Military Review English Edition March-April 2014 | Page 72

to lead specific organizational efforts. By mentoring
and focusing highly skilled and informed individuals, the positive deviants, and by aligning efforts and
values with strategic vision, leaders can improve the
effectiveness of the U.S. military as an organization.
Mental model using linear thinking. A second
mental model common within the U.S. military
is to narrowly view and scope a problem based
on traditional linear thinking. Linear thinking, or

…information hoarding is
a persistent mental model
that impacts communication
throughout the military.
the notion that each decision has a direct causeand-effect relationship associated with positive
and negative consequences, is no longer a valid
assumption in a complex and dynamic environment.
With 24-hour news channels, social media, and
interconnected global networks, military operations
and organizations are now part of a complex system
of systems with nonlinear and often anonymous
information-sharing relationships. Senge describes
this as dynamic complexity, “when an action has one
set of consequences locally and a very different set
of consequences in another part of the system.”12 An
example of this concept is the “CNN effect” whereby
a single act on the battlefield can have global strategic
ramifications.13 Courses of action in a standard military decision briefing can have multifaceted outcomes
beyond simple cause-and-effect advantages and disadvantages. A two-dimensional decision matrix is no
longer a viable tool to weigh and compare military
options in a multidimensional, complex information
environment. Senior leaders must understand these
nonlinear relationships to ensure the U.S. military
remains strong and adaptable in an increasingly interconnected, global society. Multidimensional leaders
will need to mitigate risk associated with negative,
threatening consequences while identifying and
exploiting the positive, opportunistic ones.
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Mental model using linear information channels. Finally, information hoarding is a persistent mental model that impacts communication
throughout the military. Before the advent of the
Information Age, information flowed linearly along
structured bureaucratic processes and through
stovepipe channels. Data passed from one echelon
to the next on a need-to-know basis, with leaders at
all levels encouraged to protect or hoard information.14 However, as the military entered the 21st
century, the potential for information flow became
nearly instantaneous. Unfortunately, linear information channels persist in today’s military and, to
some degree, they are critical for national security
and force protection. However, this mind-set has
fostered a culture of information hoarding at higher
echelons in the chain of command. This tight control
contradicts the military millennial’s incessant desire
to share information. Leaders must break with the
traditional, top-down approach to centrally managing information. Instead, they should entrust subordinates and embrace information permeability by
communicating a vision and subsequently providing
transparency to nonsensitive information across the
organization. This empowering leadership approach
avoids the paralysis from information hoarding and
is more likely to inspire motivation and productivity. Robust information sharing enables ad hoc
teams to develop, prosper, and improve organizational business processes.

Knowledge Management
Modern information technology produces
dynamic complexity in organizations, and knowledge management plays a fundamental role in
taming this complexity. Leaders must be purposeful in designing collaborative environments
and knowledge management structures to ensure
information permeability aligns with and supports
organizational goals. While there are advantages
to free form, unguided collaboration through
social media, a complete lack of structure or synchronization can increase organizational risk and
prevent mission accomplishment.15 A knowledge
management system can bring people and information together, but without sufficient guidance and
innovative leadership, it will not be productive. To
avoid social islands, or collaborative spaces only
serving small groups, leaders should attempt to
March-April 2014 MILITARY REVIEW