Chapter 8 Decentralized Command Flashcards
Chapter 8 Decentralized Command p170-171
What benefit come from pushing decision making down to subordinate frontline leaders (Decentralized Command)? What makes that critical to success?
It allows the senior leader to maintain focus on the bigger picture: coordinate friendly assets and monitor enemy activity. If embroiled in the details of the tactical problem, there would be no one to fill my role and manage the strategic mission.
Chapter 8 Decentralized Command p171
What is the difficult part of Decentralized Command for senior leaders?
Placing full faith and trust in junior leaders with less experience and allowing them to manage their teams is difficult to embrace. It requires tremendous trust and confidence in those frontline leaders, who must very clearly understand the strategic mission and ensure that their immediate tactical decisions ultimately contribute to accomplishing overall goals.
Chapter 8 Decentralized Command p171
For Senior leaders to to place full faith and trust in junior leaders requires what from that junior leaders understand what?
It requires tremendous trust and confidence in those frontline leaders, who must very clearly understand the strategic mission and ensure that their immediate tactical decisions ultimately contribute to accomplishing the overarching goals
Chapter 8 Decentralized Command p171
What do junior leaders need to have faith that senior leaders will do (Decentralized Command)?
They need to trust that Senior leaders have empowered them to make decisions and that senior leaders will back them up.
Chapter 8 Decentralized Command p173
How does Decentralized command work?
Every subordinate leader must be allowed to execute based on a good understanding of the broader mission (know as commanders Intent) and standard operating procedures. That was effectively decentralized command.
Each leader was trusted to lead and guide his team in support of the overall mission. Those junior leaders learned that they were expected to make decisions . they couldn’t ask “ what do I do”. instead they had to state “this is what I am going to do”. Since every leader knew the overall intent of the mission, every leader worked and led separately, but in a unified way that contributed to the overall goal.
Chapter 8 Decentralized Command p183
Human beings are generally not capable of managing more than _____ people, particularly when things go sideways.
6-10, but 4-5 is better
Chapter 8 Decentralized Command p183
How should organizational schemes be broken down?
Teams must be broken down into manageable elements of four to five operators, with a clearly designated leader.
The leaders must understand the overall mission, and the ultimate goal of that mission (commander’s intent).
Junior leaders need to be empowered to make decisions on key task necessary to accomplish that mission in the most effective manner possible.
Teams within teams are organized for maximum effectiveness for particular mission, w/ leaders who have clearly delineated responsibilities.
Every tactical leader must understand not just what to do but why they are doing it.
Chapter 8 Decentralized Command p184
How with so many junior leaders making their own decisions does DC to devolve into a chaotic mess?
DC does not mean that junior leaders run independent programs, rather junior leaders must fully comprehend what is w/i their decision making authority - the “left and right limits” of their responsibility.
Also they must communicate w/ senior leaders recommending decisions outside of their authority and pass critical information up the chain of command so the senior leadership can make informed strategic decisions.
Chapter 8 Decentralized Command p184
To be effectively empowered to make decisions front line leaders must execute with confidence. Tactical leaders must be confident that they clearly understand the strategic mission and Commander’s intent. They must implicit trust that senior leaders will back their decisions or they will not be able to confidently execute = not DC. What gives junior leaders trust that senior leaders have their back and what gives senior leaders trust that the strategic mission is being followed?
Communication, aka situation awareness, Senior leaders must constantly communicate and push information to their subordinate leaders and in return junior leaders push situational awareness up the chain of command keep ing senior leaders informed …particularly of crucial information that affects strategic decisions making.
Chapter 8 Decentralized Command p184-185
What are two type of senior leadership failures of Decentralized Command?
- Micromanager- leader who try to take on too much themselves, causing the operation to fall into chaos. Fix is empower frontline leaders through DC.
- Battlefield aloofness- leaders who are so far removed from the troops they become ineffective. These leaders have appearance of control but have no idea what troops are doing and fail to effectively lead.
Chapter 8 Decentralized Command p185
Why is leader position and involvement a key issue for command and control of that team?
If the leader is positioned out in front they get sucked into the minutia of the task and lose situational awareness. If they are in the rear they lose the the ability to direct the assault force. In the middle of the team the leader is spot that allows leaders command and control.
Chapter 8 Decentralized Command p190
From a leadership perspective, there is nothing more important that an understanding of the dynamics of ________.
Decentralized Command
Chapter 8 Decentralized Command p191
Junior leaders must know that the boss will back them up even if they make decisions that may not result in the best outcomes, as long as _______.
the decision was made in an effort to achieve the strategic objective.
Chapter 8 Decentralized Command
Combat story
training to go to Iraq found that he needed to develop DC because he was not preforming at training
DC saved them from a blue on blue allowed him to step back and see the mistake, without DC he may have let the order fly
Chapter 8 Decentralized Command
Business story
President of a company has lots of branches that have wildly ranging situations, no span of control and just stop growing after a bit for several reasons. Every manager reported to him, no further divisions. He had to let go of control and allow his team to lead with direction.
