Military Psychology: Leadership

1. Military Psychology:Leadership Dr. Steven J. Kass Dr. (Major) Alan Ogle

2. Military Psychology Leadership Defined Leadership – • Fiedler (1967)- Directing and coordinating the work of group members • Bennis (1959) – The process by which an agent induces a subordinate to behave in a desired manner • Air Force – The art of influencing and directing people to accomplish the mission • Army – The process of influencing others to accomplish the mission by providing purpose, direction, and motivation Effective Military Leadership – • Includes a degree of high flexibility, initiative, ability to lead in complex and ambiguous circumstances and ability deal with local populations and cultures.

3. Leadership Theories:McGregor’s Theory X / Theory Y • Theory X – Leaders assume followers have an inherent tendency to avoid work, need to be directed, guided, or coerced • Danger of self-fulfilling prophecy • Theory Y – Leaders assume followers are capable of self-direction, accept and seek responsibility

4. Leadership Theories:Trait Approach What traits or characteristics do good leaders possess? Bass (1990) 10 traits: • Desire to achieve • Desire to influence others for common good • High energy level • Persistence • Task competence • Interpersonal skills • Self-confidence • Willingness to act • Tolerance for stress • Flexibility

5. Leadership Theories:Trait Approach Correlates of leadership • Intelligence w/leader emergence (r = .50), not strongly associate with effectiveness • Leadership effectiveness related to: • Emotional stability, dominance, energy level (West Point) • Conformity, self-discipline (US Naval Academy) • Physical fitness, self-esteem, ability to tolerate stress (VMI) • Integrity, loyalty, commitment, energy, decisiveness, selflessness (AF) • Self-esteem, self-confidence, achievement-orientation, dependability, sociability, tolerance for ambiguity (others) • Relationship between traits and leader emergence & effectiveness moderated by situational factors (e.g., education, experience, follower characteristics)

6. Leadership Theories:Behavioral Approach • Search for behaviors that differentiate effective from ineffective leaders • Personality traits are stable, but behavior can be trained • Derived from Post WWII Big 10 studies (U of Michigan, Ohio State U, U of Illinois) • Two key dimensions • Consideration (people orientation) • Friendly, supportive, show appreciation, caring about personal welfare of followers • Initiating Structure (task orientation) • Focus on direction and control of task accomplishment • Behaviors assessed via • Surveys • Interviews • Observations

7. Leadership Theories:Behavioral Approach Behavioral Approach Conclusions • Behavioral descriptions of leadership may include more than 2 or 3 dimensions • Reliance on self-report surveys not sufficient to describe leadership behaviors • Performance relationships are strongly influenced by follower experience and expectations, as well as situational factors • Limited support for approach – “it depends”

8. Leadership Theories:Contingency (Situational) Approach Contingency Approach – Leaders can be trained to diagnose situational factors and select appropriate leadership style • Situational Factors • Characteristics of followers – intelligence, willingness, ability • Characteristics of group – group size, cohesiveness • Characteristics of situation – task complexity, org’l culture • Characteristics of leadership position – level of authority • 4 theories • Normative Decision Model • Situational Leadership Theory • Contingency Model • Path-Goal Theory

9. Leadership Theories:Contingency (Situational) Approach Normative Decision Making Model (Vroom, Yetton, Jago) – focuses on the optimal level of participation that followers should have in decision-making process 2 factors • Importance of making quality decision • Importance of followers accepting decision • 3 types of leadership behavior • Autocratic – leader makes individual decision (little or no group input) • Consultative – leader asks for input, then makes decision • Group – leader shares info with group, group makes decision together

10. Leadership Theories:Contingency (Situational) Approach Normative Decision Making Model – eight questions to help determine decision-making style 1 Quality Requirement (QR): How important is the technical quality of the decision? 2. Commitment Requirement (CR): How important is subordinate commitment to the decision? 3. Leader's Information (LI): Do you (the leader) have sufficient information to make a high quality decision on your own? 4. Problem Structure (ST): Is the problem well structured (e.g., defined, clear, organized, lend itself to solution, time limited, etc.)? 5. Commitment Probability (CP): If you were to make the decision by yourself, is it reasonably certain that your subordinates would be committed to the decision? 6. Goal Congruence (GC): Do subordinates share the organizational goals to be attained in solving the problem? 7. Subordinate conflict (CO): Is conflict among subordinates over preferred solutions likely? 8. Subordinate information (SI): Do subordinates have sufficient information to make a high quality decision?

