19th Century Prussian general and military strategist Carl von Clausewitz once said, “War is the realm of uncertainty; three-quarters of the factors on which action in war is based are wrapped in a fog of greater or lesser uncertainty.” In modern times, that thought has been summarized as the “fog of war,” which is often characterized by VUCA—Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. 

Most of our readers are not leading in a military context. But we believe the concept of “fog” still applies, especially as you consider the chaos of the pandemic, the polarized political climate and looming economic uncertainties in the United States, and the rapidly changing workforce profile. We also believe non-military leaders can benefit from applying military principles to navigate the fog they encounter and offer the following ideas from Army Field Manual 6-0 that we think will help us lead in the fog more effectively.

Seek Situational Understanding. Act. Repeat 

Amid the fog, leaders must seek situational understanding. The Army Field Manual outlines the following elements necessary to create situational understanding:

• Data, which consists of unprocessed observations detected by a collector, human or otherwise.
• Information, which is the data that has been organized and processed to provide further context for analysis. 
• Knowledge, which is information that has been analyzed and evaluated for operational implications.
• Understanding, which is the knowledge that has been synthesized and had judgment applied to it to comprehend a situation’s inner relationships.

Interestingly, the Army Field Manual reminds leaders that judgment is based on experience, expertise, and intuition and that uncertainty precludes achieving perfect understanding. Simply put, as leaders in the fog, once we have created situational understanding, we sometimes must rely on our “gut” and act, knowing that we can always change course as the situation evolves.

Manage Knowledge. Engage People. Walk the Talk. After situational understanding is achieved, leaders must cascade that knowledge to enhance shared understanding and decision-making at all levels in the organization. According to the Army Field Manual, the components of knowledge management include:

• People, who are the most critical component of successful knowledge management because they create, organize, apply, and transfer knowledge. 
• Process, which includes the information leaders need to make decisions, frameworks that ensure all needed information is gathered, solutions built upon understanding, deployment of solutions to be tested and validated, and implementation of solutions. 
• Tools, which put knowledge into organized frameworks that people can access and use. 
• Organization, which is the collection of people, processes, and tools that integrate individual and organizational knowledge and learning and brings values and behaviors together.

Here’s the thing, leading in fog is never easy, regardless of context. Still, when we utilize these principles and implement these strategies, we give our team the best chance to succeed, and ultimately, that is what we’re responsible for as leaders. Putting our team in the best position for success.

What’s Next? As you continue leading through the fog that your organization faces, what one military practice could you implement to lead more effectively?