A Strategic Mindset

Published on the Strategy Bridge October 31, 2018

Lianne de Vries and Aaron Bazin

“If we then ask what sort of mind is likeliest to display the qualities of military genius, experience and observation will both tell us that it is the inquiring rather than the creative mind, the comprehensive rather than the specialized approach, the calm rather than the excitable head to which in war we would choose to entrust the fate of our brothers and children, and the safety and honor of our country.”

—Clausewitz, On War

The emerging security environment will challenge military forces in many new ways, some of which can be foreseen today, some of which cannot. The future force will likely require militaries to fight in a rapidly changing security environment, one where the traditional levels of warfare may become increasingly interconnected, compressed, and blurred. In this environment, every soldier should understand the strategic ramifications of his or her actions, and every leader should ensure every plan, order, and directive contributes to a realistic and clear strategic goal. Simply put, the force must be tactically credible and operationally capable, and also more strategically aware that it is today.

If military forces can help young officers and soldiers learn the importance of formulating their own strategic mindset today, then it will have the leaders it needs to address the challenges of the future. By building a mindset in a basic way early, perhaps as early as pre-commissioning and basic training, the military can build leaders who can address novel circumstances, understand complex adaptive problems, and understand the implications of their actions. If a military expects young leaders to develop into strategic thinkers and expert practitioners, learning and practicing a strategic mindset sooner is better.

A mindset need not be aimed just at the highest levels; it could benefit all ranks. If a military force can adopt the right mindset, it not creates more than the so-called strategic corporals; it will also create a strategically aware force that can better deal with challenges and capitalize on opportunities in unique ways. It is possible for every soldier and officer to understand and develop a personal mindset that ensures they have an appreciation for the strategic-level purpose and higher-level implications of their actions. If a military force can build a strategic mindset, it can better adjust to a future world where things such as ubiquitous sensors capture nearly everything, application programming interfaces (APIs) handle routine cognitive tasks, and open social media platforms ensure every tactical mistake could be tried in the court of public opinion, potentially affecting political decision making.

Why a Mindset Approach?

In its simplest definition, a mindset is “a mental attitude or inclination.” Although every person has a unique mindset shaping the way they solve problems, some psychologists assert a person’s mindset is, in general, either fixed or growth oriented. Where a fixed mindset is one where a person feels their intelligence, personality, and abilities are set traits, a growth mindset assumes they are continually growing and changing over time. A person with a growth mindset tends to embrace challenges, persist in the face of setbacks, learn from criticism, and find inspiration in others. The big idea here is this: if a person has the right mindset, he or she will approach problems with an attitude and traits leading them to a greater likelihood of finding an optimal solution.

There are several good reasons why taking a mindset-based approach to strategy for young officers and soldiers is advantageous to teaching strategy across a large military organization. First, the corpus of knowledge comprising the field of strategy has an immense depth and breadth. It encompasses diverse fields such as history, international relations, sociology, operational art, intelligence, psychology, political science and many others. Unlike a so-called hard science, it is up for interpretation and debate, and a definition is elusive. Next, attempts to build models for strategic thinking are important but can be dangerous, as any model carries with it hidden assumptions a competent adversary can pick apart. Additionally, most strategic-level problems are novel occurrences that have never happened the same way before, and will never unfold the same way again. Finally, strategic-level problems involve complex adaptive systems, and once addressed give birth to new conditions resulting in future problems, requiring open and adaptive strategists.

By adopting a strategic mindset approach, a military force can help young officers and soldiers learn not what to think, nor how to think, rather how to approach thinking about issues of strategic significance. The underlying assumption being, if a person adopts the right frame of mind, they will seek out the information they need and uncover the best solution for themselves. This does not negate the need for strategic leaders, or strategic thinkers. Rather, it empowers a military force to become more strategically aware and able to deal with whatever the future may bring.

Read more: https://thestrategybridge.org/the-bridge/2018/10/31/a-strategic-mindset