{"id":11032,"date":"2026-02-10T11:18:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T11:18:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/revista.isfin.ro\/?p=11032"},"modified":"2026-02-10T11:39:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T11:39:17","slug":"conceptualising-authentic-military-leadership-for-adaptive-decision-making-in-volatile-uncertain-complex-and-ambiguous-environments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revista.isfin.ro\/en\/2026\/02\/10\/conceptualising-authentic-military-leadership-for-adaptive-decision-making-in-volatile-uncertain-complex-and-ambiguous-environments\/","title":{"rendered":"CONCEPTUALISING AUTHENTIC MILITARY LEADERSHIP FOR ADAPTIVE DECISION-MAKING IN VOLATILE, UNCERTAIN, COMPLEX, AND AMBIGUOUS ENVIRONMENTS"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Author: Marius Emanuel Caragea<\/p>

Vol. 11 \u2022 Special Issue \u2022 2026<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Abstract<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Contemporary military operations in contested, multi-domain environments demand leadership frameworks that integrate ethical discipline with operational agility. This study synthesises authentic leadership theory with adaptive decision-making doctrinal frameworks to address a significant theoretical gap: the absence of a unified model linking relational and moral authenticity to accelerated decision cycles within volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) contexts.
Through systematic integration of peer-reviewed scholarship (2010\u20132025), NATO doctrinal guidance, and empirical research on leadership resilience and simulation-enabled training, the researcher develop the Integrated Authentic\u2013Adaptive Leadership Model (IAALM). The analysis reveals that core authentic behaviours – principled transparency, balanced information processing, and relational clarity – serve as catalysts for decentralised initiative and rapid learning cycles characteristic of mission command. Three mediating mechanisms – psychological safety, interpersonal trust, and shared operational understanding – constitute the pathway through which moral anchoring translates into tactical tempo without eroding legal-ethical compliance.
The IAALM demonstrates that units cultivating psychological safety and trust relationships achieve faster situational understanding and disciplined risk calibration under uncertainty. Institutionalisation mechanisms include doctrine-aligned training methodologies, mentorship frameworks, structured reflection cycles, and extended-reality (XR) simulations. The model provides scalable policy guidance for NATO and national militaries seeking to prepare leaders who sustain both ethical resilience and decision velocity in contemporary operational contexts.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Keywords:\u00a0<\/strong>Authentic leadership; Mission command; Adaptive decision-making; VUCA; NATO doctrine; Psychological safety; XR training; Resilience.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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JEL Classification:<\/strong> J53, M12, M54.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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DOI:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Author: Marius Emanuel Caragea Vol. 11 \u2022 Special Issue \u2022 2026 View abstract PDF View article PDF Abstract Contemporary military operations in contested, multi-domain environments demand leadership frameworks that integrate ethical discipline with operational agility. This study synthesises authentic leadership theory with adaptive decision-making doctrinal frameworks to address a significant theoretical gap: the absence of …<\/p>\n

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