A Combat Veteran Explains How Trust Turns Followers Into Leaders

The moment that reveals a leader isn’t a promotion or a pep talk, it’s pressure. We sit down with Taylor Goodwin, a veteran with special forces experience and two medals of valor, to unpack what leadership looks like when the mission changes, information is limited, and your decisions affect the people next to you. His story starts with joining the Army at 18 during the Afghanistan surge, then quickly learning that “training” and “reality” can be miles apart, especially when you’re operating as a landowner responsible for a piece of territory. 

From there, we dig into a first firefight that forced instant clarity: some people rise, others freeze, and the team still needs someone to move. Taylor explains how trust is earned through action, why good leaders first prove they can follow, and how confidence is built by doing hard things when outcomes are uncertain. If you care about military leadership, combat mindset, or simply how humans perform under stress, his perspective is raw, practical, and surprisingly applicable. 

We also bring it home for managers and founders navigating the private sector. Taylor breaks down leading by example as a daily standard, building accountability without hypocrisy, and working with personalities that don’t share your exact drive. He talks about the biggest adjustment after the military: realizing not everything at work is life or death, learning patience, and earning influence before trying to change the whole system. If you’re focused on veteran transition, leadership development, team culture, or improving execution speed in business, you’ll leave with clear takeaways you can use immediately. 

Subscribe to Marketing 911, share this with a leader who needs it, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway from Taylor’s approach to trust and accountability.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:30

Hello again and welcome to Marketing 911, where I'm here with my co-host Richard Bliss. Richard?

SPEAKER_01 0:38

Happy to be here, Brian. It's always good. I enjoy our conversations. You brought a guest today. I'm excited. I did.

SPEAKER_02 0:44

I did a very special guest and a little different from our typical guest. Uh and uh, but more than excited to have him on board. So uh Taylor Goodwin is our special guest today. He's a uh a friend of mine. He's got a uh history within the armed forces, including the special forces, spent time in the Middle East, uh, and uh was awarded two medals of valor, which is incredibly uh an incredible accomplishment. And uh really we we uh thank him for his service. So today we are going to talk about the unique position of being a leader in the military and the skills and how you need to operate and how does that transition into the private sector? And so with that, Taylor, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_00 1:39

Appreciate it, Brian, and thanks for having me, Richard and uh and Brian. Yeah, this is a good topic, so I look forward to breaking into it.

SPEAKER_02 1:47

So why don't you start with? So you jumped into the military at the age of 18 and you bumped, you know, climbed the ladder a little bit. And so just give us some of the background of of your uh your travels.

Mountain Infantry And Changing Orders

SPEAKER_00 2:01

Yeah, absolutely. Love it. I'll back it up so we'll cut out the high school error. But um, yeah, end of high school, obviously we all come to a crossroad, and it's like, hey, do I wanna go to college? Do what do I want to do? Right. And I just gravitated towards the military. Um it took about you know a couple visits to the office um to sign up. First time I I brought my mom and you know, she wasn't having it. So basically I had to go on my own a couple months later. Um, and at that time it was the second surge to Afghanistan. Um it was called the second surge, but it was under the Obama era, and it was an attempt to kind of reinforce the flow of troops to decrease the flow of troops, right? So, you know, I was watching that through high school and you know, since post-9-11, and you know, it was always on the news, but it it didn't come to me until after high school where I'm like, okay, I want to go do something, right? I want to make an impact. But uh I don't want to just go, I want to go and test myself and also uh see what's going on with the people on the ground. So I walked in the office, signed up for uh mountain infantry.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

So um can I I'm gonna interject here. Mountain infantry, right? Now, a lot of people have no idea what that means. So, what does it mean? What everybody knows infantry, those are the guys that uh are dumb enough to walk everywhere they go. Sorry, um I was uh yeah, there's the same thing, same thing, except for why the mountain in there. And by the way, anybody who's listening, I was an artillery guy that was not meant as a as a decent. Yeah, okay, but what does the mountain have to do with it?

SPEAKER_00 3:39

Good question. No, so it really didn't really focus on the mountain part, to be honest, until after deployment. You know, basically the run through was you know, we have airborne units, there's other units with specialties, they throw a tag on it, right? And uh, you know, they're using the mountain infantry guys more in Afghanistan because it's the terrain, right?

SPEAKER_01 4:00

But mountains, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:01

Yeah, I went to um basic training in Georgia, it was flat. Um, and then as soon as I got back, they were like, hey, you got a month, um, get ready to go Afghanistan. No idea that was happening, right? I I knew I was gonna go, but after a month. So, you know, we train up, we're doing pre-tra pre-training mode. Um, we went to JRTC, it was all flat. So I was thinking the same thing. Um, you know, and then afterwards, several times on our way to Afghanistan, I just you know I was lower ranking, I was a private at that point, and just told what to do. They're like, Yeah, the mission changed. I'm like, okay, cool. I'm the last to know. The mission changed again. So we're we're just about to get in Afghanistan. They're like, we got our final orders. I'm like, okay, cool. Gonna be landowners. Okay, I'm like, you know, cool. That was my mentality. It's just whatever. Like, that's fine. It's all just hitting me. Landowners, what's that? Cool. So little did I know as I got closer, right? Uh, a couple more flights to where we're going, it was too. I was advised, like, okay, no, this means like you own this section of Afghanistan, this territory, and your job is to make sure there's no Taliban, get the Taliban out. Like, okay, that took a big shift from Tower Guard or backup or you know, QRF. So sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:20

