Former director of the U.S. Army’s “Red Team University” Steve Rotkoff discusses the principles of Red Teaming and its application beyond warfare. Topics include cognitive diversity, software, social media, telecommunications, and international policy schools.
Red teaming encourages divergent thinking before convergence, emphasizing the gathering of diverse ideas and the use of tools like liberating structures and groupthink mitigation for unbiased and quality-driven discussions.
The University of Foreign Military and Cultural Studies (UFMCS) was established by the US Army to enhance decision-making through self-awareness, empathy, groupthink mitigation, and alternative futures, and its influence has spread across industries as organizations embrace red teaming techniques to improve decision-making and address vulnerabilities.
Red teaming is a valuable tool universally applicable in various fields, promoting challenging of assumptions, engaging different perspectives, mitigating groupthink, and fostering critical thinking to improve decision-making and navigate complexities.
Deep dives
Understanding the Concept of Red Teaming
Red teaming is a meta way of thinking that involves divergent thinking before convergence. It emphasizes the need to gather as many ideas as possible before deciding on the best one. Red teaming places importance on using tools and methodologies like liberating structures, groupthink mitigation, and anonymity to encourage unbiased, quality-driven discussions. It focuses on separating the source of an idea from its quality to ensure that the best idea prevails. A red team, on the other hand, refers to a group assembled to solve a specific problem using red teaming methods. The composition of the red team and effective internal communication are crucial for its success.
The Evolution and Impact of UFMCs
UFMCs (University of Foreign Military and Cultural Studies) was established by the US Army to address the failure of traditional decision-making processes in complex situations. It aimed to foster better team thinking through pillars like self-awareness, empathy, groupthink mitigation, and alternative futures. UFMCs combined anthropology, military history case studies, liberating structures, and the wisdom of crowds to enhance decision-making. While the school has been downsized, its influence has spread across various industries. Many companies have embraced red teaming techniques to improve decision-making, foster creativity, and address vulnerabilities.
The Value of Red Teaming in Business and Government
Red teaming offers businesses and organizations a valuable approach to decision-making and risk mitigation. By challenging conventional wisdom and promoting alternative perspectives, red teaming helps to uncover weak signals and address blind spots. It encourages organizations to respect their opponents, consider critical assumptions, and monitor emerging trends and threats. Red team techniques like Think-Right-Share assist in identifying and prioritizing potential risks and developing contingency plans. Businesses can leverage red teaming to enhance safety, innovation, resilience, and agility in a rapidly changing environment. The ongoing need for red teaming is evident in recent events such as geopolitical conflicts and intelligence failures, highlighting its importance in navigating complex and uncertain landscapes.
The Power of Red Teaming and Mitigating Groupthink
Red Teaming is a valuable tool that can be universally applied in various fields, including the military and business. It involves taking the time to challenge assumptions, engage different perspectives, and slow down the decision-making process to make better decisions. Red Teaming leverages cognitive diversity and encourages participation, especially when there is a liberating structure in place that allows individuals to be heard. It mitigates the negative effects of groupthink and fosters critical thinking. Overall, Red Teaming helps organizations better understand their external environment and navigate complexities.
Redefining Leadership and Empowering Organizations
Red Teaming emphasizes the importance of empowering individuals and leveraging cognitive diversity. It highlights the need for leaders to create an environment where people feel comfortable expressing their ideas, even if they disagree with authority. Toxic leadership can hinder this process, as individuals may fear negative consequences. Red Teaming techniques, combined with tools like the 15 percent concept, can help organizations improve planning, execution, and assessment. By simplifying tools and encouraging hands-on learning, organizations can develop an internal capability for Red Teaming, enabling them to adapt and thrive in complex environments.
Steve Rotkoff, former director of the U.S. Army’s “Red Team University”, unpacks the principles of Red Teaming and its powerful application in various arenas, beyond just warfare. This process emphasizes the significance of divergence before convergence and the mitigation of groupthink, leading to the development of innovative solutions.
We journey through the evolution of the University of Foreign Military and Cultural Studies (UFMCS) curriculum and delve into stories of how Red Teaming is being applied in diverse fields such as software, social media, telecommunications, and international policy schools. Steve Rotkoff shares his personal experiences and lessons learned from these implementations, emphasizing the importance of cognitive diversity and understanding how to leverage it effectively.
Steve Rotkoff is the former director of the U.S. Army’s University of Foreign Military and Cultural Studies at Fort Leavenworth, also known as “Red Team University” and one of the principal architects of the Army’s red team training program.
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