Militaries have existed almost since the beginning of human history. Stories of military battles spatter the Bible. Armed forces have evolved and adapted over time to employ better weapons, troops that are more responsive, effective defense mechanisms, and superior communication systems.
In this post, I will review the various ways the military exhibits agility with its training of individuals, formation of teams and operational procedures.
1. T-Shaped Individuals
Men and women do not go to combat immediately after enlisting in the military. Every new recruit must endure some sort of basic training or boot camp. During this training, each person learns the same things: discipline, values, teamwork, basic soldier skills, First Aid, marksmanship, battle drills, communication, survival skills, and so on.
After graduation, everyone has the same basic skills and begins some sort of advanced individual training. This is where individuals focus their learning on more specific skills: infantry, intelligence, military police, aviation, mechanical maintenance, engineering, transportation, etc.
When the military needs a team for combat, they can assemble a group of men and women with the necessary areas of specialty while knowing they all have the same basic level of skills because they all went through basic training. This is a perfect example of what you usually want to achieve in an agile team.
2. Continuous Learning and Training
Many people who join the military continue to re-enlist and serve their country for their entire career. They receive continuous training to learn the latest technologies, leadership techniques, new weapons, etc. Not only does the military provide this training, they encourage a mindset of continuous learning.
Not many businesses in 2022 have employees who have worked there for their entire career. What does the military have that businesses lack? Besides the nice benefits, one of the factors is that the military has clear career paths. Hard work and dedication earn rewards.
3. Stable Teams
Military groups have many different names: squads, platoons, brigade, battalion, division, etc. However, regardless of the name of the group, there are certain similarities. One of those similarities is stability. For the most part, team membership is as stable as possible. Given the nature of the military, changes are sometimes inevitable but every effort is made to keep members together.
Many benefits arise from having stable teams. Individuals learn how to work together, optimize their skills, improve their processes, and develop working relationships and a real sense of team spirit.
4. Self-Organizing Teams
In a newly formed military team, each member knows their role within the team. There might be a squad leader, a deputy squad leader, two riflemen, one person to carry the ammunition, and so on. During wartime, commanders clearly communicate objectives so every man and woman in battle knows what needs to happen.
Typically, a team will devise a concise plan of attack before they engage the enemy. Anyone who has ever been to war knows the team can stick to the original plan for a matter of seconds before things completely change and everyone is forced into making decisions in the heat of the moment. War is chaotic and there are too many unknowns. Usually, plans are made when nothing is known about what the enemy has planned. However, military teams understand that the most important aspect is not the plan itself. The focus is on the objective. This means that during the chaos, every team member must make the best decisions possible to achieve the objective. If the squad leader is killed, the deputy squad leader steps in as a replacement. If one of the rifleman is killed, the person who carries the ammunition may have to tackle carrying the ammunition as well as shooting the rifle. The team members cannot run to their leader every time they need to make a decision.
"In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable." - Dwight D. Eisenhower
5. No Sub-Teams
There are no sub-teams in the military. Each group functions as a single unit. For instance in the U.S. Army, there is an organizational structure. A squad consists of 6-10 soldiers. A platoon consists of 3-4 squads (18-50 soldiers). Companies consist of 3-4 platoons (60-200 soldiers) and so on. Each subset works toward a common objective. The overall objective may be to "win the war" and this objective is usually communicated by the General. Then each subset (corps, division, brigade, company, etc.) will break down that objective into concrete objectives that must be won to achieve the overall objective.
In this organizational structure, everyone has the same goal. All 50,000 or so soldiers in one region share the same goal. Everyone in the same platoon shares the same goal which should help accomplish the common region goal.
6. Success or Failure as a Team
Effective teamwork in the armed forces is crucial because it can literally be the difference between life and death. The acts of one heroic individual will not achieve victory. Creating spectacular teams is paramount to success.
When a team achieves success, it is because each person in the team did what was needed and the recognition goes to the entire team. There might be individual medals awarded for specific heroic acts but everyone enjoys the success of the mission.
If the team failed, it is never because one team member failed. The military embraces the concept of extreme ownership in its leaders. One of my favorite podcasters, former U.S. Navy SEAL Jocko Willink (http://jockopodcast.com/) has several episodes on his site about the topic of extreme ownership. If you are the #leader and a member of your team makes a mistake, it is never their fault because it is your responsibility to make sure that those who report to you understand your instructions. This may seem like an extreme approach but there are many benefits. Taking responsibility challenges leaders to become better and find new ways to communicate. It also eliminates the blame game that can be quite common when something does not go as planned. On an individual team member level, this concept also pushes people to do their best. Military teams become like family. They respect each other.
7. Empirical Process Control, Inspect and Adapt
Empiricism is hardcoded into the armed forces. This is the idea that knowledge comes from experience and making decisions based on what is known. Before taking any action, commanders devise a plan to achieve objectives based on the information they currently have. Once the action starts, they make use of constant feedback loops to gather the latest intelligence and re-plan based on the new information.
Members of the military understand how useless it is to formulate detailed long-term plans that span years because there are too many uncertainties. They keep the objective in mind and plan the next steps with enough detail until new information is learned.
8. Transparency
When a team learns new information, they share it. If a team makes a mistake, they share what happened and what they learned. On a larger scale, the different branches of the military need to be transparent and accountable in their actions. The Marines must not hide things from the Navy, the Air Force must not deceive the Coast Guard and so on. Transparency builds trust and trust is critical when lives are at stake.
These eight factors illustrate just some of the reasons why military personnel are an asset in an agile team. This is a basic list and far from comprehensive. As I was writing this post, I quickly realized I could write enough on this topic to make another book!
If you are looking to assemble a #team, military veterans can be extremely valuable assets. Most skills are easy to teach but culture or a mindset is much more difficult to change. Members of the armed forces already have an agile mindset.
*To provide context, I have never served in the military. I have the utmost respect for those who serve including my father who was in the U.S. Marines for more than two decades and my older son who is currently serving in the U.S. Navy. What I have written here is from the perspective of someone who has family members who are veterans. If you have additional information to share, even if it is contradictory, please feel free to comment below.
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