High Pressure Leadership Mission Command

8/7/2019 High Pressure Leadership Mission Command

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Mission Command

A toolkit for leadership under pressure

By Adam J Riley

The leader builds dispersed and diverse leadership distributing leadership to the outermost edges

of the circle to unleash the power of shared responsibility.- Frances Hesselbein

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Management is about dealing with complexity while leadership, by contrast, is about coping withchange1, and as technology speeds the pace of this change, this fundamental challenge will becomeever more testing. With leaders required to perform in ever more diverse, dynamic and high pressure

environments, there is certainly no single leadership model or skill-set to guarantee success.Increasingly leaders require a diverse set of leadership and management competencies combinedwith an intuitive knowledge which can be used in any given environment. This of course must beunderpinned and supported by associated soft and interpersonal skills, allowing leaders tocommunicate and inspire. Moreover the leader today must be able to demonstrate thesecompetencies not just while undertaking routine tasks, but must be able to deliver the same level ofhigh performance leadership under pressure and in high stakes environment.

Mission Command is a style of military leadership developed to allow leaders to continue to perform incomplex, change intensive and high pressure environments, by promoting decentralised command,alignment, speed of action, and initiative. In essence, it is a methodology allowing staff to understandtheir leader's intentions, their own part in them and the effect of their actions on the overall strategic

intent. Staff are told what effect they are to achieve and the reason why it needs to be achieved, thenuse delegated freedom of action to decide how best to achieve their missions. Simply the keydiscipline for leaders is that their staff are told what needs to be achieved and why but not how. It isthis key concept that encapsulates Mission Command and allows a leader to fully harness the skills ofhis team by giving them this freedom, leadership is encouraged at all levels and as Hesselbeinsuggests, the leader can unleash the power of shared responsibility for his whole team.

At its core, Mission Command is a methodology underpinned by a set of practices and behaviorsaimed to provide clarity of task and purpose and to simplify complex environments. Its effectiveness iswell documented and has been proven in some of the most complex, dynamic and high pressureenvironments available. Its applications have risen in recent years as the battle-space in whichmodern militaries operate changes from a traditional war-fighting scenario to encompass an ever

broader spectrum of peace-keeping, peace enforcement and nation-building operations. MissionCommand has remained a bedrock for the success of its leadership practitioners. With thisproliferation of employment we should consider Mission Commands methodology, associatedbehaviors and practices as of potential relevance in the business-space and assess transferable bestpractice. This Strawman paper aims not to sell the methodology, but to provide an overview andconsider the associated behaviors. It will afford the reader both overall understanding and anopportunity to asses the value of areas of best practice with-in their own environment. Themethodology behind Mission Command does not claim to be a single solution ensuring success, butits development and use in some of the most complex and highest pressure environments aroundmake it worthy of study.

1 Kotter, J.P. 1998. What Leaders Really Do. HBR on Leadership. Boston. HBS Press


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Historical Context two centuries of development

Every French soldier carriers a marshals baton in his knapsack.

Napoleon

Mission Command was first documented and developed in the 1800s by the Prussian Army 2 inresponse to their crushing defeat at Jena in 1809. Centralized command had stifled their ability tomove and react quickly and leaders performance dropped significantly as their plans unraveled andpressure grew. The Prussians were renowned for their ability to strictly execute central plans so aftertheir defeat, they took a serious look at the way they fought battles and the highly effective way inwhich Napoleon had crushed them. The Prussian Army stood at 130,000 men the French at 56,000,the Prussians suffered 25,000 casualties against a French loss of only 5,000. History has repeateditself many times with numerous examples of such overwhelming defeats by minority forces simplythrough better leadership enforcing clarity and alignment of the missions and by maintainingperformance in the face of change and pressure.

The Prussians took fundamental steps to reposition their whole philosophy of war-fighting and howthey led. They called the concept they developed Auftragstaktik, what we today call MissionCommand. The Prussians realized that the battlefield had changed it had become fast moving andunpredictable. Holding all decision making at central command was suffocating their ability to makedecisions. They reorganized their forces; senior officers who had been promoted due to time served orworse still family lineage were replaced, officer recruitment broadened to advance the developmentand promotion of officers and NCOs on merit and performance. The entire military machineunderwent an overhaul which had at its heart the concept of Auftragstaktik. Senior Officers wereencouraged to give broad direction and junior officers were encouraged to exploit the freedom thatthey had been given which would enable them to take advantage of unexpected opportunities anddeal with the inevitable crisis that occur the moment you embark upon your plan.

