The Context of Military Environments An Agenda for Basic Research on Social and Organizational Factors Relevant to Small Units (2014) / Chapter Skim
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4 Contextual Leadership
4 Contextual Leadership
Pages 57-76
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From page 57... ...
The committee believes that, over time, the fundamental understanding of social interactions within military units from the recommended research will position the Army to develop contextual leaders who effectively interpret, assess, and mold the social interactions within the unit to influence the desired social context, capitalize on opportunities as they evolve, and ulti 57
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From page 58... ...
within various military environments. Ultimately, this research will provide a fundamental understanding of how leaders shape and mold social interactions to coordinate their followers on good behaviors.
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focusing on situational context as an important modifier for leadership antecedents and consequences. In military environments, perhaps more so than in some others, the situational context requires leaders to choose appropriate times to manage (or command)
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What is not yet adequately understood is the importance and role of leadership in interpreting specific social interactions and creating the appropriate social context within the small military unit to foster conditions for success. Furthermore, most leadership attributes are studied in relatively stable contexts; the dynamic and shifting context of military environments provides unique challenges that must be studied more specifically.
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From page 61... ...
One of the most important things the Army can gain from future research on leadership is a greater understanding of the nature and etiology of the verbal and nonverbal social interactions that distinguish leaders of effective military units from ineffective units, given the context of military environments. In its proposed research agenda, the committee emphasizes the importance of contextual leadership, a term derived from the concept of contextual intelligence (Mayo and Nohria, 2005)
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From page 62... ...
The committee focuses on contextual leadership, because, consistent with our charge, we believe that future research must allow for greater inclusion of those social and organizational factors, especially social interactions, that contribute to the social context within which leaders operate. FUTURE RESEARCH ON CONTEXTUAL LEADERSHIP The committee believes that understanding social interactions of unit members and the evolving social context of the unit is critical to the development of effective contextual leadership in military environments.
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Contextual Leadership Research Topics The judgment underlying the recommended research agenda is that the leader plays a critical role in influencing the social context that leads to positive individual behavior and effective unit performance. To be effective, a leader must interpret, assess, and mold the social interactions within the unit to attain the desired social context.
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From page 64... ...
However, the expected and unexpected entrance and exit of personnel to and from work groups is not unique to military environments and creates a social context worth understanding more fully. Relevant and important research questions for these considerations included the following: • What distinct leadership behaviors facilitate and encourage rapid and lasting assimilation of replacement individuals and units such that a desired social context is maintained or enhanced (including, for example, desirable interactions, cohesion, and trust)
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Early Indicators of Undesirable Individual Behaviors Effective small unit performance is a function of the combined effect of the behaviors of individual unit members, to include leaders and those they lead. These behaviors take place both before and during defined missions, in the security of a home base and in the stress of forward combat environments, and in ways that may not always have a directly apparent relationship to the performance of mission-related tasks.
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From page 66... ...
. Of course, many of these behaviors are not unique to military service members and may be the result of internal personal struggles; however, military environments may create unique external stressors that may exacerbate tendencies toward these or other undesirable behaviors.
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Leadership Influence on Social Interactions One example of how the Army might consider the ability of leaders to influence social interactions within their small unit, and consequently of the social context unit members experience, is to seek to understand the influence of representative diversity of leaders and those they lead on small unit functioning. In many ways, the U.S.
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suggest it is important for leaders of small units, especially female and other minority leaders, to understand how they are perceived by their unit, the impact of specific factors relevant only in military environments is not adequately understood (e.g., the impact of rank, Army demographics, increased opportunities for women in combat roles)
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From page 69... ...
Data with this level of detail will likely enable organizational mechanisms to help leaders, especially female and minority leaders, understand how to influence social interactions at the small unit level within dynamic and evolving social contexts of military environments. • How does service members' social identity relate to their leader ship potential, and where can these be leveraged to successfully introduce female or other minority leaders?
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From page 70... ...
The committee suggests that ARI consider implementing this initial research effort in four phases, as described below. Phase 1: Review of Survey Data The Department of Defense has been operating a large-scale longitudinal study since 2001, the Millennium Cohort Study.7 While the data collected in that study, in its current form, do not appear to provide information relevant to the recommended study of social interactions and social context and, more specifically, of contextual leadership, one of the recommendations of this report is to develop a longitudinal survey designed to collect the data necessary to address some of these issues (see Chapter 7)
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From page 71... ...
These data will serve to guide the design of data collection approaches, methods, and instruments to be employed in Phase 3. Phase 3: Data Collection during Training Exercises The third phase consists of systematic, structured data collection from a sample of military units during stressful graded training exercises, such as at the Joint Readiness Training Center and National Training Center.
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From page 72... ...
Experiments conducted through highly realistic simulations of military environments would permit tightly controlled studies to test a number of hypotheses developed in Phase 3 about the relative influence of types of social interactions on social context, the most effective ways in which desired and effective social interactions can be influenced by leadership actions, characteristics (especially social interactions) that are most likely to lead to negative and positive individual behaviors and unit dynamics in a particular military context, and the relative impact of various individual behaviors on unit performance and effectiveness.
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From page 73... ...
. Smart badges track human behavior.
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From page 74... ...
Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press Books. Military Leadership Diversity Commission.
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. Effective leadership behavior: What we know and what questions need more attention.
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