2009 Gettysburg Staff Ride - Stand 1
(Discussion facilitated by Bill Molumby)

General Meade

Remember General Meade and the orders he received from General Halleck placing him in command of the Army of the Potomac at 3:00 a.m.? To me it was very typical of an early morning call an Incident Commander receives informing them of their team's activation to an incident. I’ve had many of those calls as I am sure you have also. Those initial orders were filled with many pending challenges, least of which involved the interaction with management, the public and your leadership team. While the situational awareness may not be at the level we would like initially, we are well aware that we will be working with and for others who are stressed out, need our help, and are looking for immediate functional leadership. That is what we do and why we are called.

Halleck’s letter on June 27th to Meade reads much like a delegation of authority. In fact, I wish most of my delegations were as clear, succinct, and filled with leader’s intent as Halleck’s. Alas, while our delegation may not be as we would like, we must translate those orders to our subordinates with our vision and then give them the latitude to be successful.

“Here we are, now what is the best thing to do?” – General Meade, July 2nd