Team of Teams

Outline

Team of Teams (2015) explains how organisations can adapt to a fast-changing, complex world. Drawing on his experience leading special operations forces during the war in Iraq, General Stanley McChrystal describes how a rigid chain of command proved too slow, and how his force became a network of connected teams that shared information and made decisions quickly. The book applies these lessons to business and other organisations.

• A rigid chain of command can be too slow to keep up with a fast-changing, complex world.
• General McChrystal's special operations force adapted by becoming a network of connected teams rather than a strict hierarchy.
• Teams that share information openly can make decisions quickly instead of waiting for approval from above.
• Trust, open communication and shared leadership are what let teams perform well amid constant change.
• The lessons from the war in Iraq apply to businesses and other organisations facing complexity.

General Stanley McChrystal with Tantum Collins, David Silverman and Chris Fussell bring together military leadership and organisational research. McChrystal is a retired four-star general of the United States Army who commanded special operations forces and later coalition forces in Afghanistan, while his coauthors served with him or supported his work, and later helped him apply these lessons at the McChrystal Group.