Thursday, January 3, 2019

“Trust should not be viewed as a linear construct, and certainly not one in which trust flows predominantly in one direction. Rather, it must be treated as a spherical construct, in which the Army values, along with trust, are demonstrated fully and uniformly throughout the service, trust flows not only up the chain but down as well, and both are spread laterally to peers and adjacent units.”
– Col. William B. Ostlund –

The philosophy of “mission command” guides U.S. military officers and seeks to “enable disciplined initiative within the commander’s intent to empower agile and adaptive leaders.” A six point set of principles undergirds this philosophy and every Thursday for the next five weeks I’ll share one of these principles with you beginning with Principle One: “Build cohesive teams through mutual trust.”

Click here to learn more about the philosophy of mission command and don’t forget that trust isn’t linear – it’s spherical.