
Stanley McChrystal: The General's Guide to Becoming a Team of Teams
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A one-of-a-kind commander with a new perspective on organizational dynamics, General Stan McChrystal is known for helping elite teams tap into the potential of their people to better compete in a complex and interconnected world. Few can speak about leadership, teamwork, and international affairs with as much insight as he can.
Offering A Four-Star Perspective. The son and grandson of Army officers, McChrystal has a legacy of service. He graduated from West Point in 1976 and was commissioned as an infantry officer. He later trained at the Special Forces School in Fort Bragg, North Carolina and spent much of his career commanding special operations and airborne infantry units. During the Persian Gulf War, McChrystal served in a Joint Special Operations Task Force and later commanded the 75th Ranger Regiment.
In 2002, he was appointed chief of staff of military operations in Afghanistan. Two years later, McChrystal was selected to deliver the nationally televised Pentagon briefings about military operations in Iraq. From 2003–2008, he commanded JSOC and was responsible for leading the nation’s deployed military counter-terrorism efforts around the globe, assuming command of all international forces in Afghanistan in June 2009. President Obama’s order for an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan was based on McChrystal’s assessment of the war.
Rethinking how elite teams function. After retiring from the U.S. Army, General McChrystal turned his expertise to the business world. As the author of best-selling management books, General McChrystal offers a battle-tested system for detecting and responding to risk. He is also the Founder and CEO of the McChrystal Group, which helps Fortune 500 Companies strike the right balance between hierarchical and decentralized team mindsets and structures. Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, McChrystal, a former Green Beret, is known for his candor, innovative leadership, and going the distance. Called “one of America’s greatest warriors” by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, few can speak about leadership, teamwork, and international affairs/geopolitics with as much insight.
For more than ten years, the McChrystal Group has advised companies on how to thrive as the world changes. The McChrystal Group designs custom business solutions and leadership development programs to cultivate trust, empowerment, common purpose, and shared knowledge across organizations. With these skills, General McChrystal will explain how your organization can operate as a nimble “team of teams,” which is essential in today’s competitive and rapidly-changing business landscape.
Leading in Uncertain Times. A dynamic, powerful speaker, McChrystal impresses audiences with field-tested leadership lessons, stressing a uniquely inclusive model that focuses on building teams capable of relentlessly pursuing results. When old systems fall short, he believes true leaders must look for ways to innovate and change. Citing stories from his career, McChrystal reminds us that in a world where things are moving at a speed we’ve never experienced, we need leaders more than ever—and he teaches us how to rise to the occasion.
Lessons in Leadership. In dynamic presentations on leadership, General Stan McChrystal shares lessons based on leading and innovating one of the world’s largest organizations. Modern warfare and business demand the same no-nonsense leadership that drives change and implements it across large organizations. He reveals the power of culture, communication, and relationships, sharing stories, experiences, and principles that make his points. McChrystal addresses such key leadership principles as transparency and inclusion, leveraging the power of teams through relationships, leading by influence, relentless mission focus, and sharing a clear vision with everyone who must execute against it.
Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World. In this captivating presentation on the significance of teamwork, Gen. McChrystal draws on research conducted for his New York Times best-seller Team of Teams, along with examples from his time leading extremely high-performing teams in wartime, to provide a 360-degree view of the role teamwork plays in today’s success equation. Hitting on the many ingredients of effective teamwork including transparent communication and a decentralized power network that allows for split-second, empowered decision-making, McChrystal’s compelling insights and thought-provoking examples pave the way for real transformation at organizations large and small.
On Character: Choices That Define a Life. In this compelling new keynote drawn from his forthcoming book, On Character: Choices That Define a Life, Gen. Stanley McChrystal examines the leadership behaviors that build trust, inspire teams, and drive long-term success. Through vivid storytelling—from his formative years at West Point to leading during moments of national crisis—McChrystal unpacks the choices and habits that enable leaders to meet challenges with clarity, consistency, and courage. These insights offer a practical blueprint for cultivating resilient, high-performing teams rooted in accountability and aligned action. These principles also lay the foundation for his best-selling Team of Teams, showing how shared values unlock adaptability and cohesion at scale. With relevance across industries, McChrystal delivers a timely message on what it truly takes to lead effectively in today’s complex, evolving landscape.
Understanding Risk & Mastering the Unknown. Retired four-star general Stan McChrystal has lived a life associated with the deadly risks of combat. From his first day at West Point, to his years in Afghanistan, to his efforts helping business leaders navigate a global pandemic, McChrystal has seen how individuals and organizations fail to mitigate risk. Why? Because they focus on the probability of something happening instead of the interface by which it can be managed.
In this talk, adapted from his book, Risk: A User’s Guide, McChrystal offers an entirely new way to understand risk and master the unknown – focused not on odds, but on a readiness to respond – and shares his battle-tested system for detecting and responding to risk. Using real-life examples from his military experiences and the business world, he illustrates the dimensions of control that organizations can use to maintain healthy Risk Immune Systems and identify, analyze, and exert mastery over any type of risk they might face.
Conversation with the McChrystal Group: Practical Advice for Leadership in Crisis. A four-star general, Stanley McChrystal is widely credited with revolutionizing warfare by fusing intelligence and operations - leading more than 150,000 troops through a virtual command base. Serving on McChrystal’s senior staff, former U.S. Navy Seal Chris Fussell observed leading through crisis first-hand, leveraging digital platforms to drive effective action across the globe. Together, they now lead the leadership consulting group McChrystal Group and are offering a pre-recorded webinar talk on practical tactics for leading through a crisis – that you can distribute to your audience to watch at their convenience. You can then book a 30-45 minute live or virtual discussion with General McChrystal or Chris Fussell for your group to discuss the material and how they can apply these insights to leadership challenges in their own operating environments.
The Changing Geopolitical Landscape. Few people have as much insight on the current state of national and global affairs as General McChrystal. In this insightful presentation, he examines today’s most pressing questions regarding the dynamic geopolitical environment. He investigates and analyzes the trends, relationships, and forces that shape the world. He details the implications that these factors will have on the security, politics, energy, and the global population.
Moderated Conversations on Leadership or Geopolitical Issues. For the right audiences, General McChrystal will have a conversation with a moderator or business leader that leads to custom insights and dynamic wide-ranging conversations tailored to the audience. This intimate format lends itself to McChrystal’s candid insights, responses, and stories, which draw the audience in and make them part of the dialogue. From lessons learned to observations on current events and the future, McChrystal shares perspectives gained through one of the most legendary military careers, as well as his experiences with business, teaching, and public service.
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