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36 Armed Forces & Soc'y 5 (2009-2010)

handle is hein.journals/amdfcsad36 and id is 1 raw text is: \rmed F orces & Society \0l:n Numnber 1 ctober 009 5-18 . U0 Inter-U niersity The Impact of Destructive Seminar rmedIFre and Society. All rights reserved. Leadership on Senior hG.11 34994 hosted at M ilitary Officers and ___________ Civilian Employees George E. Reed University of San Diego R. Craig Bullis Army Physical Fitness Research Institute, U.S. Army War College This article examines negative or destructive leadership behaviors experienced by high-potential senior military officers and civilian employees. The study used a ques- tionnaire based on the Petty Tyranny in Organizations Scale to explore the scope and nature of destructive leadership as reported by U.S. members of the class of 2008 at a military senior service college. It also explored the relationship between leadership experiences and various measures of satisfaction and inclination to remain in service. The authors observe that despite the central role that the concept of leadership holds in the military, even senior personnel reported experiencing toxic leadership. There was a significant negative relationship between destructive leadership and all measures of satisfaction. Surprisingly, there was not a significant negative impact on inclination to remain in service among this career-oriented and dedicated population. Keywords: leadership; petty tyranny; satisfaction; retention The notion of leadership is central to the organizational culture of the American military. As evidence of this assertion, the United States Military Academy pro- claims that it seeks to graduate leaders of character,' while the Air Force Academy similarly strives to develop officers of character motivated to lead ....2 The intro- duction to the Army's leadership field manual spells out expectations for Army lead- ers from soldiers and civilians: they deserve competent, professional, and ethical leadership. They expect their Army leaders to respect them as valued members of effective and cohesive organizations and to embrace the essence of leadership.3 When he was secretary of the navy, Gordon England outlined fifteen principles of leadership at a speech at the U.S. Naval Academy.4 In the military, leadership is viewed as both a solution to problems and as a key variable in organizational effec- tiveness. Leadership is also a term that usually carries a positive connotation. Leadership in the military has been socially constructed as an almost universal positive aspiration. Organizational culture theorist Edgar Schein notes that such 5

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