Teamwork and Synchronization: The Blitzkrieg of the '86s

key to synchronization is the ability to develop teamwork within a unit. How to do that, and what the payoffs are, is the subject of this article. Characteristics of Effective Teams In an excellent paper entitled "Biiildirig a Wttrier - Orr Practice Field arid Trairririg Field," Captain Richard Priehm and Mr. Jim Myers (Dallas Cowboys) identified some of the elements of teamwork: 0 Clear Goals. Someone once said "if you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there." All units need to have direction and focus. A rotation to the National Training Center (NTC) at Fort Irwin, where one of the goals is to defeat the OPFOR, can provide a common goal for everyone to aim toward. 0Pick Winners and Stick With 'Em. In his article "Leademhip: Tap-pirig the Soiirces of Power," LTG (Ret.) John F. Forrest writes that the secret of Charlemagne's success in running his empire was the existence of "paladins," 12 special knights who had been personally selected and trained to create order out of disorder. Commanders need to select winners, clarify responsibilities and expectations, build "habitual relationships" with key staff personnel (i.e., the engineer platoon leader, fire support officer, chaplain, etc.), and work and train all of them as a team. Then, they need to support them.. Set and Maintain High Standards. The Dallas Cowboys expect discipline in summer training and they fine players who don't follow the rules. Commanders need to evaluate soldiers on their individual performance, as on the SQT, and set high standards for such things as preparation of fighting positions, range cards, and personalhehicle camouflage. 0 Emphasize Physical Conditioning. Some Task Forces at the NTC "run out of steam" in conducting ground operations. Sometimes it's due to temperatures over 100 degrees and high-levels of MOPP. Sometimes it's due to poor physical conditioning. Soldiers in combat nced to be alert, aggressive, and self-confident. They develop fit bodies through diet and regular exercise. They develop esprit and confidence through "spirit training" (Le. hand-to-hand drills, bayonet, and pugil stick training) and from challenging leadership courses like the obstacle, confidence, and leader's reaction courses. 0 Talk and Act Like Winners. To help motivate cadets, the walls of the West Point gym are filled with sayings like "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." Some coaches, like Tom Landry, portray a confident "leader image." In addition to confidence, there's a place for humor in commanders' personalities. Humor helps to reduce tension in stressful situations and to limit the negative consequences of battle fatigue. In their classic book, In Search of Excellence, Peters and Waterman described some additional characteristics of effective teams. 0Stick to the Knitting. Tough, realistic training develops soldiers who are confident and competent. Units going to the NTC emphasize drills, PMCS, MILES proficiency, and always, land navigation techniques. Units need to have opportunities and resources, like money and time, to conduct situational training exercises, ARTEPs, CALFEXs, and gunnery. 0 They Communicate. According lo Brigadier General Gordon R. Sullivan, "the ability to effectively process information is, and always has been, the key ingredient of effective fighting units." Commanders need to communicate well - up, down, and laterally. Good units are marked by lots of informal, candid information exchanges. One Army TOC uses a whistle to assemble key pcrsonnel when critical information needs to be disseminated immediately. 0 Power From Rank and File. All soldiers need to feel like winners. They need to be treated with dignity and respect - from cadetlprivate to general. Effective units are constantly seeking ways to reward their good soldiers. In turn, superiors get loyalty and respect. It'san exchange process and subordinates have a key role to play in leadership by helping leaders to succeed. 0 Breed Champions. Commanders need to encourage innovation and let their subordinates experiment. There is no success without failure and subordinates need the freedom to fail or, is it put more aptly as the freedom to learn? Like Action. Teams that are successful are "action-oriented." They like to go out and try things - but they don't try to fur what's not broken.. Live by the Spirit and Letter of Relief. The Army values tradition. As Tevye in "Fiddler 011 1Iie Rmf' says, "tradition gives continuity and meaning to life." Good units know what things are important and do them regularly. Commanders need to get out of the office to ensure that important activities are, in fact, going on. That's called "MBWA - Management By Walking Around." Another author who has emphasized the importance of teamwork is Peter Vaill. In his article, ' T i e Piirposirig of High Peflonnirig Svstetnts," Vaill identities these elements of teams: 0Swial Activities and Operations are Combined. In these units, talking shop is O K away from the unit. Soldiers like to do things together for the pleasure of each other's company. Informal sessions spring up. People take time to recognize new team members, bid farewell to "old timers," and thereby humanize an environment that is marked by great personnel turbulence. 