How Special Ops build elite teams
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Now, let’s dive into Issue 01.
How Special Ops build elite teams
Special Operations Forces (SOF) are military units selected and trained to conduct specialized missions.
Every branch of the United States military — Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines — has at least one Special Ops unit, as do many other large militaries around the world.
Special Ops units conduct unconventional missions, such as:
Hostage rescue
Waterborne operations
Counter-terrorism operations
Recon and surveillance in hostile environments
Foreign internal defense (training other militaries)
And many others.
In short, they are “the best of the best.”
To do this, they must form some of the most elite teams in the world.
Today, we’re going to explore 5 principles Special Ops use to build elite teams.
5 Principles of Special Ops Teams
The 5 principles:
Chain of Command
Decentralized Command
Ruthless Prioritization
Calm, Clear, Concise
Simplicity
Let’s dive in.
(Note: Different military branches may use different terms, but the principles are applied by all. I’ve chosen general language that everyone can understand.)
1. Chain of command
In the military, a chain of command is defined as “the line of authority and responsibility along which orders are passed within a unit and between different units.”
The purpose of a chain of command is to optimize the flow of communication within a team.
It enables a team to operate most effectively and efficiently.
What happens when chain of command breaks?
Chaos and confusion ensue.
Communication breaks down.
People step outside their roles.
Execution gets sloppy.
Ultimately, the team fails.
How to apply Chain of Command
Chain of command is about establishing clarity.
It can be applied on an organizational, team or project level.
Before beginning any objective, a team should discuss:
Who’s the leader
What role is everyone performing
How information will be shared “up and down” the chain
How the team will work together to problem solve
When is it appropriate to break the chain (and how)
Depending on the situation, roles can change in the chain of command (eg. a junior team member can be the leader on a project).
Egos must be set aside.
The chain of command doesn’t indicate your value to the team.
Every team member is of equal value and importance to the team.
Each link in the chain is simply a role that must be performed, and every role must be performed to the same standard.
If you want to be an elite team, leverage the chain of command.
2. Decentralized Command
Decentralized command is a leadership principle commonly taught in the Marines, among others (this article by Marine Colonel Mark Boone is a good read).
It’s designed as a nodes-and-cluster system. Here’s a good visual (via Neuroliminal):
Neuroliminal
The premise is decision-making responsibility must be pushed down the chain of command. As many decisions as possible should be made by subordinate leaders and their teams.
This is critical for several reasons:
It’s impossible for one leader (or group of leaders) to make all decisions
Centralized decision-making becomes a blocker to team effectiveness
Centralized decision-making becomes a blocker to individual growth
Front-line teams often have critical information executives don’t
How to apply Decentralize Command
Decentralized Command is how most large-scale organizations are run.
It can be applied from a global corporation level down to a single project team.
To apply this effectively:
Evaluate how decisions are currently made
Assess how more responsibility can be pushed out to individual teams
Identify what adjustments are needed in your operation to do this successfully
In order to apply Decentralized Command, you must first establish a clear Chain of Command.
3. Ruthless Prioritization
“If you try and solve all of your problems simultaneously, you won't solve any of them. You have to figure out which is the biggest problem and execute it first.”
Jocko Willink
Jocko Willink coined the term “Prioritize and Execute” in his book Extreme Ownership, but this principle isn’t exclusive to the SEALs.
Every military unit uses the principle of prioritization in some form.
Murphy’s Law states anything that can go wrong will go wrong.
The more that goes wrong, the more ruthless prioritization is necessary.
This is true in combat, business and life.
A leader’s job is to ensure everybody on the team understands the priority at all times.
The team’s job is to utilize Decentralized Command to execute on that priority.
As David Allen, creator of the “Getting Things Done” methodology, said: “You can do anything, but you can’t do everything.”
Elite teams ruthlessly prioritize.
How to apply Ruthless Prioritization
Lack of prioritization causes confusion, wastes time and resources and kills progress.
It’s critical to distinguish between “priority” and “important” here.
Many things may be important. Only ONE thing can be the priority at any given time.
A company with 7 priorities has zero priorities. The same applies to an individual.
There are many prioritization frameworks out there:
The Eisenhower Matrix (my favorite)
And many more.
How you prioritize is not the most important thing.
The most important thing is declaring ONE priority clearly to your team.
4. Calm, Clear, Concise
This is a communication principle used across the military and often attributed to the Army.
The premise is simple: In combat, communication must be calm, clear and concise.
Said another way: use a controlled tone, be precise and be brief.
That allows communication to be easily understood and relayed through the chain of command.
One technique for this is BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front).
Start with the takeaway, then provide supporting context as needed.
How to apply Calm, Clear, Concise
BLUF can be used to communicate effectively in any setting.
Think about the number of communication touchpoints in our lives.
Calls. Texts. Emails. Zoom. Messaging apps. Letters. Face-to-face.
Now think about the volume of these we face every day.
How many are calm, clear and concise? Not many!
These are difficult communication skills to master.
But they’re essential for elite teams.
In combat, calm, clear and concise communication can save (or cost) lives.
Thankfully, the stakes are (usually) lower in the civilian world, but the costs of ineffective communication can still be staggering.
Elite teams thrive on calm, clear and concise communication.
5. Simplicity
Our last principle ties all five together.
The origin of Simplicity isn’t clear, but it’s said to be adopted as a design principle by the Navy in 1960. “KISS” — keep it simple, stupid — was coined by aircraft engineer Kelly Johnson.
The KISS principle states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complex. Therefore simplicity should be a key goal in design and unnecessary complexity should be avoided.
Why is this so important?
Complexity compounds.
In combat, this is obvious. The environment is as complex as it gets.
But the same rule applies in business.
Every layer of complexity added — another person, another variable, another process, another tool, etc — compounds across a team and organization.
Conversely, simple scales. The easier things are, the more accurately and consistently they’ll be executed at scale.
How to apply Simplicity
This will sound, well, simple. That’s the point.
Review everything in your organization.
Plans
Budgets
Processes
Workflows
Documents
Compensation Plans
Products and Services
Standard Operating Procedures
Everything.
Then ask: “What would it look like if this were simpler?”
A frontline team member should be able to easily and accurately communicate the information.
If they can’t, it’s probably not simple enough.
Conclusion
5 principles from Special Ops teams:
Chain of Command
Decentralized Command
Ruthless Prioritization
Calm, Clear, Concise
Simplicity
A clear chain of command enables decentralized command.
Decentralized command is made possible by ruthless prioritization.
Once the priority is set, calm, clear and concise communication drives execution.
And the simpler those principles are, the more effective the organization will be.
Thank you for reading.
See you next Sunday.
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