Mission Command Philosophy Applied to Army Leadership

Introduction to Mission Command

Mission command is defined in Army Doctrine Publication 6-0 as "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" (McBride & Snell, 2017). The philosophy and concepts of mission command can be found in its six guiding principles: 1) using mutual trust to build a cohesive team, 2) creating a sense of shared understanding, 3) being clear about the commander's intent, 4) exercising disciplined initiative, 5) using mission orders, and 6) accepting prudent risk (Hutchings, 2018). One can see, then, that the most important concepts in the philosophy of mission command are trust, communication, understanding, discipline, guidance, and prudence. This paper shows how the philosophy and concepts of mission command can be applied in future duty assignments by always remaining mindful of—and ready to develop and use—trust, communication, discipline, and the other core concepts of mission command in order to make a team effective and successful.

Teamwork as the Foundation of Mission Command

Teamwork is ultimately at the heart of mission command, which recognizes that every person is part of a larger team and that every team is part of a larger whole. Just as oil is used to make an engine operate smoothly, the elements of teamwork—trust, communication, understanding, and support—all help to make the team run like a well-tuned engine. That engine, in turn, helps to drive the rest of the organization. One of the most important ways to apply the philosophy and concepts of mission command is to develop and implement social and emotional skills, as these are like the cylinders that contain the pistons: they create the right sense of energy, urgency, stability, and camaraderie that a team needs (Fredrickson, 2001).

Leaders who lack social and emotional intelligence do not know how to communicate well with others, how to sense when something is wrong, or how to recognize when a worker does not understand an order and therefore needs further explanation. Leaders without social and emotional intelligence are like ships without a compass. They are pointed in the right direction, and when a storm comes and blows them off course they continue along the line they imagine they were holding from the outset—when in reality they have been buffeted far off course. Because they have no tools to tell them otherwise, they are sailing blindly and do not even know it. When a leader has developed social and emotional intelligence, however, and is able to understand how words, tones, and triggers affect the minds and hearts of people, that leader is far better prepared to weather any squall and keep the mission on track.

In future assignments, it will always be important to continue developing social and emotional intelligence skills because they are essential to creating an environment of mutual trust. By demonstrating openness to and understanding of the needs of others—and, moreover, by addressing those needs through empathetic use of words and tone—a leader earns followers' respect. Trust then begins to flow in both directions, and the team develops a spirit of mission. It forms an identity rooted in a shared understanding of what the team is fundamentally about.

When communicating with a team, the most important aspects of the mission should be emphasized by clearly defining the goal and outlining how that goal is to be achieved. Definition and clarity are two key aspects of communication, and the way to underscore them is by ensuring that everyone understands the objective and their individual roles. Communication is not merely a one-way street in which a commander issues orders while traveling in a straight line from point A to point B. Communication must consist of a two-way flow. That is why an effective communicator always pauses to take questions and interacts with workers to confirm understanding—even when workers do not ask questions or hesitate to do so. Spending time with team members and observing whether they are working with knowledge and confidence, or with fear and uncertainty, helps to assess genuine comprehension. Encouraging questions whenever doubt exists, while simultaneously empowering workers to make decisions within areas where they are authorized to do so, strengthens the team. Feedback from workers also provides an opportunity to reflect on one's own communication techniques—delivery, listening, observation skills—and whether one is being the most effective communicator possible.

Conclusion

The concepts and philosophy of mission command are rooted in its six principles, which emphasize trust, understanding, communication, definition, and effective decision-making. Implementing the concepts and philosophy of mission command in future assignments means focusing on the effective use of communication skills—specifically by employing and further developing social and emotional intelligence—and by being a leader who empowers followers to self-manage and self-actualize.