Mission command is a leadership philosophy that was designed to ensure that military organizations could operate effectively in uncertain situations. It has become the exemplar of military leadership. This study explores whether an increase in task uncertainty is positively related to appreciation of mission command by crew members of Norwegian state-of-the-art, Nansen-class frigates (N = 174). The result of a simultaneous multiple regression indicates that there is a relationship, but in the opposite direction of what was hypothesized. The greater the task uncertainty, the more the behavior of the preferred leader deviated from mission command. The most important predictor was perceived lack of information, and the more the respondents felt that they lacked information when carrying out their tasks, the more their description of preferred leader behavior deviated from mission command.

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This article explores the degree of consensus on the validity status of Mintzberg’s configuration theory following a test in which the theory was refuted. The 218 articles that have cited the award-winning article by Doty, Glick, and Huber, and 89 articles and 12 books published by Mintzberg after the test, are reviewed. None of the reviewed articles contained any discussion about the implications for Mintzberg’s theory. It is then discussed whether the test was exhaustive and whether the lack of debate should be interpreted as tacit agreement with Doty et al. Normative aspects of a silent research community are also discussed. It is argued that it has not been proved beyond reasonable doubt that the test is exhaustive and that there are sociological explanations for the lack of debate other than “silence implies agreement.” Finally, it is argued that it would have been fruitful if the test had stirred debate.

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