Don Vandergriff on Mission Command

Pentagon Labyrinth

The doctrine of both the Army and Marine Corps are based on a foundation of mission command, a leadership philosophy where commanders tell subordinates what they want done but allow the subordinate leaders to figure out how to do it. For such a leadership philosophy to work, the entire organizational culture must be optimized for that, to include the personnel system. Don Vandergriff, a retired soldier and author, has dedicated his career to pushing these ideas. Here he talks about what steps can be taken to ensure we have the most effective and ethical military possible.