What Military Leadership Can Teach Us About Agile Teams

We often get so caught up in meeting project deadlines or resolving urgent customer issues that we lose sight of the core principles of Agile teamwork. It’s not that we forget them entirely—rather, they sit in the back of our minds, overshadowed by immediate priorities. Sometimes, we just need a reminder to bring them back into focus.

This is how I would describe my experience at the Agile Leadership India 2025 – it brought my fundamentals from the debris of my daily information load to the frontline.

We had the pleasure of meeting Col Suhail Zaidi who gave us hard-hitting insights into how military leadership is synonymous with Agile leadership today. He talked about the 3Cs of Military Leadership which I would like to discuss in this blog

Command

combines centralized intent with de-centralized execution

I will use a leadership principle explained very well in one of my favorite books, Made to Stick by Chip Heath & Dan Heath. According to Chip & Dan, Commander’s Intent is a leadership principle that ensures a team knows the goal even if the plan changes. It’s about clarity of purpose (centralized intent) rather than micromanaging every step (de-centralized execution).

Think of it like this:

Imagine you’re leading a group on a mountain hike. You tell them: “Our goal is to reach the summit before sunset.” You don’t dictate every step they take, but they know the ultimate objective. If a storm blocks the main path, they can find another route – because they understand the intent (reaching the summit) rather than just blindly following instructions.

In business or Agile teams, Commander’s Intent means leaders clearly define the “why” and “what”, allowing teams to figure out the “how” based on real-time situations. It empowers decision-making, adaptability, and ownership while keeping everyone aligned on the end goal.

Here’s an illustration explaining Commander’s Intent from Made to Stick

How Southwest Airlines Uses the Commander’s Intent Principle

Collaborate

building cohesive teams through shared experiences and open communication

Once the team is clear on its goal, the next comes how the team manages to achieve that goal through collaboration.

One of the ways in which trust and collaboration are built within the teams – leaders live with their troops for an extended period of time.  When leaders share the same challenges—weather conditions, rations, and daily struggles—it earns them genuine respect from their troops. Major Richard “Dick” Winters, who led Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division during World War II, was known for staying on the front lines with his men, enduring the same hardships. He ate the same food, slept in the same conditions, and never asked his soldiers to do anything he wouldn’t do himself. His leadership built immense trust, and his men followed him without hesitation.

Additionally, trust and collaboration are built among soldiers themselves. Here is how:

• Marching through harsh terrain together fosters reliance on one another
• In live-fire exercises, they learn to cover each other and communicate under pressure
• If one soldier is injured, their buddy immediately helps or signals for aid
• A unit knows exactly who covers fire, who scouts, and who secures supplies

Just like military units, self-organizing teams in Agile operate with autonomy, trust, and shared responsibility.

Calm

preparing teams to handle high-pressure situations effectively

Several speakers emphasized the importance of having a leader who can navigate stormy

Pressure turning into chaos

waters with a steady hand, ensuring their team remains focused and resilient. We’ve all encountered leaders—whether in the workplace or personal life—who crumble under pressure, making poor decisions and, even worse, losing the trust of their team or loved ones.

However, there’s another perspective that I find somewhat misleading—the idea that a good leader should shield their team from all pressure. While it might seem like an admirable quality, I believe this approach can be counterproductive.

Why?

• Because completely protecting a team from pressure can create a fragile team, one that thrives only when conditions are perfect but struggles when faced with real challenges. Imagine a sports coach who never pushes their team to perform under tough conditions. The team might play well in practice, but when faced with a high-stakes match, they freeze under pressure. The same applies to workplace teams—if they never experience controlled pressure, they won’t develop the resilience needed for critical situations.
• Additionally, pressure often comes hand-in-hand with opportunity. Consider a startup facing a make-or-break deadline for a big client. A leader who understands when and how to share that pressure strategically can motivate the team to rally together and deliver exceptional results.

So, instead of saying that a good leader never passes on pressure, I’d reframe it: A good leader knows when and how to share pressure with the team in a way that fosters resilience, growth, and success.

Conclusion

Agile leadership isn’t just about frameworks and stand-ups—it’s about clarity, collaboration, and trust. The military’s approach to leadership, especially the 3Cs—Command, Collaborate, and Calm offers valuable lessons for Agile teams. By setting a clear objective, fostering deep collaboration, and ensuring teams can adapt under pressure, we create not just efficient teams, but resilient ones. I will finish this blog with a beautiful quote shared by Col Suhail Zaidi which sums up this article aptly.

Quote shared by Col Suhail Zaidi