What if your intent is clearly understood by everyone on the team?
Could that save the entire organization, literally?
That’s exactly what happened on Little Round Top, on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain had been a professor of rhetoric at Bowdoin College in Maine.
On July 2, 1863, he was the commander of the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment.
His regiment and subordinate companies were made up entirely of volunteers, not career, professional soldiers.
On the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Chamberlain and his regiment were placed at the extreme left of the Union defensive line, on a hill called Little Round Top.
Chamberlain’s brigade commander was Colonel Strong Vincent (**Namesake of John Boyd’s high school in Erie, PA! Imagine that!).
Vincent gave Chamberlain a clear, unambiguous order:
“This is the left of the Union line. You are to hold this ground at all costs!” (The Battle of Gettysburg: A Guided Tour, Edward J. Stackpole & Wilbur NyeNye, p.78)
Crystal clear.
That was a huge task for an outnumbered, outgunned, small team that was about to engage with a numerically superior opponent.
Additionally, the success of the whole organization fell squarely on Chamberlain and his team.
If they failed, the Union Army would collapse and likely be defeated.
Here’s why that didn’t happen.
Vincent trusted Chamberlain to do whatever it takes to hold this position in order to protect the entire left flank of the entire Union Army.
Did Vincent tell Chamberlain HOW to do it?
Did Chamberlain ask questions like:
“Ok, but what if…….?”
“How am I supposed to…….?”
“What happens when……?”
Absolutely not.
He didn’t have to.
Vincent and Chamberlain had mutual trust in each other.
Chamberlain and his team had mutual trust in each other.
Vincent’s order was perfectly clear.
Chamberlain’s understanding of the mission and the order was perfectly clear.
Chamberlain’s subordinate unit leaders’ understanding of the mission and the order was perfectly clear.
So what happened?
Using mission command, bold initiative, a dynamic mindset, and on the spot, novel, innovation, all ALIGNED with mission intent, the outgunned, outnumbered 20th Maine Regiment defeated a far superior enemy (competitor) against overwhelming odds.
The end result?
They saved the entire organization, empowering it to continue on to mission success (victory).
The actions of the 20th Maine on July 2, 1863, are still studied by leaders across multiple disciplines to this very day, in order to train teams.
The lessons:
Mutual trust and clear intent unleashes the creative power of even the smallest team, in spite of seemingly insurmountable challenges.
Establish and continuously develop mutual trust with your team, up, down, and laterally.
Always ensure that the vision, mission and intent are clearly understood by everyone on the team.
That’s how to effectively empower teams to thrive in VUCA!
“People, Ideas and Things, always in that order; and Challenging all assumptions so that doctrine today does not become dogma tomorrow.”
It’s a great story. A lesson.
If only I could understand why this acronym completely pisses me off.