Bridging the Military Leadership Gap: Adapting Industrial Era Militaries for Knowledge Era Warfare

Abstract

We live in a knowledge economy where knowledge equals wealth and complexity flourishes. In the knowledge economy, the ability to generate new knowledge and rapidly adapt denotes the best defense against obsolescence. This new social paradigm therefore demands a new kind of leadership, one that embraces uncertainty and capitalizes on instability by creating adaptive outcomes. Despite knowledge's leading role in organizational survival, the US military remains anchored to industrial economy leadership paradigms that favor hierarchy and predictability over creativity and experimentation. Linear planning models and the time-honored concept of hierarchical command suppress competing leadership paradigms and the necessary conditions for adaptation. To prevail in Knowledge Era combat, the US military must weaponize complexity with a new theory of leadership.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 23, 2019
Accession Number
AD1083640

Entities

People

  • Thomas J. Prestella

Organizations

  • School of Advanced Military Studies

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Adaptive Systems
  • Air Force
  • Applied Psychology
  • Civil War
  • Combat Operations
  • Commerce
  • Education
  • Hierarchies
  • Military History
  • Military Operations
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Science
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personality
  • Psychology
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Strategic Security Studies
  • Systems Analysis and Design