The fundamental principle was that at each level of command a leader would articulate a clear missionto his subordinates complete with a unifying purpose to explain how his individual mission was tocontribute to the organization goal in simple terms ensuring the subordinate could answer both whatam I to do? and importantly why am I to do it?. Importantly the subordinate was not told how toachieve his mission; he was instead given resources the tools at his disposal to do the job (such asmen and equipment), and constraints the space in which he was free to act, defined by limits suchas time or geographical boundaries. Within these resource limits and constraints or boundaries thesubordinate was free to manage and lead without reference to higher command, as long as his actionswere in support of the broader organizational direction articulated by the answer to the why am I to doit? question.

The ability of the Prussians to react swiftly to change increased as junior leaders were able to make

independent and swift decisions supporting the organizational direction, while their opponentscontinued to be inhibited by excessive layers of command and a culture of referring every decision tothe top. A culture that was comfortable with imperfect information, change and pressure developed.The ensuing outperforming of the competition directly contributed to their military dominance duringthe following period of history. The ability of the Prussian army to manage uncertainty and act in amore agile manor than their opponents has a clear reflection in what business attempts to achievetoday in securing a competitive advantage in their markets.

2 The concept of Mission Command was first documented by Clausewitz in his book On War, based on hisexperiences as an Officer in the Prussian Army of the 1800s


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Modern Developments

Since the first demonstration of its utility by the Prussians, Mission Command has developed and hasbeen employed by a range of successful military bodies. It was officially adopted by NATO forces inthe 1990s, and although significantly developed, the basic tenants remain the same. The British

Armys thinking in this area developed significantly during the 1980s when it delivered itsManouverist3 doctrine demanding empowerment of junior leadership and organizational agility on thebattlefield in order to counter the numerical superiority of the now defunct Warsaw Pact. In addition itwas employed to help combat the daily unforeseen activity that means even the best laid plans dontsurvive first contact with the real world. This is equally true in the business context.

More recently, since the beginning of the so-called War on Terror, the battle-space has transformedalmost beyond recognition. The historical two-dimensional model has morphed to an asymmetric or3-block4 environment. While detailed analysis of these concepts is beyond the scope of this paper, thebasic message is that modern militaries are being asked to deliver high performance on an everbroader spectrum encompassing deployments from traditional war-fighting to nation building andpeace keeping. Importantly it is the same troops that are being asked to perform in these different

environments, and thus their leaders are expected to be able to utilize the same competency set todeliver in them all. Moreover, increasingly leaders are required to make decisions faster, havingconsidered more information than ever before and with higher levels of uncertainty in short underever greater levels of pressure. Despite the vastly different leadership environments and challengesthis presents, Mission Command remains the constant and basic building block on which success isbuilt. The proven versatility of Mission Command in these environments has increased the level ofinterest from the broader Defense community, and indeed in the private sector, in possible leadershipbest practices that can be exploited outside of the traditional Defense environments.

The mental side of performance is massive. It isnt necessarily the best team that wins, but the team that can

perform correctly under pressure.

Sir Clive Woodward

Our lives are increasingly dominated by pressurized situations. In our business lives we canexperience pressure whilst meeting with our clients or customers, with our bosses, or subordinates.Pressure can creep into our personal lives too, in managing relationships, or just coping with where welive. How we cope with that pressure, then, becomes a major factor in determining the outcome of thesituation. One of the fundamental issues characterizing both modern military operational theatres andthe commercial world is the idea of what Clausewitz5 called Friction. Clausewitz stated that"everything in war is very simple, but the simplest thing is difficult". Specifically he commented thatproblems will occur with misplaced communications, troops going to the wrong location, delays causedby weather and it is the duty of the leader to do his best to overcome them. In business, as in war, lifesimply happens and wreaks havoc with even the best laid plans.

