Page 130 - Journal of Special Operations Medicine - Summer 2016

Team of Teams
New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World

McChrystal, Stanley; Collins, Tantum; Silverman, David; Fussell, Chris. Team of Teams
New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World. Westminster, London, UK: Portfolio; 2015. 304 pages.
ISBN-10: 1591847486, ISBN-13: 978-1591847489.
Review by COL Robert D. Forsten

s a recently retired senior leader in the US military’s planning and decentralized execution. The fundamental
ASpecial Operations community, General (Ret) Stanley concept of trusting subordinate leaders worked well with the
McChrystal needs little introduction. His latest work, Team Task Force. Granted, this is much easier in the Special Opera-
of Teams, based on his Task Force’s tions community because most personnel are of above-average
exploits against terrorist networks in intelligence and are the best tactically trained personnel in the
Iraq, can be applied to both military US military. By decreasing organizational stove-piped paro-
and business operations. Throughout chialism, the Task Force reconstructed itself to leverage inter-
his book, he explains how traditional actions at lower levels rather than having to wait for orders
leadership hierarchy models no longer from the top. Because it worked within the Task Force, Gen-
work in today’s well-connected and less eral McChrystal believes this style of leadership could apply to
predictable world. Combining lessons larger service, agency, and business organizations across many
learned from industry, military anec- time zones and countries.
dotes, and narratives inspired by his
command of the Joint Special Opera- Although an interesting overall read, his book can, at times, be
tions Task Force, General McChrystal confusing and vague. For example, phrases like “the Task Force
describes a new leadership framework had built systems that were very good at doing things right, but
where just being more efficient is not good enough in today’s too inflexible to do the right thing” and “our actions were the
complex and uncertain environment. product of our planning, and our planning was predicated on
our ability to predict” read like a Phil Jackson “art of Zen”
This work describes an evolved leadership method, using coaching book. But in his role with his leadership consulting
military and industry examples that will keep aspiring leaders firm, General McChrystal will probably use this technique at
engrossed from the start. The author includes significant his- speaking engagements and Fortune 500 leadership seminars
torical examples from the 19th and 20th centuries to explain and will impress the crowd, because the business world, like
how leadership adapted to solve problems but then he explains the military, faces the challenge of the unknown. Neither can
why a century’s worth of conventional leadership strategies correctly predict where the next enemy attack, market crash,
should be discarded because they do not work as well today. or competitor’s discovery will occur and then respond quickly
This is an insightful work that describes the refined leadership enough when it does. As the book notes, although far more is
style needed to succeed in the information-overloaded 21st known today, the world is actually less predictable, and it is
century military or civilian operating environment. impossible to control the outcome of every event; all leaders
will have to wade through the new 21st century “fog of war,”
Although not mentioned in the book, the change in the leader- whether conducting military or business operations.
ship style that eventually led to positive results for the Task
Force is the US military leadership philosophy of Mission The complicated and fast-paced military and business worlds
Command. It is likely General McChrystal practiced Mission of the 21st century demand a new leadership approach to
Command with his Task Force in Iraq, but by the time this achieve success. General McChrystal’s book may sometimes
book was published, the idea of Mission Command had al- read like psychobabble from a leadership charm school, but
ready been embraced by US military leaders several years be- it highlights a useful model for leaders to help them recognize
fore (some in the military believe it was relearned). and deal with uncertainty. As in the airplane cockpit or surgical
suite, the military and business environments are too compli-
The concept of “commander’s intent” is inherent to success- cated to track entirely and comprehend how each component
ful Mission Command. The authors explain commander’s in- works or relates; however, it is not the complicated airplane
tent by citing Horatio Nelson’s orders before the sea battle of or human body that leads to errors during flight or surgery,
Trafalgar, noting that “No captain can do very wrong if he but the lack of interpersonal communication. Both airline and
places his ship alongside that of the enemy.” The significance medical studies demonstrate that outcomes can be negative in
of commander’s intent is that it allows a junior-level Soldier or these overwhelmingly complicated situations, but with proper
employee to better understand what they should be doing and application, the leadership ideas described in Team of Teams
take initiative when the leader is not around. promote a leadership method that improves speed and flex-
ibility, and will reduce leader anxiety, increase efficiencies, and
The author discusses aspects of Mission Command such as save jobs or lives. This book is extremely useful as a leadership
pushing decision-making to lower levels of ownership or “eyes concept or philosophy primer for current and future military
on, hands off” leadership, which is the reality of centralized and business leaders that want to become better leaders.

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