All right. So as you go into this, and it we're not gonna go into the details about the operation or anything like that. You're a young private. Were you traditionally subservient to leadership and authority? I mean, your mom wasn't happy about you joining the army. Sounds like you bucked your mom. Were you? I mean, was it easy just to say, okay, whatever, I'm gonna do whatever they tell me to do. Is that is that Taylor Goodwin?

SPEAKER_00 5:45

It's a deep calling. You know, there's a deep calling in life, you know. And um, you know, my dad, so to back it up, probably a little tougher. No, no, I was a decent student, but like it all changed in the military, and I'll tell you why. And in school, you know, when you have teachers, some teachers you respect, some, you know, that you all you do just because they're a teacher, but there's some teachers that you really respect, right? And it's just like, you know, I grew up with a really strict dad, and um, you know, the military, that part of it, and just giving in the orders out came almost like natural because of my dad. So that doesn't mean I agreed with everything. I I was in a constant stage of unknow, like you don't know what's going on, you're told at this rank. Um, but I gave into it. So the flexibility there was key. Yeah.

First Firefight And The Leadership Shift

SPEAKER_02 6:41

They said what pivoted go ahead, Brian. What pivoted from a private in Afghanistan taking orders? Like, what was the trigger? What was the moment when you began leading men versus taking orders?

SPEAKER_00 7:00

Yeah, I think step one is you know, you believe in the mission, right? Don't matter what it is, because that's how we're trained. And once you understand, I feel like, and give in to the fact that not everything is in your control in life, right? And then the biggest pivot point was, and for me too personally, is our honestly, our first firefight that we had because it was so who knew, right? Who knew it was gonna happen on our first mission? Who knew? It's just at that point, since it's not a conventional war, you might get a territory, a landowner that's not hostile, or you might, like we did, we landed in um a spot that was on the border of Pakistan and it was it was infested with Taliban. So um so to tie into what you're saying, Brian, is like you gotta, and this ties into business, is that step one is you gotta have people trust you, right? You even if you're private, you gotta prove yourself, right? And you do that by your actions, right? You and nobody knows how anybody will react in stressful situations. There's a fight or flight in us that don't it doesn't matter. We sometimes we can't control it. And thankfully, in our first firefight, I I uh my brain triggered like a let's go mode, right? Under high stress. And I saw, and I really want this is an important point is all the there's several people leading up to um this one event in Afghanistan, our first one. And I looked at them, some guys we labeled as like Thor, you know. I won't go into too much, but he was like 6'6, you know, big guy, worked out all the time, and he could he called himself Thor, and everybody was like, Yeah, you know, he's the best at wrestling, all this stuff. First firefight curled up in a ball, just quit mentally. And I get it. I shook his hand after, I get it, he owned it. But what happened with me is and I'm thankful for it, is that I reacted in a way, right? We were pinned down, we had no options. Um, we were out of ammo. We we were outnumbered, outgunned, and I wasn't just gonna that wasn't it for me, right? And my my team, I saw it in their eyes, so I had to make some moves that you know put my life at risk to uh bring people home. And that was a moment that I really knew I can do anything.

SPEAKER_02 9:19

So you made a trick. Go ahead. No, no, go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 9:24

I was gonna say, um, you made a point earlier that I think reflects on where this came from, and that is my question about uh who was Taylor Goodwin, that you that good leaders are people who can follow. And you had already demonstrated the ability to follow. And so then when it came to lead, those around you have seen you follow, uh, you're willing to do what others need. And so then when the the ask comes for you to make that ask, they're more than willing to follow or do what's necessary. And then you saw, hey, it's time for me to step up.

Applying Combat Fundamentals To Management

SPEAKER_00 9:57

Because if I don't step up, somebody else, you know, when our top, our top guys are, you know, people get, you know, you gotta always, yeah, struggling. You gotta you gotta fill in. And um, I had to fill in, right? And there's several other people that had a big impact on on this uh deployment. And I will, you know, I talk to them quite often, and it it became a team, like we start with 30 people, right? It became a team of 10 after everything, like that were just on every dismount mission. And you gotta have like there's certain heart in this stuff, right? And some of it's out of our control, firm believer of that. Where what sometimes we just don't know in any job, too. Like, we don't know what we sign up for when we when we're in corporate as well, or businesses when you're managing a whole department or a whole like function, and you have several people reporting to you managers, like that's your responsibility, right? Um, it's just like anything else, even as a private or as a sales rep, you know, you own the slice of the pie, right? And and you know, it's not always what we think it is, right?

SPEAKER_02 11:05

So when you're transitioning into uh the the private sector and you take on your first management role, did you consciously think through what was successful in Afghanistan and try to apply it? Or did it come naturally?