Common themes throughout the development of Mission Command are the high pressure and changeintensive environments in which it has occurred. Supporting culture, behaviors and tools have beenrefined to better support the leader and allow maximum benefit to be taken from the use of themethodology. Increasingly we see this kind of environment across the leadership spectrum and

3 Manouverist Doctrine was developed during the Cold War and is based around the concept of defeating anumerically superior enemy through greater agility on the battlefield.4 The concept of the 3-block war was developed byGeneral Charles Krulak of the US Marine Corps, based onthe notion that at any one time the same force could be war-fighting in one block of a city, engaged in counter-

insurgency in the next and assisting with nation-building efforts in a third.5 Karl Von Clausewitz in his book On War; currently a key part of the syllabus considering leadershipcompetencies both at both US War College and UK Defense Academy


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although not the life and death situation experienced on the battlefield, the pace of change, frictionand associated levels of pressure in modern business environments mean that the challenges are notdissimilar and ensure that the drive to develop leaders who can still deliver high performance againstthis backdrop of change and pressure becomes ever stronger.

Fundamentals

The fundamental principles of Mission Command are broken down into three key leadership activitieswhich form a continuous cycle of planning, communication and review. This process flow, showndiagrammatically below, is a simple one and deliberately so; complex models aimed at providingsimplicity are an oxymoron. Equally it is no accident that the process is designed to be repeated ateach level of command using the same format; this drives alignment.

Figure 1 Steps of Mission Command.

The methodology of mission command is a set of cultural norms, supported by a range of leadershipbehaviors that will be considered in more detail later. Once the norms are established, themethodology is supported by two fundamental processes, planning and communication. Importantlycommunication encompases both the articulation of the plan (briefing) and an open review process(de-briefing). These steps are not intended as a rigid template and a dynamic environment willdemand that they are often undertaken in parallel. Moreover the process of de-briefing or review canoften be linked in a cycle back to the planning activity if the review identifies a need for the plan to

change.

MethodologyVisioning /Planning

Communication

Set of principlespromoting trust,decentralizedcommand, freedom ofaction and initiative.

MissionPlanning

ScenarioRehearsal

Development ofbest possiblecourse of action

Briefing:CascadeAlignmentClarityDirection

Leadership in High Stakes Environs

De-Briefing:ProgressReviewImprovementIntelligenceSuccessesMission Scope


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Mission Analysis Visioning & Planning

"If you do not know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere."

Henry Kissinger

Visioning and planning are widely recognized as key leadership competencies and the methodology ofMission Command labels the suite of activities therein as Mission Analysis. The leader conducts ananalytical exercise to understand his own mission in the context of overall strategic intent, allowing himto visualize what success will look like and importantly how that success aligns to the strategic intent.He will give detailed consideration to the freedoms and constraints he has been given and identify thereporting milestones.

Once the mission is clearly understood, scenario planning is used to consider the impact of thedifferent courses of action a leader has open to him to achieve his goal. He will consider a number ofdifferent ways in which he could use his resources and freedoms to achieve his mission and thenconduct an analytic exercise to consider possible reactions, both internally and of third parties to givenparts of his plan. This technique, know as mission rehearsal by the military, allows the leader toconsider each phase of his plan, assess risks and pitfalls and constantly refer back to the intent orreason why to ensure he is acting in alignment with higher intent. This process can be conducted inisolation or could be developed to include a range of other individuals, either contributing throughassessment or even by role playing other actors within the environment. For example, other teammembers act as competitors, and assess what their reaction would be to a given action in the leadersplan. This allows consideration of who the environment may change as the plan progresses andanticipation of the friction Clausewitz discusses starts to come into plan.

Disaster scenarios can be fed in at this stage, to consider for example the worst possible course ofaction by a competitor of a significant change in legislation. This helps the development of contingencyplans in the event of such an eventuality occurring and also allows better performance under pressure

as the leader has already considered the impact of, and his reaction to, events that serve to contributeto such pressure. A classic example of this is how the British Army has used the technique on currentoperations in Iraq. The leader about to embark on a routine patrol, considers what would happen ifambushed on each leg of the patrol and how he would react. By doing this he both developscontingency plans and knows what he will do if the worst happens when disaster strikes, he canoperate better under the associated pressure having already considered his reaction to the same.

At the end of the above analytical process the leader will chose the best course of action and a highlevel plan will be developed as the leader visualizes the steps along the route to the end-state. He willconfirm that the end-state he has visualized is in line with the strategic direction that has beenarticulated to him and that at all stages he supports the objectives of his own superiors. Armed withthis picture and outline roadmap, and confident of its contribution to the higher goal, the leader

conducts more detailed planning, allocating his resources within the boundaries and constraints hehas been set. He will develop the plan and identify what effect his subordinates are to achieve, whatresources he will allocate to them to do this and how to shape their business space.

