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
Commander’s Intent
to exploit and enhance uniquely human skills.
• Commanders implement mission command through the balancing of the art of A clear and concise
command with the science of control. expression of the
purpose of the
• Exercise of authority and direction by the commander using mission
operation and the
orders to enable disciplined initiative within the commander’s intent to
desired military end
empower agile and adaptive leaders in the conduct of unified land
state that supports
operations.
mission command

 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
• Effective commanders build cohesive
teams in an environment of mutual trust.
• Show you trust your teammates by
involving them.
• Requires effort to overcome
differences
MUTUAL TRUST
• shared confidence among commanders,
subordinates, and partners.
• Few shortcuts to gaining the trust of
others.
• 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.”