![]() Careful selection and comprehensive training helped achieve this. To this the general replies that the King can have his head after the war, but while the general has it, he will use it.īuild a capable team Auftragstaktik requires capable teams. By the third time, the King’s messenger serves an ultimatum that if the general doesn’t attack, the King will have his head. After some time, the King sends word again pushing the general to attack and the general still doesn’t. General decides that the time was not right and refrains. For example, during a campaign, the King sends word to the General at the war front to attack. Stories of officers exercising independent judgement (against the superior’s wishes) were regularly shared widely. The team took initiative to destroy the second bridge too, because they were clear on the ‘why’ of their mission Encourage and celebrate independent thinking All officers were encouraged to exercise independent judgement. When the team reached the bridge and destroyed it, they realized that there was another bridge several kilometers upstream. Intent (as communicated to them) was to prevent the enemy from gaining easy access to the other bank. Once, a platoon was tasked with destroying a bridge over a river. The next level down should add whatever further specification it feels to be necessary’ ‘The higher the level of command, the shorter and more general the orders should be.In war, circumstances change very rapidly, and it is rare indeed for directions which cover a long period of time in a lot of detail to be fully carried out’ ‘Not commanding more than is strictly necessary, nor planning beyond the circumstances you can foresee.Couple of his quotes are highlight instructive: GOOD SOLDIERS FOLLOW ORDERS HOW TOMoltke’s guideline on leadership communication is clear – only share the what and the why and leave the how to subordinates. Communicate only the what & why and not the how There are multiple elements that went into Auftragstaktik that are relevant to building agility in organizations today. Auftragstaktik, which Moltke defined as ‘actions a subordinate took in the absence of orders that supported the commander’s intent’, was key to this. This kind of initiative taking and stepping up by subordinates regularly made the German army one of the best fighting forces in the world. A staff sergeant (junior in rank), who landed on the Fort, took charge, and accomplished the mission. The leader ended up 100 km away from the fort. The German army had formed teams of gliders to land on Eben-Emael to defuse 17 artillery guns in 10 mins (to prevent a counterattack by Belgian forces). What is instructive is not the victory itself, but how the well laid out German plan unraveled during the campaign. A German attack team of sub-500 conquered this fort in 32 hours. Fort Eben-Emael, in Belgium, was considered impregnable and housed 1200 soldiers. A German campaign on 10th May ‘40, that initiated World War II, is illuminating. ![]()
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