This process of analysis with consideration of strategic intent at all levels is the key to ensuringalignment of tasks and teams. This alignment not only builds commitment but helps to simplifycomplex, multi-stage projects. Moreover as the inevitable changes occur and pressure increases,leaders at all levels have a clear understanding of, and confidence in, the overall intent which allowsthem to retain a clear focus on the outcome they are seeking and its broader effect. The discipline ofthe leader taking time to make sure he has understood the task given to him, what the successful end-state will look like and to visualize a roadmap to that point is a crucial activity to mitigate pressure. Toomany leaders, under pressure to deliver something now, embark on a plan before they have clearly

analyzed it or thought it through to such an end-state. This is a classic false economy and will onlyserve to add to the pressure as the ill-defined plan unravels; better to adhere to the disciple discussed


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above and start slightly later with a clearly defined and workable plan that both delivers the desiredeffect and is aligned with strategic direction.

Effective Communications The Briefing Process

Communication or the briefing of the plan to subordinates follows the Mission Analysis phase.Regardless of the process used, the passage of information from leader to subordinate is crucial to thesuccess of any plan. Many leaders favor face-to-face briefings where he can impart the force of hispersonality and enthusiasm into the process, while others would argue the written form or a settemplate ensures accuracy and understanding. While formats can be adjusted to suit organizationalneeds and culture and should not be slavishly adhered to, at every given level staff should receivefrom their leader at least an agreed minimum package of information. The means of delivery of thisinformation is of course a decision for the individual leader and will be based on the team, situationand the leader himself.

The briefing process also provides a simple point of reference as the task develops and can bereferred back to as required. The headlines within the a briefing template can be developed to suit agiven organization, but in all cases will ensure that the leader supports Mission Command by giving

his subordinates all of the information required to allow them to develop their own plan to achieveindividual team tasks. It will also ensure the alignment of the same with the leaders own mission.Again the example below is not aimed as a template, but shows an example of the British Armysorders process, which ensures that even under the most extreme pressure, leaders consider andarticulate all of the key issues during the briefing process.

Information Explanation

Mission What the junior leader is to achieve

UnifyingPurpose

Why the junior leader is to achieve the mission and how this will contributeto the broader business / project goals

Broad Intenttwo levels up

An overview of the broad intentions of the leader two levels up, to give abroad understanding of the higher level issues

Detailed Intentone level up

A detailed explanation of what the leader giving the mission is trying toachieve, how that contributes to broader goals and a summary of thecontribution of any other business units that the manager is responsiblefor giving missions to.

Main Effort6

The Critical Success Factor that will make or break the project towardswhich all business activity will contribute.

Resources The resources (cash, manpower, equipment) that have been allocated tocomplete the mission.

Constraints An articulation of the business space in which the junior leader can havefreedom of action, without the need to refer decisions upwards. This mayinclude time, financial limits of geographic boundaries.

ReportingPoints /Milestones

Points as which the junior leader must report progress and articulatechanges in his plan to his superior.

Clarification &Questions

An opportunity at the end of the communication of the plan forsubordinates to seek clarification where require and the leader to discussareas to confirm understanding.

Figure 2 Mission Briefing Template.

6 The British Army defines the Main Effort as the single act or achievement that will ensure the success of themission.


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Debriefing Review & Development

Effective communications do of course not end with the initial briefing and allowing subordinatesfreedom to develop their own plans does not mean that the leader does not maintain ownership of thewhole and therefore there remains a requirement to monitor progress, provide support and developprocess and performance. Mission Command employs the debriefing process to track progress andperformance in a high pressure and dynamic environment. The process is a combination of progressmonitoring performance assessment and executive coaching that allows the leader to provide review,have oversight and give guidance at agreed points or at end phases of activity, although being carefulto allow subordinates the freedom to add value that they have been promised. It also affords theopportunity to capture best practice.

