Key Principle: Express Clear Purpose with Commander’s Intent

Autonomy and Purpose are connected because a team cannot have meaningful, healthy Autonomy unless it understands the Purpose of its work. A self-managed team needs to make the vast majority of decisions internally. It has the cross-functional skills and the authority to do so. However, if it does not have a clear understanding of the purpose of its work, its decisions will be misguided (literally). The illustration below describes possible outcomes for the team, depending on its Autonomy and the clarity of its objectives (Purpose).

The US military uses a notion of “Commander’s Intent,” which refers to a public statement of the desired end state, the purpose of the operation, and the key tasks to be accomplished. Commander’s Intent is specifically useful in cases where events are not unfolding as originally planned, communication is disrupted, and ...