A commander’s intent of mission command is a form of exercising one’s authority to utilize a commander’s intent to command through his or her leadership. In other words, it takes place when a commander uses mission orders to initiate a disciplined action with the use of his or her intent to enable adaptive and agile conduct of operations, which are based on authority and leadership (Perna, 2019). Unlike command or control, mission command is a type of art of leadership, where confidence and trust are key ingredients to achieving a common goal. There is a strong element of empowerment and motivation involved in mission command. The given exercise of authority avoids micromanagement by undertaking the risk of mistakes and execution errors on the basis of reliance on guidance and parameters of action.
In most cases, mission command must be accomplished with the commander’s intent in the face-to-face format, and other means, such as email, are inappropriate to use. Mission command enables growth and development within a group, but it should also be utilized in combination with directive leadership as well. Being able to balance these two styles of leadership is the essence of mastery of becoming a military leader. An example of commander’s intent is Lieutenant Colonel Amos’s statement, “regardless of what happens to any of our aircraft or any of the Rangers on that beach, it’s going to go down” (Spector, 1983, p. 18). In other words, the operation was greatly impacted by such confidence in the group, where, later, “the pilot, the copilot, and the gunner ran back to the airplane and turned it up.” Vibrating and shaking severely, the CH-46 lifted off the beach and lurched back to Saline” (Spector, 1983, p. 18). The overall trust provided room for creative action and the eventual completion of the mission.
References
Perna, G. G. (2019). Mission command requires sharp commander’s intent. U.S. Army. Web.
Spector, R. H. (1983). U.S. marines in Grenada. U.S. Marine Corps.