Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World

by Stanley McChrystal

“You have the right to judge in person the leader who represents you—and I have the right to size you up as well.”

a political structure in which decision-making authority is—in some ways—decentralized to the voters, rather than concentrated in a monarchic or oligarchic core, requires a high level of political awareness among the public in order to function.

a system requires shared consciousness before it can reap the benefits of empowered execution.

empowerment without context will lead to havoc.

At the core of the Task Force’s journey to adaptability lay a yin-and-yang symmetry of shared consciousness, achieved through strict, centralized forums for communication and extreme transparency, and empowered execution, which involved the decentralization of managerial authority. Together, these powered our Task Force; neither would suffice alone.