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

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.

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