Chris Fussell

Chris Fussell is an American author, strategist, and speaker focusing on leadership and the development of mission command. He is an accomplished U.S. Navy SEAL, Rhodes scholar, and McKinsey & Company partner with more than 25 years of experience in team-building, culture design, and organization development. His first book, One Mission: How Leaders Build a Team of Teams, was published in 2016 and draws on the principles of mission command, which Fussell explains can help leaders build effective, agile teams to succeed in complex organizations. His second book, Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World, was published in 2017 and focuses on providing readers with the tools needed to build effective teams in a complex world.

Fussell began his military career in 1989 when he joined the United States Navy. After completing the U.S. Navy SEAL basic training, he served as an enlisted SEAL for five years. During this time, he developed an interest in leadership, strategy, and team-building. After completing his enlisted service, he pursued an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree from Oxford University. Upon completion of these programs, Fussell rejoined the Navy as an officer and completed an additional six years of service in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Special Operations Officer.

Fussell leveraged his passion for leadership to pursue a successful career in corporate strategy consulting. After working as a consultant at McKinsey & Company for nine years, Fussell became a partner in 2011 and focused his efforts on assisting clients in team-building, culture design, and execution. In 2016, Fussell left McKinsey & Company to join the leadership development company McChrystal Group as Chief Operating Officer. McChrystal and Fussell together created a leadership development program to help strengthen the blood flow of mission command within corporate teams.

Throughout his career, Chris Fussell has been dedicated to teaching leaders and teams how to excel in a constantly-evolving, increasingly global world. His first book, One Mission: How Leaders Build a Team of Teams, focuses on mission command concepts, providing readers with a detailed breakdown of the “six core principles of mission command:” communication, shared understanding, trust, mission understanding, team spirit, and adaptation. Additionally, the book explains how to operationalize these principles to achieve success in organizations with diverse purposes and competing demands. His second book, Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World, builds upon the topics covered in his first book, offering a practice-based approach to empower readers with the necessary tools to identify and lead teams within organizations.

In addition to his books, Fussell’s work has also been featured in various publications, most notably in an article entitled “How to Use the ‘Team of Teams’ Approach to Successfully Navigate the Complexity of Modern Business” in the Harvard Business Review. In this article, Fussell outlines the benefits of mission command when creating teams that effectively lead a complex organizational environment. Along with his writing, Fussell is a frequent lecturer and keynote speaker and has appeared at major events such as the Aspen Ideas Festival, Tedx, and Corporate Executive Board.

By drawing on his expertise from the Navy SEALs, McKinsey & Company, and his own practice-tested techniques, Chris Fussell is one of the leading authorities teaching leaders how to effectively lead teams in a complex world. As an author, keynote speaker, and lecturer, Fussell provides new approaches to team-building and offers valuable tools to corporate leaders around the globe.