"It is not a sin to have a problem; it is a sin to not know you have a problem and not have a plan to deal with it"

An old Boss of mine used to have this ‘sin’ aphorism written on the white board in their office - this was the analogue and not the digital age. His point being, that having a good radar system and dashboard to understand reality, supported by a keen understanding of what you are seeking to achieve is a critical function of the command of any operation or event - you have to be on top of the detail. It is inevitable that subordinate commanders have to think very clearly before passing unwanted or critical information up the change of command - no one wants to be the individual who is the bringer of bad news! The phenomenon of ‘Messenger Bias’ is well known and it has been shown that people naturally tend to feel negatively towards the person delivering bad news, even if that person had no control over the situation. If you rely on a passive reporting, rather than proactive monitoring, you tend to get what you want to hear that fits your view - this leads to significant challenges being minimised or ‘overlooked’ - you have to know what is happening under the car bonnet not just the destination you hope to be travelling towards.

Of course, you need the formal reporting processes with a carefully chosen suite of performance indicators and milestones underpinned by a ‘battle rhythm’ of check in meetings; but I would also advocate a structural fix so you have a detailed situational awareness picture versus the reported situation. Within any major operation I would appoint a Chief of Staff, reporting directly to me, with the remit to make sure I am fully aware of what is happening with appropriate staffing to be able be across the actuality of the detail. I have found this appointment within a command team adds real value, is not ‘lavish’ in terms of resources and gives you the opportunity to make the most informed decisions you can with the best information that is available. 

In my view don’t be passive and expect things to work as you have planned: be curious, be intrusive and have the systems in place to understand the realities of an operation. It is never a good look when you are the last to know about something going awry!