The SFO (Special operation Force) consist of people retired from the armed forces. They are adaptable, show excellent judgement and have wide-ranging experience and training. They are accustomed to high stakes, difficult territories and the need to learn quickly. All these qualities are valued very highly in these dynamic and fast-changing business environments.
Today's business environment is best described as VUCA - Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous. They will easily be at home dealing with the unexpected. A few things that can be learnt from the SOF that can be used in businesses during these uncertain times.
Flexible organisations adapt better
SOD spend their entire career preparing for the unexpected. hierarchies are flat and flexible with little differences between ranks. Everyone is expected to lead and be led. This allows the team to choose the best candidate for the job and build interoperability. This builds great organisational flexibility that is particularly useful during a crisis. Instead of a top-down bureaucracy, teams are like networks or a broad network of units.
Businesses can learn a lot from this flexibility. When the epidemic struck and the companies had to change their operating model overnight, They realized te leadership, hierarchy, Job descriptions needed to change fast. Employees were forced to learn new skills. It function became elevated to a core function with the entire organisation dependent on connectivity. All companies had to learn to adapt quickly.
Flexibility requires an informed team and good judgement.
Most companies are organised in a way where the power to make decisions is concentrated at the top. SOF operated on the exact opposite principle. Every team member is trained to take life or death decisions in a crisis situation. Information is shared regularly and widely. teams share everything on intelligence, operations, ideas, contingency plans and belief in truly sharing information across ranks. This helps dividing tasks without losing sight of the goal.
Building organisations as flexible as SOF requires another dimension - individual judgement. In SOF judgement is taught through gruelling training and simulated battlefield training and through rigorous tasks and group exercises requiring quick thinking and understanding at both individual and strategic levels.
Resilient leaders tend to be generalists.
Many SOF members have fought in different places and trained in a range of specialists. They had to lead teams without much authority or technical expertise, mostly by building trust and collaborating. This makes them flexible and adaptable in uncertain situations. Their wide experience makes them adaptable to uncertain situations, able to perceive the limits of their own knowledge and expertise and seek expert help when he needs it.
A conversation is a powerful tool to build trust
SOH members are trained to communicate clearly and effectively. This helps them find common ground with a sceptical audience. They are able to negotiate better with local leaders, across local languages, cultural barriers and complex situations.
In the current VUCA world conversations is all that is left to bridge the gap between people and is absolutely essential to maintain contact and develop on it.
Academic degrees are not everything.
The job market has become more competitive and companies are forced to raise the bar to keep the eligible candidates under manageable limits. This has led to a requirement of higher degrees but the experience in the job has been less than satisfactory. Many companies are realising that what is taught in advanced colleges can easily be taught easily on the job, while less tangible skills like judgement or emotional intelligence are far harder to teach.
In a climate of uncertainty, it is best to rely on someone who has the experience, whether they hold an elite degree or not.
Focusing on flexibility, information sharing, communication, and hiring for good adjustment, a generalist outlook, the real-world experience will help business adapt to and thrive in uncertain times.
Lessons on Leading Through Chaos from U.S. Special Operations
by Boris Groysberg and John Masko HBR 2020/11
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