Ethical Leadership: A Factor in Mission Readiness

Abstract

Emotional exhaustion is a threat to mission readiness. This paper describes a psychological process in which ethical leadership influences emotional exhaustion not only directly, but also indirectly through unit cohesion. The model was tested among 338 uniformed Department of Defense personnel deployed in combat zones-personnel likely exposed to operational situations that generally are (or can potentially become) high moral intensity situations. The tests revealed that unit cohesion partially mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and emotional exhaustion. A boundary condition was also identified for this process; namely, the process does not hold among low-conscientiousness personnel. Implications for command practice are discussed.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 30, 2013
Accession Number
AD1005509

Entities

People

  • Lawrence A. Witt
  • Loring J. Crepeau

Organizations

  • Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Applied Psychology
  • Department Of Defense
  • Factor Analysis
  • Group Dynamics
  • Human Resources
  • Information Processing
  • Leadership
  • Management Personnel
  • Measurement
  • Military Personnel
  • New York
  • Personality
  • Personnel Management
  • Psychological Phenomena And Processes
  • Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • United States

Readers

  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.
  • Psychological Intervention/Treatment for Stress, Anxiety, PTSD, and Related Emotional and Cognitive Health Symptoms.