11. Leadership Theories:Contingency (Situational) Approach Situational Leadership Theory (Hersey & Blanchard) – The appropriate leadership behavior is contingent on diagnosis of maturity level or readiness of followers High • Directing / Telling 2. Selling / Coaching • Follower Readiness • Unable & Insecure/Unwilling • Unable & Confident/Willing • Able & Insecure/Unwilling • Able & Confident/Willing Task Oriented 3. Supporting / Participating 4. Delegating Low Low Relationship Oriented High

12. Leadership Theories:Contingency (Situational) Approach Contingency Model (Fiedler) – Leader’s style is fixed, so must select right leader for job based on situation favorability • Leadership style (relationship-oriented vs. task-oriented) based on Least Preferred Coworker Scale • Low LPC – motivated by task completion • High LPC – motivated by maintaining group relationships • Situation favorability determined by: • Leader-Member Relations • Task Structure • Position Power

13. Leadership Theories:Contingency (Situational) Approach Pleasant: ___:___:___:___:___:___:___:___: Unpleasant 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Friendly: ___:___:___:___:___:___:___:___: Unfriendly 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Rejecting: ___:___:___:___:___:___:___:___: Accepting 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Tense: ___:___:___:___:___:___:___:___: Relaxed 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Distant: ___:___:___:___:___:___:___:___: Close 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Supportive: ___:___:___:___:___:___:___:___: Hostile 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Cold: ___:___:___:___:___:___:___:___: Warm 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Boring: ___:___:___:___:___:___:___:___: Interesting 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Quarrelsome: ___:___:___:___:___:___:___:___: Harmonious 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Gloomy: ___:___:___:___:___:___:___:___: Cheerful 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Open: ___:___:___:___:___:___:___:___: Guarded 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Backbiting: ___:___:___:___:___:___:___:___: Loyal 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Untrustworthy: ___:___:___:___:___:___:___:___: Trustworthy 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Considerate: ___:___:___:___:___:___:___:___: Inconsiderate 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Nasty: ___:___:___:___:___:___:___:___: Nice 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Agreeable: ___:___:___:___:___:___:___:___: Disagreeable 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Insincere: ___:___:___:___:___:___:___:___: Sincere 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kind: ___:___:___:___:___:___:___:___: Unkind 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Least Preferred Coworker Scale

14. Leadership Theories:Contingency (Situational) Approach Contingency Model If situation is: ■ Very favorable (good leader–member relations, structured task, strong position power) ■ Very unfavorable (poor leader–member relations, unstructured task, weak position power) Then: The best leader is task-oriented (low LPC score) with a directive, controlling style  If situation is: ■ Moderately favorable (mixed variables) Then: The best leader is relationship-oriented (high LPC score) with a participative approach

15. Leadership Theories:Contingency (Situational) Approach Path-Goal Theory (House) – Behavior of leader impacts follower satisfaction and motivation • Style of leadership depends • Task characteristics (complexity) • Follower characteristics (ability, personality) • Four styles of leadership • Supportive - Leader shows concern for the followers’ psychological well-being • Appropriate when the followers lack confidence • Directive - Leader lets followers know what is expected of them and tells them how to perform their tasks. • Appropriate when the follower has an ambiguous job. • Participative - Leader consults with followers and asks for their suggestions • Appropriate when the follower is using improper procedures • Achievement-oriented - Leader sets challenging goals and expects followers to meet them • Appropriate when the follower lacks challenging work

16. Leadership Theories:Transformational Leadership Theory Transformational Leadership Theory – Leader raises followers to higher levels of morality, motivation, and performance above that from simply having power of authority • Transformational Leader: • Creates and articulates vision • Builds trust by exhibiting self-confidence, personal example • Creates emotional involvement with followers • Raise level of awareness in followers about importance of outcome • Get followers to transcend own self interests • Transactional Leader: • Simply exchanges rewards for performance

17. Leadership Theories:Transformational Leadership Theory Transformational Leaders lead through: - Charisma - Individualized Consideration - Intellectual Stimulation - Inspirational Motivation

18. LeadershipDeveloping Leadership Skills • Management Success Traits (Yukl) – 6 traits that can be learned through training • Energy level • Organizing and planning skills • Interpersonal skills • Cognitive skills • Work-related motivation • Personal control of feelings & resistance to stress

19. LeadershipDeveloping Leadership Skills Behavioral skills that cut across situations • Ability to communicate • 2-way comms, active listening, non-verbal cues • Constructive feedback • “Manage by walking around” • Pay attention to HR management skills • Socialization process, training, fair appraisals, coaching • Motivate followers • Positive rewards, goal setting, empowerment • Networking & Political skills • Know the right people/how to get things done

20. LeadershipDeveloping Leadership Skills Military Training Programs • Focus on contingency leadership principles • “Followership” that precedes leadership activities • Leadership experiences combined with feedback • Formal classroom training designed to provide the theoretical training for leadership experiences

21. LeadershipDeveloping Leadership Skills Total Quality Management/Leadership (Deming) – Management through • Empowerment • Info sharing • Participative decision making • Continuous commitment to quality/process improvement • Continuous commitment to customer service • Focus on teamwork/communication

22. Greatest Military Leaders • List of top military leaders