Command Styles in the Canadian Navy: Preliminary Investigation
Abstract
This report examines the concept of Naval Command Styles based on a review of readily available literature and interviews with four naval commanders. The work resulted in the development of a definition of Command Style, a concept map and broad recommendations for decision support systems (DSS). The document review identified four main overlapping concepts (Decision style; Leadership style; Delegation style; and Orders style) and four groups of factors affecting the choice or appropriateness of a given style (the characteristics of the Commander, the Team, the Context, and the Organisation). Interviewees compared three mission scenarios varying in risk, tempo and familiarity and identified their likely style for each scenario and rated the importance of the different factors to the choice of style. Interviewees readily recognised the concept of a command style and results suggest a core style that contrasts a goal or intent oriented approach with a task or action oriented approach. Reported styles tended to become more task oriented with inexperienced teams and increased risk, tempo and stress. DSS implications include the need to focus on the command team rather than the commander alone and to be adaptable to support team information exchange needs related to each style i.e. both goal and task oriented. For instance, as a common team mental model develops, team information exchange may need to become more goal based. Research questions include the following. Which styles are more effective and why? What factors affect the suitability and choice of style? Can styles be trained? How are different styles best supported?
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 07, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA630699
Entities
People
- A. R. Keeble
- Lora E. Bruyn
- Robert D. Webb
Organizations
- HumanSystems Incorporated