0Time is Measured by Key Events. In these units, people don't lalk about next month, but in terms of "alter the ARTEP or STX." Duties are not seen as something going-on between 8 AM to 5 PM. Iys a 24-hour a day profession.. An "US" Attitude. There's a genuine commitment to sharing in high performing teams - not hoarding. Success is measured in terms of how you contribute to making other team members succeed, and the team win. Competition that creates winners and losers is deemphasized in favor of activities whcre all win. Statistics aren't used to create a competitive environment between units on "duty" issues. Athletic team competition, however, has a place. 0 Personal Relationship of Equipment end Men. It's been said that maintenance in the Army got worse when the last horses went off active duty. Cavalrymen used to care about their horses, but it's hard to develop an "attachment" for an M3. To develop a sense of attachment to inmimate machines, some units let their troops name their trackdtanks. How To Develop Effective Teams It's one thing to be aware of some of the characteristics ol effective teams, and another thing to be able 44 to develop effective teams. Some of the key factors in developing effective teams are carefully selecting individuals with the skills, characteristics, and attributes to lead; employing training events - particularly leader training - to mold units out of individuals; and ensuring that the whole team is involved in the significant activities of the command. The effective AirLand Battle leader must be an effective team builder. He combines the best attributes of teaching and coaching as a mentor. In their article, "Leaders us Mentors," LTG Charles W. Bagnal, Earl C. Pence, and LTC Thomas N. Meriwether write that mcntoring is a "leadership style" which is characterized by "open communications with subordinates, role modeling of appropriate values, the effective use of counseling lor subordinate development, and sharing of the leader's frame of reference with subordinate leaders." AirLand Battle leaders need to be capable of sharing a vision with their subordinates, and helping that vision to take form by creating an environment and establishing a climate of command whereby all members of the team can contribute. In a letter to the field on "Mentor-itig," General John A. Wickham Jr., the Chief of Staff, wrote that "mentoring is a key way in which we exercise leadership and strengthen Army values. Giving of ourselves by sharing our knowledge and experience is the most important legacy we can leave to those who follow." One way teams can be developed, then, is by leaders consciously applying a "mentoring style" in their relationships with their subordinates. In addition to the presence of a mentoring leader, teamwork can also be developed through training. One of the best ways to promote teamwork in a unit is to conduct leader training and officer professional development sessions on a regular basis. Some of the best leader training methods are use of terrain boards and sand tables, simulation exercises, TEWTS, and coordination exercises. The highly professional German Army of the '40s made extensive use of terrain boards to develop a technique called "uirfiragstuktik." Briefly stated, this referred to a condition which could be developed in a tactical unit whereby subordinates learned to operate in a manner consistent with their superior's intent, even when operational orders couldn't be conveyed. Through wargaming on boards and sand tables, many of the operational lessons of war can be practiced, simulated, and learned. High-tech simulation devices are greatly enhancing the ability of the Army to replicate the reality of combat operations. Simulations such as First Battle, and ARTBASS can be used, and wargames played, that not only enhance tactical performance, awareness, and competence, but serve to build teams and develop teamwork. Coordination exercises, like the fire (FCX), iogistics (LCX), and movement coordination (MCX) exercises dscribed in doctrinal training literature, can be an eficient means, at low cost, to enhance coordination hetween command and staff personnel. In addition, the lessons learned in integrating direct and indirect fires in a FCX, logistical assets and resources in an LCX, and various movement techniques and methods in an MCX contribute to an ability to synchronize elements of any nature in fighting on the modern battlefield. To develop effective teams, leaders should ensure that they involve the "whole" team. Wives and family members are a critical part of that team and special events can be planned to enhance family members' awareness of the unit and its mission. Pre-deployment briefings are a good way to convey information to family members prior to off-post deployments or rotations to major training areas. Besides family members, National Guard, Reserve units, and host-nation "partnerships" (or afliliations) often exist and these units can contribute to, or be apart of the "whole team." Active Army units that train at the NTC often have the chance to augment their personnel strength by deploying with Guard or Reserve soldiers. The Payoff of Teamwork The real payoff of teamwork can best be seen in its effects on unit discipline, morale, and actual warfighting ability. At the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, experienced observer-controllers have noted that the most important quality distinguishing task forces which perform exceedingly well from others is discipline. General Cavazos once described discipline as "the ability of a soldier to do what was expected of him - even in the absence of superiors or orders." Discipline in combat is demonstrated in many ways - being awake or alert on security, timeliness in conducting missions, performing operations safely, and responsiveness to orders. Units that train and fight well often have