MISSION COMMAND AND
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
PURPOSE
To provide an overview of the main ideas in ADP 6-0 and ADRP
6-0.
Outline
•
•
•
•
•
•
Doctrine
Central Idea
Army approach to mission command
Mission command as a philosophy
Principles of mission command
Mission command as a warfighting function
2
MISSION COMMAND
Mission command is the exercise of authority and direction
by the commander using mission orders to enable
disciplined initiative within the commander’s intent to
empower agile and adaptive leaders in the conduct of unified
land operations.
MISSION COMMAND DOCTRINE PLAN
ADP 6-0 describes the principles
of mission command.
ADRP 6-0 expands upon the
the fundamentals of mission command
In ADP 6-0.
FM 6-0 provides tactics and procedures for exercising mission
command to include procedures used in planning, preparing,
executing, and assessing operations.
ADP 5-0 describes the principles
of the operations process .
ADRP 5-0 expands upon the
the fundamentals of the operations
process in ADP 5-0.
CENTRAL IDEA
ARMY APPROACH TO MISSION
COMMAND
The Army’s approach to mission command:
• Concentrates on the objectives not mechanics of how to achieve it
• Must be comprehensive, without being rigid, because military
operations as a whole defy orderly, efficient, and precise control.
• Requires subordinates to take action to develop the situation
within the commander’s intent
• Requires shared understanding and unity of effort
MISSION COMMAND PHILOSOPHY
• People are the basis of all military organizations, and military operations
occur as human interactions. Commanders use the philosophy of
mission command to exploit and enhance uniquely human skills.
Commander’s
Intent
• Commanders implement mission command through the balancing of the
art of command with the science of control.
A clear and concise
expression of the
purpose of the
operation and the
desired military
end state that
supports mission
command
• Exercise of authority and direction by the commander using mission
orders to enable disciplined initiative within the commander’s intent to
empower agile and adaptive leaders in the conduct of unified land
operations.
 art of command as the creative and skillful exercise of
authority through timely decision making and
leadership.
PRINCIPLES OF MISSION
COMMAND
SIX GUIDED PRINCIPLES
• Build cohesive teams through mutual trust
• Create shared understanding
• Provide a clear commander’s intent
• Exercise disciplined initiative
• Use mission orders
• Accept prudent risk
BUILD COHESIVE TEAMS THROUGH
MUTUAL TRUST
BUILD COHESIVE TEAMS
MUTUAL TRUST
• Effective commanders build cohesive
teams in an environment of mutual trust.
• shared confidence among commanders,
subordinates, and partners.
• Show you trust your teammates by
involving them.
• Few shortcuts to gaining the trust of
others.
• Requires effort to overcome
differences
• Trust takes time and must be earned.
• Put trust in, and you will generally get
trust in return.
CREATE SHARED UNDERSTANDING
A defining challenge for commanders and staffs is creating shared
understanding of their operational environment, their operation’s
purpose, its problems, and approaches to solving them
Commanders and staffs actively build and maintain shared understanding
within the force and with unified action partners by maintaining collaboration
and dialogue
COMMANDERS INTENT
 A clear, concise statement of what a force must do to succeed
 States key task, including tempo, duration and effect on enemy or terrain
 Understood two levels down
 Provides link between mission and concept
 Prepared by commander
 Without the commander successfully communicating his intent to the team there is little
chance that the mission will be a overall success
EXERCISE DISCIPLINE INITIATIVE
• Disciplined initiative is action in the absence of orders, when existing
orders no longer fit the situation, or when unforeseen opportunities or
threats arise.
• Commanders rely on subordinates to act, and subordinates take action
to develop the situation
• willingness to act helps develop and maintain operational initiative that
sets or dictates
• the terms of action throughout an operation
DISCIPLINE INITIATIVE CONT.
Subordinates exercising disciplined
initiative:
• Create opportunity by taking action to
develop the situation
• Are guided by commander’s intent
• Report the situation to the commander
as soon as possible
MISSION ORDERS
Mission orders are directives that emphasize to subordinates the
results to be attained, not how they are to achieve them
Commanders use mission orders to:
•
Provide direction and Guidance
•
Set priorities
•
Allocate resources
•
Influence the situation
They provide subordinates the maximum freedom of action in determining
how best to accomplish missions.
ACCEPT PRUDENT RISK
• Prudent risk is a deliberate exposure to potential injury or loss when
the commander judges the outcome in terms of mission
accomplishment as worth the cost.
• Commanders accept prudent risk when making decisions because
uncertainty exists in all military operations.
• The willingness to accept prudent risk is often the key to exposing
enemy weaknesses.
MISSION COMMAND
WARFIGHTING FUNCTION
WAR FIGHTING FUNCTION
A warfighting function
is a group of tasks and
systems (people,
organizations, information,
and processes) united by a
common purpose that
command use to
accomplish missions and
training objective (ADRP
3-0)
The mission command warfighting function is the related tasks and systems that
develop and integrate those activities enabling a commander to balance the art of
command and the science of control in order to integrate the other warfighting
functions.
ADP 3-0
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
ARMY LEADER DEFINED
An Army leader is
• Anyone who by virtue of assumed role or assigned responsibility inspires and
influences people to accomplish organizational goals.
• Motivates people both inside and outside the chain of command to pursue
actions.
• Anyone who emphasizes thinking and shape decisions for the greater good of
the organization.
HOW LEADERS DEVELOP
• Individuals desire to improve and invest effort
• When chain of command supports development
• When the organizational climate values learning.
18 LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES FROM
COLIN POWELL
•
1. “Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off.”
•
2. “The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”
•
3. “Don’t be buffaloed by experts and elites. Experts often possess more data than judgment. Elites can become so inbred that they produce hemophiliacs who bleed to death as soon as they are nicked by the real world.”
•
4. “Don’t be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard.”
•
5. “Never neglect details. When everyone’s mind is dulled or distracted the leader must be doubly vigilant.”
•
6. “You don’t know what you can get away with until you try.”
•
7. “Keep looking below surface appearances. Don’t shrink from doing so (just) because you might not like what you find.”
•
8. “Organization doesn’t really accomplish anything. Plans don’t accomplish anything, either. Theories of management don’t much matter. Endeavors succeed or fail because of the people involved. Only by attracting the best
people will you accomplish great deeds.”
•
9. “Organization charts and fancy titles count for next to nothing.”
•
10. “Never let your ego get so close to your position that when your position goes, your ego goes with it.”
•
11. “Fit no stereotypes. Don’t chase the latest management fads. The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the team’s mission.”
•
12. “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.”
•
13. Powell’s Rules for Picking People: “Look for intelligence and judgment and, most critically, a capacity to anticipate, to see around corners. Also look for loyalty, integrity, a high energy drive, a balanced ego and the drive to
get things done.”
•
14. “Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate and doubt, to offer a solution everybody can understand.” (borrowed from Michael Korda)
•
15. “Use the formula P=40 to 70, in which P stands for the probability of success and the numbers indicate the percentage of information acquired. Once the information is in the 40 to 70 range, go with your gut.”
•
16. “The commander in the field is always right and the rear echelon is wrong, unless proved otherwise.”
•
17. “Have fun in your command. Don’t always run at a breakneck pace. Take leave when you’ve earned it: Spend time with your families. Corollary: Surround yourself with people who take their work seriously, but not
themselves, those who work hard and play hard.”
•
18. “Command is lonely.”