Typically debriefing occurs at major milestones or at the end of phases in a task, but can beprogrammed in as required. Format and style can be adapted to suit organizational cultures, but theprocess involves an open and honest review of progress and performance identifying if bothindividuals (including the leader himself) and the team are on track and continuing to support thehigher strategic intent. Where appropriate, mistakes are analyzed openly and solutions put in place to

prevent repeat; positives are brought out of this as best practice and processes refined. The processallows leaders to effectively monitor progress and provide regular high-quality objective feedback oncollective and individual performance without limiting the freedoms that underpin Mission Command.This also provides an effective system for knowledge management and transfer. An example of atemplate for the De-briefing process developed within the Capability Development function in the MODis shown below:

P Progress to date R Review of situation against plan I - Improvements - Quick wins, long term I - Intelligence - What have we learnt S- Successes - What went well M Mission Scope - Was the mission achievable

Figure 3 De-Briefing Template

Through regular debriefs the leader can also review the dynamic environment in which he operatesand consider the effect of internal and external change. Once significant change is identified he willrevisit the Mission Analysis process to consider how these changes may affect existing plans. Ifrequired, the process can then be used to refine or develop these existing plans the ingrained focuson supporting the strategic intent ensures that decisions are made on the basis of the current situationas opposed to inertia or emotional capital invested in existing plans. Honest debriefing focusesdecisions on the desired outcomes. Encouraging the development of processes to support this focus

on outcomes prevents process becoming an end in itself. Pressure is again a key factor, withcommunications often being one of the first causalities of a worsening environment. A structureddebriefing process affords the leader an opportunity to keep lines of communication open and tomaintain a clear picture of the situation when the pressure of a given situation increases.


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Supporting Behaviors & Culture

Leadership is a combination of strategy and character. If you must be without one, be without the strategy"General H. Norman Schwarzkopf

Having explored the basic mechanics of Mission Command, it is important to consider the underlying

leadership behaviors and culture that will facilitate its success. As Schwarzkopf7 suggests, without theappropriate character or culture to deliver a leadership strategy, the strategy itself is useless. It is noco-incidence that the key traits or behaviors discussed below are common to many leadershipmethodologies and indeed all are the subject of much research in the leadership development arena intheir own rights. There are of course numerous leadership behaviors that can be associated to MissionCommand, but those identified below are fundamental to developing a culture where MissionCommand can flourish and where leaders can effectively employ it.

1. Trust

Mission Command cannot succeed without trust in subordinates. Not only does engenderingthis culture create a more positive working environment, but it also strengthens the bond

between leader and subordinate. Additionally it puts more onus on leaders at all levels todevelop their teams, as the greater the skill set of the team, the greater the trust the leader islikely to put in them. Leaders must trust there subordinates by giving them sufficient recoursesand significantly wide constraints to allow them to achieve the mission they have beenallocated. Equally he must allow the junior leader to react to change and develop the planwithin those constraints without the need to apply the long screwdriver. Trusting subordinatesto deliver also removes the need for time intensive constant oversight referral of all decisionsfor approval allowing the leader time to focus his efforts where it is most needed andreducing the overall level of pressure on him

2. Empowerment

By giving leaders at all levels greater autonomy we are allowing them to fully utilize there skill-set and add maximum value by bringing all of their skills and experience to bear. Additionallytime wasted in top heavy decisions conferences or producing lengthy briefings for the nextlevel of management is reduced, allowing more time for gainful work and value creation.Delegation in high stakes environments not only allows subordinates to feel they are critical tothe overall success of the mission but also means they have a clear understanding of thebigger picture. Knowing what is expected of them, and why, means they can engage with andcontribute fully to the overall intent.

3. Responsibility

While leaders can devolve decision making, authority and accountability for project areas, theycan not and must not attempt to delegate responsibility. The overall responsibility for themission, a leader has been given, remains his and his alone regardless of what he has askedhis subordinates to do. Attempts to blame subordinates for failure through delegation ofresponsibility is a major leadership failing, erodes trust and demonstrates an alarming lack ofintegrity in a leader. It is key that leaders understand the difference between trusting asubordinate and attempts to devolve ultimate responsibility to them. It is often a fine line anddeveloping this judgment is a key training issue if mission command is to be used successfully.

4. Integrity

Underpinning the controlled autonomy leaders at all levels have is an atmosphere of honestyand integrity. It works both ways and the leader must be honest with him about the missions he

7 General Normal H Schwarzkopf in his autobiography It doesnt take a hero


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gives to his subordinates and what level of accountability he can delegate. As explored abovemaintaining ultimate responsibility is a key leadership function. Conversely the junior leadermust be honest with himself in terms of his ability to autonomously complete the mission hehas been given, but also be honest with his leader in terms of progress and issues.