high morale. Soldiers know that their chain of command cares about them, will listen to their concerns (within the constraints of time), and know that what they contribute to the unit mission is regarded as important. Last, and most important, units that demonstrate high levels of teamwork on, and off the battlefield, WIN. They are able to accomplish more in less time, and are able to capitalize on their ability to get a synergistic effect from their joint cooperation. Proper integra- tion and coordination (synchronim-tion) of all of the elements of the combined arms team creates a condition where the sum is greater than the addition of its individual parts. That means units can fight outnumbered - and WIN. Bibliography Bagnal, General Charles W. and Earl C. Pence and LTC Thomas N. Meriwether, "Leaders as Meittors," Military Review, July, 1985. Depuy, General William E., "Toward Balanced Doctrine, '' Army Magazine, November, 1984. Forrest, LTG John F., "Leadership: Tapping the Sources of Power," Army Magazine, January 1984. FM 10-5, Operations. Odiorne, George S., "Mentotng An Antencaii A.lanagenierif Iruiova-lion, " Personnel Administrator, May, 1985. Peters, Thomas J. and Robert H. Waterman, Jr., In Search of Excellence, Harper and Row Publishers, lnc., 1982. Priehm, CPT Richard and Jim Myers, "Biiilding A Wirvrer - 011 Pmc-tice Field and Training Field, It concept paper submitted to US Amy Teleconference Net (Delta Force), May, 1982. Vaill, Peter, "nie Pliposiiig of High Perjoniiirig Svsmns," paper prepared for conference on "Adiiiinistrative Leadersltip: New Perspectives 011 77ieoy and Pmctice," University of II-linois, 1981. fl

ALAN G. VIllERS was commission& in Infantry from the USMA in

1968. He served with the America1 Division in the WN and the 3d Infantry ai Fort Myer, VA, before returning to West Point to teach leadership. At Fort b o x, was a division chief in the Command and Staff Dept. and battalion commander of 4-54 Inf. A graduate of the C&GS College and the Anny War College, he is due to be assigned to the doctrine division of the Infantry school. THE DRIVER'S SEAT (continued from Page 8) Leadership Development However, we must ensure that training carries over to the tactical organizations for continued leader development and increased unit proficiency. The big task for true leader development is being able to put it all together. How do you require an NCO to train his soldiers and himself? You do it by making the Skill Level 3 task the primary task for training and then integrating Skill Level 2, Skill Level 1, and common tasks throughout the training. Skill Level 3 tasks, and higher, are actually mission tasks. Each task requires an NCO to train soldiers on a particular piece of equipment. Each task begins with the words"perform," or "direct,", or "supervise." So the task title already identifies the resources required. The only areas the trainer has to figure out are the common and individual tasks needed to support the Skill Level 3 task and the time needed to support it. That should not be too difficult. Remember when we constructed practice SUT tests in the units? All you need to do is sit the platoon sergeants down in a locked room with the MOS Soldiers Manuals and the Common Task Manual. Take a Skill Level 3 task, "Direct Main Gun Engagements on a Ml/MlAl Tank," and determine the Skill Level 2, Skill Level 1, and common task associated with the task. Now you have your training requirements. All you need to do k provide the time - time for training which includes PMCS, task training and evaluation, during-ac-lion and after-action reviews, and retraining, if required. That's not a one-hour or two-hour block, but look what you gain: Competent crews who train and work together. Shortly, they will become 85-90 percent totally proficient so that most of your training time canbespent training leadership in a technical and tactical environment. CTT, SUT, and Table VI11 become apiece of cake. There are two other NCOs who play major roles in leader develop ment. Regardless of all the directives put out by all the organizations, leader development can only happen at the battaliodsquadron, company/troop level, where the command sergeant major and first sergeant are key. They must be competent trainers and knowledgeable in the areas for which the organizations are responsible. They must be sensitive to the needs of the organization, advise the commander, and be the the senior enlisted trainer for the organization. Many times you hear the comments, "We fire Table VI11 next week" or "We have our ARTEP next week." However, the role of the senior enlisted trainer of that organization started weeks ago in preparation for those exercises. He knows the strong and weak areas of the companies. Wrapped up inside of him is a data bank of lessons learned. He should be able to foresee problem areas and neutralize or eliminate them before they appear. He should know the leadership challenges and has developed a program in preparation for those challenges. He knows when to peak, how to get a unit tired up, how to keep them on their toes, and how to take them out and bring them back safely. He has been through it many times. If the CSM and ISG are not organization- and mission-proficient, the commander does not have the senior enlisted advisor trainer needed. The NCO leaders of the organization do not receive the leadership development needed to perform beyond the common task level. In our Army of today and tomorrow, with its new equipment and its excellent soldiers, leadership development must start at the senior NCO level. 46