DEVELOPING DIGITAL LEADERSHIP PRACTICES IN MILITARY: A WAY FORWARD
Abstract
Military leadership today deals with a plethora of information related to its on-field and offthe-field operations that are complex in nature and needs critical thinking which can affect the decision-making process. Information overload is a phenomenon that creates uncertainty and ambiguity in decision-making. Losing direction is very likely in such situations as it could be an issue for the leadership to keep track of what needs to be contained and what needs to be discarded from the chunks of information received continuously. Building adaptive and agile leadership is imperative to technology adaption in the military as digital decision-making and a tech-savvy culture will be key attributes of the future. Adapting digital technologies will help fight and win wars in the digital era and military leadership must learn the digital leadership skills to win the fights driven by technology. With the future of warfare going digital, knowledge-based decision-making will be a valuable asset as these capabilities will become a necessity in times to come. Information control will play a pivotal role in digital leadership and digital leadership combined with the foresight and experience of the commanders can help tackle fifthgeneration warfare.
Keywords: Digitalisation; Digital Leadership; Hybrid Warfare; Military Leadership; Pakistan
Metadata Record
References 18
- Peter W. Singer, “Military Robots and the Laws of War,” Brookings (blog), November 30, 1AD, https://www.brookings.edu/articles/military-robots-and-the-laws-of-war/.
- McKinsey, “US DoD Budget and Defense Technology Innovation | McKinsey,” Mckinsey.com, 2022, https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/aerospace-and-defense/our-insights/how-will-us-funding-for-defense-technology-innovation-evolve.
- National Audit Office, “The Digital Strategy for Defence: A Review of Early Implementation,” Official Report (Department of Defense, October 13, 2022), https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/NAO-report-The-Digital-Strategy-for-Defence-A-review-of-early-implementation.pdf.
- Raluca Csernatoni, “The EU’s Rise as a Defense Technological Power: From Strategic Autonomy to Technological Sovereignty,” Carnegie Europe, August 12, 2021, https://carnegieeurope.eu/2021/08/12/eu-s-rise-as-defense-technological-power-from-strategic-autonomy-to-technological-sovereignty-pub-85134.
- Michael Raska and Richard A. Bitzinger, The AI Wave in Defence Innovation: Assessing Military Artificial Intelligence Strategies, Capabilities, and Trajectories (Taylor & Francis, 2023).
- Emily O. Goldman and Richard B. Andres, “Systemic Effects of Military Innovation and Diffusion,” Security Studies 8, no. 4 (June 1, 1999): 79–125, https://doi.org/10.1080/09636419908429387.
- Raymond A. Morath, Arnold L. Leonard, and Stephen J. Zaccaro, “Military Leadership: An Overview and Introduction to the Special Issue,” Military Psychology 23, no. 5 (September 1, 2011): 453–61, https://doi.org/10.1080/08995605.2011.600133.
- Fabian Boettcher, “Exploratory Study upon Military Leadership in the 21st Century. What Are Skills and Knowledge Required for Leadership Success?,” Polish Political Science Yearbook, no. 3 (51) (2022): 31–47, https://doi.org/10.15804/ppsy202227.
- Rebecca L. Miller, “Rogers’ Innovation Diffusion Theory (1962, 1995),” chapter, Information Seeking Behavior and Technology Adoption: Theories and Trends (IGI Global, 2015), https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-8156-9.ch016.
- Janice H. Laurence, “Military Leadership and the Complexity of Combat and Culture,” Military Psychology 23, no. 5 (September 1, 2011): 489–501, https://doi.org/10.1080/08995605.2011.600143.
- Khurshid Khan, “Understanding Information Warfare and Its Relevance to Pakistan,” Strategic Studies 34, no. Summer issue (2014), https://issi.org.pk/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/1379480610_58047454.pdf.
- Mehboob Rakhshani, “Fifth-Generation Warfare and Its Challenges to Pakistan Mehmood Ali Rakhshani,” Hilal, February 2015, https://hilal.gov.pk/eng-article/detail/NjI1Mg==.html.
- Najeeb Zaidi, “Military Technologies, Fifth Generation Warfare and Policy Implications for Pakistan,” Pakistanpolitico (blog), January 15, 2019, https://pakistanpolitico.com/military-technologies-fifth-generation-warfare-and-policy-implications-for-pakistan/.
- Gérard de Boisboissel, “New Technologies and Decision-Making for the Military,” in Advances in Decision Making (IntechOpen, 2021), https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.98849.
- Jin Hong, “Directions For Defense Digitization of the ROK Armed Forces in the 21st Century,” in Bytes and Bullets in Korea (Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies, 2022), 143–62, https://dkiapcss.edu/wp-content/uploads/2010/PDFs/Edited%20Volumes/BytesAndBullets/CH8.pdf.
- Paul T. Harig, “The Digital General: Reflections on Leadership in the Post-Information Age,” The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters 26, no. 3 (August 21, 1996), https://doi.org/10.55540/0031-1723.1790.
- Ali Anjum, “Adopting a Strategy of Urgency to Achieve Cyber Resilience,” NDU Journal 36 (December 31, 2022): 26–37.
- Muhammad Khalil Khan and Cornelius B Pratt, “Strategic Communications: The Pakistan Military’s Use of Social Media against Terrorism,” Media, War & Conflict 15, no. 4 (December 1, 2022): 450–85, https://doi.org/10.1177/1750635220972127.