5. Alignment

To achieve full value from the freedom allowed to junior leaders, they must be clear of thebigger picture and how their actions are contributing to it. The briefing of leaders intent oneand two levels up together with the associated main effort (or critical success factor) allowsunderstanding of this bigger picture. This in turn will facilitate alignment of tasks and ifdelivered correctly, ensures that as missions cascade down from senior to junior levels ofmanagement. Although the detail and volume of information passed will change, effectivecommunication of key organizational goals and broad strategic direction will be maintained. Inpressured environments, this kind of alignment is crucial to performance as teams are able toeffectively support organizational goals, even if the situation changes, without constant andtime consuming referral of all decisions to leadership.

Outcomes & Benefits"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity".

George Patton

If individual behaviors are in place and a supportive leadership culture can be achieved the benefitsfrom the most junior team to the strategic level of the employment of Mission Command can besignificant. In additional to an appreciative rise in the collective performance levels of its leaders, othermajor benefits organizations employing the methodology, or parts thereof, note are a rise inorganizational agility, an improvement of communications, increased capture and use of best practice

and a rise in employee commitment.

Leadership performance has been seen to improve across the organization, both through thesupporting process and culture but also by the mitigation of the negative effects of pressure. Inaddition to the alignment of his team with the strategic objective, which can significantly lessen thepressure on a leader, tools to simplify a complex task, increasing contributions from junior leadership,a focus on outcomes over process, provision of an effective communications template and theacceptance of a suitable period of analysis prior to action provided by the Mission Commandmethodology all have the same effect. Pressure on the leader is reduced allowing him to focus on keystrategic and leadership issues and maintain his performance levels.

At an organizational level, the ability to react quickly to change - its agility - is significantly improved.

This alone can give a significant competitive advantage as it will allow an organization to react fasterthan its competitors. The embracing of a change culture ingrained into the Mission Command culture,through among other things the delegation of decision making, means an organizations ability to copewith, and manage, change will be improved as traditional inertia and barriers are substantiallyreduced.

The provision of an effective communications structure which supports Mission Command will alsodevelop the flow of information across the organization. The processes supporting alignment ensure abetter understanding and communication of the vision and direction and briefing / de-briefing activitiesfurther support this. De-briefing also supports the capture of best practice by providing a forum inwhich both the positive and negative of existing process can be discussed openly. Moreover a culturewhich focuses on outcomes and embraces change is also one in which this best practice can beimplemented without significant resistance.


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At all levels, but particularly the junior leadership level, the experience of organizations that haveembraced Mission Command suggests that commitment is significantly improved, as employees feeltrusted, engaged and can see how their efforts are contributing directly to the overall plan. It is also ofnote that this cycle, which begins with leaders empowering and trusting their employees, hasenormous scope to be self-reinforcing. As trust is devolved and risk managed successfully at a lowerlevel, so the confidence of the leader in the subordinate position grows as does the self-confidence

and commitment of the latter. Performance improves and competencies develop as a result, allowingmore trust to be placed in the subordinate and the value he adds continue to grow. This is perhapsbest represented diagrammatically:

Figure 4 The Alignment Benefits Loop.

The development of the methodology or Mission Command is rooted within the military, however itsdevelopment over recent years has clearly demonstrated that it is not a rigid template for thebattlefield, but more a set of practices and behaviors that revolve around empowerment and alignment

of leaders right down to the lowest level. It is aimed at getting maximum value from all leaders in anorganization and at increasing commitment through the development of trust. Moreover it is aimed atdeveloping organizational agility and speed of response to change.

It is certainly not a catch all concept that will solve all leadership issues and is of course but one of amyriad of leadership theories and models currently circulating. Its principles do however come withextensive credentials from their use in a vast range of complex and challenging environments and thiscertainly makes it worthy of further consideration. Its success depends on the creation of anenvironment of trust and commitment, underpinned by an understanding of the bigger picture andeach teams part in it in essence the alignment of all business units with broader organizationalgoals. It requires significant discipline and buy-in from leaders at all levels, but the rewards, if it isimplemented successfully, can be significant.

This paper does not seek to sell Mission Command, but simply to raise their awareness of it as amethodology and challenge readers to consider areas of best practice derived from it that could beemployed in their own business space to increase their and their teams effectiveness. The author hasused Mission Command, or parts of the associated methodologies, to support LeadershipDevelopment interventions in the Defense, Public and Private sectors.

Adam Riley

Objectivesalign

PerformanceImproves

Commitmentrises

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High Pressure Leadership Mission Command