Are you a good staff member?
Borrow One Idea: Commander’s Critical Information Requirements
If choices were obvious and always supported by overwhelming evidence, then leadership would be very easy.
Unfortunately, most decisions hinge on specific, critical pieces of information. Some information matters much more than others. Often this information is missing in our analysis, or arrives late or fragmented.
We, as humans, constantly lament what we wish we had known.
A leader responsible for timely and accurate decisions needs these pieces of information in a timely and accurate way.
While we might not know what the precise information is that we are going to need, we usually have pretty good intuition as to the topics and the type of information we will need to make decisions.
The military formalizes this intuition in reporting expectations for a team to best support the leader.
5-41. A commander’s critical information requirement is an information requirement identified by the commander as being critical to facilitating timely decision making. CCIRs are based on likely need for the commander to make specific decisions during the operation. CCIRs should change with the situation over time. Commanders will add and delete CCIRs as the situation changes. CCIRs fall into one of two categories: friendly forces information requirements (known as FFIRs) and priority intelligence requirements (known as PIRs). A CCIR is—
Specified by the commander for a specific operation.
Applicable only to the commander who specifies it.
Situation dependent and directly linked to a current or future mission.
Time-sensitive.
5-42. …Friendly forces information requirements identify the information about the mission, troops and support available, and time available for friendly forces that the commander considers most important. In coordination with the staff, the operations officer manages friendly forces information requirements for the commander.
5-43. …Priority intelligence requirements identify the information about the enemy, terrain and weather, and civil considerations that the commander considers most important. The intelligence officer manages priority intelligence requirements for the commander.
FM 6-0, 5-41 through 5-43, PDF page 100
Military commanders have a formalized CCIR management process, with specific staff member responsibility for reporting, specifically to ensure that the most important information, the details that drive decisions, aren’t missed.
Determine what you think you most need to know, and then…
Tell people what that is, so that…
They can give you the information you need as soon as it becomes available.
Seem simple?
It is! How often do we do this? Rarely!
How often do we neglect to take the time to think through what information we most need?
When we know what is important to know, how frequently do we forget to share the need and expectation with the team?
When our teams know, do they have systems to prioritize this information? Is there a process in place to ensure critical information is timely and accurate?
This week, borrow with pride and develop your own CCIRs. Then tell your teams, both professional and personal. Put a system in place. Do you routinely examine what information is most important to effective decision-making? Does your entire team understand what information is most critical and what they should prioritize? Do you know what your leaders think is critical information? Are you a good staff member?
Get Familiar With: Command & Staff
Military graduate schools, around the globe, are described with some variation of the title Command & Staff College.
Not entirely dissimilar from a graduate business program, the US Army’s Command and General Staff School is where Majors learn how organizations should be structured, understand how large and complex teams should operate, and network with peers.
The school is the preparation for eventual battalion command, but much of the academic focus is training for being on staff of a higher headquarters; there are a limited number of battalion commands and seemingly unlimited staff positions in brigades and divisions.
Before and between positions of increasing leadership responsibility, US Army officers will be on staff. They will have a desk in an office or cubicle. They will make PowerPoint and go to meetings. Most of the time, their job will look like our jobs.
Even when the roles are not as sexy as unit command, officers who want to become battalion commanders find a way to shine while serving on staff.
It is important to understand how staffs are organized and function to be a good staff member.
2-2. Staff activities focus on assisting the commander in accomplishing the mission. Staffs support commanders in understanding, visualizing, and describing an operational environment (OE); making and articulating timely decisions; and directing, leading, and assessing military operations. They make recommendations and prepare plans and orders for their commander.
…2-4. Staffs support and advise their commander within their area of expertise. While commanders make key decisions, they are not the only decision makers. Trained and trusted staff members, given decision-making authority based on the commander’s intent, free commanders from routine decisions. This enables commanders to focus on key aspects of operations.
FM 6-0, 2-2 through 2-4, PDF page 21
Most staff roles do include leadership responsibilities for teams within the larger staff organization; these are not exclusively individual contributor roles.
Staff roles are preparation for command.
Are you a good staff member? Many developing leaders want to skip ahead to the command roles, but is it wise to avoid being on staff? What makes a good staff? Who are good staff members and why? What lessons are learned being on staff, and how will that make us better leaders?
The Guided Discovery for this week will explore the US Army’s prescription for roles and activities of a headquarters organization, responsibilities by position, and how success in staff roles is relevant to leadership development.
Learn More: Suggested Reading
FM 6-0, Commander and Staff Organization and Operations
Pages 2-1 through 2-34 based on printed document (PDF pages 21-54)
Overview of staff organization and roles within a headquarters, including expectations and responsibilities by position
These materials will be the focus of Thursday’s Guided Discovery
Catch Up: Last Week’s Content
Study: Positive Control
Guided Discovery: Command Posts
Always be asking:
1. What is the connection with my leadership development?
2. How does this change my thinking on management?
3. How does this influence planning for life?
4. What can I borrow with pride to use this week?