Military Review English Edition November-December 2013 | Page 51

TEAMS OF LEADERS
The shared SKA of high performance, particularly shared trust and shared competence, become
performance multipliers as new mission purposes
arise under uncertain and often unpredictable
circumstances. Gen. Martin Dempsey, then—
commanding general of TRADOC, observed
the same in discussing mission command.11 The
leader team, already high performing due to the
presence of shared SKA that brought success
and the resulting shared confidence, can more
rapidly respond to uncertainty. Shared trust and
competence provide a robust cushion when new
purposes appear.
The most effective sharing may be bottom-up,
where and when both distance and time can be
reduced to zero to support adaptation as operational concepts may direct. Sharing can be right,
left, up, and down across boundaries of organization, function, level, and culture. The most

pronounced effectiveness benefits can be sharing
across levels. The “top” seeks actual “ground
truth” the bottom welcomes “heads-up,” what
may be coming down within the organizational or
functional stovepipe. Win-win! Exactly this was
the stimulus for developing the IM/KM capabilities of FBCB2 supporting professional forums in
the Battle Command Knowledge System.
The SKA of high performing leader teams in
ToL can be generated across any combination of
environments by structured exercises comparable
to those situational training exercises developed
to support task training for “hard power.” High
performing leader team development can be structured drawing on suggested LTX or unstructured
(self-guided) practices. It can be with or without
coach or mentor; grouped or virtual.12 In every
case, ToL application generates some successful
“champions” influenced positively by their ToL

Army Maj. Gen. Patrick Murphy, the adjutant general of the New York National Guard, briefs Army Gen. Frank Grass, the
chief of the National Guard Bureau, during a visit to areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey and New York, 2
November 2012.

MILITARY REVIEW

• November-December 2013

49