SPEAKER_00 11:30

Yeah, that's a good question. Because one of the big things is um there's certain fundamentals like that carry over, right? And not just like each event that's critical in Afghanistan taught me something about basically how much I can personally handle mentally, right? And same with some other training I had, it it taught me how much I can actually handle as a human being, but then there's certain leadership um potentially leadership skills that you pick up on, like leading by example, number one. It's a basic one. We talk about it, but like what does that mean? That means I show up first. That means that I'm doing that even when I'm not a manager. So my first management role wasn't in software, it was in uh like per uh personal training. So I was selling personal training and then I worked my way up to management and manage a couple of locations and a bunch of people. So, but that worked because I took the fundamentals for just uh before I was manager, showing up early, leading by example, always trying to you know comb my hair, you know, the basics that I carried over, and eventually that people follow that, right? Okay, let's actually show up on time, like let's actually change this vibe here or this culture because we believe in it, and then it's easier to enforce, right? And then it's easier to hold accountable because I I'm doing it or I did it. Um, that's kind of the entry status, or like how I start things off with like leadership.

SPEAKER_02 12:56

So what happens if somebody like that style, do you find it difficult with certain personalities on your team or people you're collaborating with that don't have that belief that you do, or the passion, or the get up every morning to make something happen?

Dropping The Life Or Death Mindset

SPEAKER_00 13:15

Yeah, that's like that's that's something I learned over time. So, first management spot, I learned that like it. One of my bosses, great boss, he came up to you one day, and I was pretty young at this point, and I was he was like, Hey Taylor, like just keep in mind, you know, you you can not everybody's gonna be just like you, right? This is one of the lessons I said, got it. He's like, if you can find everybody's different, they have a piece to the pie, right? But if you can find people that have 75% of like what you're doing, but also bringing you know their little edge as well, then you got a whole picture. And that just resonated with me because instead of trying to get everybody, because no everybody's experience and background is different, right? Doesn't matter what it is, instead of trying to get them to completely change, like okay, what you're doing, maybe your morning routine is different, or maybe you know, your night routine is instead when we're working or when like showing up on times is just a standard, right? So, how can I help you get to that point? So, more so get on people's playing field and and trying to adjust things to help them get better. Is that's at the end of the day, that's the key thing, is like we and especially with my team now, it's just I just want everybody to be the best version of themselves, so I just help bring that out of them, right? So that was the shift, you know.

SPEAKER_02 14:31

Yeah, was there anything difficult that was go going from where you were in the military to into the private sector? Something you had to say, look, I need to completely shed this habit or characteristic if I'm going to succeed.

SPEAKER_00 14:52

Yeah, I'd say the big thing is not everything is life or death, right? So, and I and I what I mean by that is like decisions or like getting stuff done, or even in family like personal life, like if the dishes are not done, it's it's not life or death, right? And you know, it even it's that extreme to say it like that, but what I mean is like it's okay, like we can take a breather, we can work things out, we can problem solve um in a different way. So, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:22

I gotta believe that in some ways the corporate life is faster and slower, yeah, right? It's it's in some ways it's faster, but man, things don't get done nearly as fast as exactly.

Patience, Influence, And Closing

SPEAKER_00 15:33

The execution part sometimes is like, you know, and that's normal, like adjusting to that. And I think the where we like bringing to the table is like we understand that, but like imagine if we can trim down the execution time, like fat we get the execution going a little bit faster, right? So there's a positive there. Um, when you're not in a leadership role, that's tougher. So that's a tougher part, is because you can't impact that as much, right? So for new veterans coming in with similar background or whatever the experience is, like understanding that it's back to that Taylor private mode where you just kind of you do the best you can in your role, you know, prove yourself, and then you can make an impact. And it will happen, but you just sometimes have to earn it and wait the course and you know gain influence. Yeah, patience.

SPEAKER_01 16:21

Patience is a big one.

SPEAKER_00 16:22

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 16:22

This has been uh Brian, thank you so much for inviting uh Taylor onto the show. This has been fascinating. We could go all day having this conversation.

SPEAKER_00 16:30

Absolutely, yeah. I appreciate it, guys.

SPEAKER_02 16:33

I think there's a uh return guest in our marketing 911.

SPEAKER_01 16:39

Maybe we can talk about the difference between the the superiority of the king of battle, um, artillery, and uh just right.

SPEAKER_00 16:48

We got some stories there.

SPEAKER_01 16:49

I respect everybody, but but I mean that I respect everybody, but uh uh we gotta have a little fun, you know. We're gonna have some fun with that.

SPEAKER_00 16:59

This has been great. Yeah, but I appreciate it, guys.

SPEAKER_01 17:02

Yeah. You've been listening to uh Marketing 911. Our guest has been Taylor Goodwin. Uh Brian Baxterman brought him on, uh, my co host. And hopefully you found something fascinating and inspiring. I know I have. And we always enjoy your participation, your comments that we get as you chime in. Looking forward to hearing you next time. Take care.