportunities. What are you going to do with them?”

Why Self-Actualization Is the Cornerstone of Leadership

Tamm’s leadership successes, his ability to empathize, draw inspiration, and focus on the bigger picture, are sewn together by a single thread: his willingness to look inside himself and apply lessons learned.

A leader who doesn’t know themselves first cannot possibly hope to know their team, their motivations, what inspires them, and what drives them.

And without knowing any of this about your team, your leadership strategy will lack the fuel it needs for a successful flight. Remember: who starts with you.