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 off-the-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 informationreceived 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 fifth-generation warfare.Keywords: Digitalisation,Digital Leadership, Hybrid Warfare, Military Leadership,PakistanIntroductionecurity threats have changed considerably for Pakistan in the last two decades. Today, the dangers lurking with traditional security challenges are still on the table because of the unstable regional dynamics but the non-traditional threats have increased in theirintensity. The characteristics of war have changed from traditional air, ground, and water to include space and information control. These technological changes especially autonomous systems and artificial intelligence also known as fifth-generation warfare have changed the dynamics of battlefields. Currently, less is fought on the ground as compared to information wars through digital media, cyberspace, and satellite technologies. The changes in military approach to warfare around the world demands the military leadership to be tech-savvy. Therefore, the current and future military leaders of the country must make their acquaintance with digital technologies. The adaption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the military is a key development around the world. The use of information warfare (IW) and *Mr. Jawad Mahroof and Ms. Rabbia Javaidare an M.Phil scholars at Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi.S