Being and becoming beginning military leaders: Implications for leadership learning

The purpose of the study is to describe junior military officers' leadership development experiences and to draw implications for leadership learning in their professional development. The research uses a systematic grounded theory design. Through in-depth interviews of 19 military officers, the data were coded and analyzed with a paradigm model that was developed to describe the development of military officers' experiences as leaders. The findings show that military leadership development is a process that is defined by the experiences of establishing oneself as a vocational leader, developing confidence in leadership skills, and leading with mission clarity and genuine concern for their "subordinates." The results reinforce the notion that leadership development is a continuous learning process beyond formal program and other transient events. Results also imply that fundamental assumptions for formal leadership development programs must be conceptualized and conceived as a process of "being, becoming, and belonging." This non-positivist empirical study answers the call for more qualitative and interpretive approaches in leadership development research and contribute to the body of knowledge of leadership learning in military leadership development.

The roles of followers: an exploratory study of follower roles in a Swedish context

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to draw a more nuanced picture of what characterizes followership in an organization.

Design/methodology/approach

– This exploratory study including seven depth interviews conducted with Swedish armed forces personnel at various levels – both officers and civilians – on what characterizes followers. Additional two group discussions were conducted with employees; one representing followers and one representing middle management.

Findings

– The paper provides empirical insights about three follower roles – workmate, colleague, and co-worker and how they correspond to individual-related and organization-related categories. The most prominent feature of the role of workmate is work solidarity. The characteristic of the colleague is professional loyalty. Finally, the co-worker is looked upon as exercising leadership by extension.

Research limitations/implications

– Because of the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalizability. Researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further, and to further investigate the relationships between other followers’ roles – such as temporary agency worker, flexible worker, and expert.

Practical implications

– The paper includes implications for the leader-follower relations, first, how management should lead subordinates in an organization. Second, there are ramifications for how followers’ work is best organized. Finally, the paper verifies the importance of individual-related categories, not only between leaders and followers, but also between followers.

Originality/value

– The paper argues that followers should not only be seen in terms of traits or labels, but as the product of relations within organizations. Followers’ actions are restrained by the frame of their positions. This has an impact on the development of the followers’ roles.