Beyond “What Went Wrong”: The Four-Question AAR Playbook Every Leader Should Steal from the Army

6 min read

One of the most valuable aspects of the After-Action Review (AAR) is its emphasis on process over personality. In military settings, AARs are not used to point fingers but to dissect actions, decisions, and outcomes in a structured, rank-neutral environment. This cultural norm builds psychological safety and encourages candid feedback. For city leadership teams, adopting this mindset can shift the focus from individual blame to collective learning. When employees at all levels feel safe to speak up, the organization benefits from more honest communication and a clearer understanding of operational gaps.

Implementing AARs requires more than just adding a meeting to the calendar. Leaders must reinforce the expectation that every significant initiative or crisis response will be followed by a review. These reviews should be concise, consistent, and documented. The U.S. Army’s Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) emphasizes four core questions: What was supposed to happen? What actually happened? Why were there differences? What can we learn?¹ These questions can be easily adapted for local government departments, whether evaluating a snowstorm response, a community outreach event, or a technology deployment.

Creating a Structured AAR Process in City Operations

To successfully adopt the AAR model in city operations, it is critical to standardize the process across departments. A structured guide or checklist helps ensure consistency and allows for meaningful comparison across projects. For example, the Department of Homeland Security recommends a post-incident assessment framework that includes pre-event planning, execution, and response evaluation². This format aligns well with the military’s AAR approach and can be tailored to fit local government contexts.

One effective practice is to assign a neutral facilitator, ideally someone trained in conducting AARs, to lead the session. This person ensures all voices are heard and that the discussion stays focused on behaviors and outcomes rather than personal judgments. Departments should also consider integrating AARs into performance management systems. By tracking lessons learned and corrective actions taken, city managers can demonstrate a clear commitment to continuous improvement and operational excellence.

Fostering Cross-Departmental Collaboration

In the military, joint operations demand tight coordination between units with different missions, resources, and command structures. AARs are used not only within units but also across them to identify interoperability issues and share best practices. City governments often operate in silos, with limited structured communication between departments. AARs provide a natural forum to bridge these gaps. For instance, after a large-scale city festival, public works, police, fire, and parks departments can jointly review what worked, where coordination broke down, and how to improve for the next event.

This kind of cross-functional learning is particularly valuable in crisis response. During natural disasters or public health emergencies, rapid coordination is essential. The National Emergency Management Agency recommends multi-agency after-action reviews as a best practice for improving incident command systems³. By institutionalizing these reviews, city leaders can build a culture of shared responsibility and operational alignment that extends beyond emergency situations into everyday governance.

Documenting Lessons and Institutionalizing Knowledge

One of the military's most disciplined habits is the documentation and dissemination of lessons learned. At every level, from unit-level AARs to strategic assessments, insights are logged, archived, and made available for future planning. This practice prevents the repetition of mistakes and accelerates institutional learning. For municipal governments, creating a central repository of AARs can serve the same purpose. These records, ideally searchable and categorized by topic or department, can become a resource for onboarding new staff and planning future initiatives.

To make this sustainable, city leadership should establish a formal process for submitting and reviewing AARs. A quarterly review board consisting of representatives from key departments can analyze recent reports, identify recurring issues, and track the implementation of recommended changes. This board can also highlight outstanding examples of successful projects or interdepartmental collaboration. Over time, this approach builds a feedback loop that embeds continuous improvement into the agency’s operational DNA.

Building Leadership Buy-In and Aligning with Strategic Goals

The success of AARs in military settings is largely due to leadership buy-in. Commanders model reflective behavior and set expectations for their teams to do the same. City managers and department heads must likewise champion the AAR process. By participating in reviews, acknowledging lessons openly, and supporting follow-through on action items, they set the tone for the organization. This modeling brings credibility to the process and signals that honest evaluation is valued, not penalized.

Aligning AARs with broader strategic goals can enhance their relevance. For example, if a city is prioritizing equity in service delivery, AARs can include prompts to assess whether all communities were served equitably during a project or event. If innovation is a strategic objective, AARs can document creative approaches and their outcomes. When the review process maps back to the city’s priorities, it becomes a tool not just for operational improvement, but for strategic alignment and accountability.

Training Staff and Embedding the Practice Long-Term

Just as the military trains its personnel in conducting and participating in AARs, local governments should invest in training supervisors and project managers. Workshops or short courses can cover facilitation techniques, documentation standards, and how to turn insights into action. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offers resources and templates that can serve as a starting point for cities developing their own AAR programs⁴.

Embedding AARs into the life cycle of projects - from planning to execution to debrief - reinforces their importance. As city agencies begin to see tangible results, such as reduced response times, improved event coordination, or more efficient budgeting, the practice gains traction. Over time, the AAR becomes not just a meeting, but a mindset. A culture of reflection, learning, and adaptation is a powerful asset in managing the complex, dynamic challenges of local governance.

Bibliography

Center for Army Lessons Learned. “After Action Review (AAR) Handbook.” Fort Leavenworth, KS: U.S. Army Combined Arms Center, 2011.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) Doctrine.” Washington, DC: FEMA, 2020.
Federal Emergency Management Agency. “National Incident Management System: Guideline for the Implementation of the NIMS Training Program.” Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2018.
Federal Emergency Management Agency. “After-Action Report/Improvement Plan Toolkit.” Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2021.