Public management of the defence sector: The role of the leader in the formation of personnel policy

The ability of a national defence to play its function is becoming increasingly difficult as the complexity of the current security environment, which may be defined as a complex adaptive system, grows. This study intended to highlight the patterns of efficacy of leaders’ roles in defining human resources policy within the defence sector in today’s strategic context. Challenges in leadership and human resource management in defence sector, in particular based on experience in various regions of the world – Australia, Persian Gulf countries, and Lithuania – are analysed. The article proves that personnel decisions in the military sector largely depend on the level of leadership competencies of managers. The characteristics and peculiarities of contemporary landscape of defence sector are described in the terms of BANI world (Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, Incomprehensible). The findings show that leadership in the military business in a BANI environment requires adaptability, endurance, compassion, and a focus on fostering a culture of trust and optimism. To manage instability, uncertainty, and emotional stress, leaders must prioritise their employees’ well-being and mental health, promote open communication to develop trust, empower individuals through flexible and agile processes, and embrace continuous learning. Based on the analysis of human resource management framework’ characteristics, in particular, within transformational leadership paradigm, drivers for improving leadership function on designing effective personnel policy are proposed. Expedient characteristics for BANI defence leaders and strategies for success in shaping high-performance personnel policy are summarised. The article also emphasises the need for closer attention to more effective and encouraging organisational culture creation, as well as application of Human Capital Management principles in military sector. The practical value of the study lies in outlining the vectors of development of patterns in public management within the defence sector in preparing leaders to deal with designing and implementing personnel policy under conditions of extreme dynamics, uncertainty, evolving and emerging threats