staff group is formed or appointed one should bear in mind that
its members do not have the authority to make decisions other
than of a purely executive character. The role of the staff is to
support the commander. The staff then increases the command
capacity by relieving the commander.
Staff work is team work often carried out in stressful situations
and therefore needs to be based on simple, established procedu-
res. The following conditions should have been established and
defined, and the Chief of Staff and staff members alike should be
familiar with them.
- The organisational positions of the staff members.
- The commander the group of staff is appointed to support
(who the staff belongs to). - The type of management this commander exercises, i.e. his or
her system level. - The tasks that, at this level of command, rest with the staff.
Effective staff work calls for the division of work, cooperation and
an understanding of and insight into the purpose of the staff and
its tasks. The commander leads the staff by, among other things,
setting goals, division, control and followup. Staff work is marked
by objectively and decisively illustrating all the factors that can
affect the decision of the commander and by loyally executing the
decisions taken by the commander.
The command staff of a particular decision domain should not
also be the command staff of a decision domain subordinate to it.
For example, the command staff for the decision domain system
command should not be engaged within the decision domain ope-
rational command. Being a member of a command staff involves,
among other things, having a high degree of loyalty to the deci-
sions made by the individual who is ultimately responsible for the
decision domain. Dividing staff between several decision domains
creates a conflict of interest for the staff members.
When command capacity is changed, one must be careful not
to worsen the management by, for example, adding personnel that
are not required or forming a group of staff that is more of a bur-
den than a help. The command system and the structure formed
through it are there, naturally, to facilitate the work of meeting the
assistance need. The quality of command is often reflected in the
result of the emergency response operation.