Uncovering the Hidden Structure of Platoons: Formal and Emergent Leaders' Perceptions of Organizational Networks

Abstract

We report on a study of the accuracy of Soldiers' perceptions of advice and friendship networks within U.S. Army Infantry rifle platoons. The ability to accurately perceive the informal advice networks within a platoon is shown to be correlated with both formal leadership positions and emergent leader ratings. That is, individuals in leadership roles and those who, regardless of their formal role, are seen by their peers as possessing leadership qualities were more accurate than non-leaders in their understanding of the informal structure of the platoons. We discuss the implications of these findings with regard to prevailing theories of leadership.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 2008
Accession Number
ADA505776

Entities

People

  • Daniel B. Horn
  • Elizabeth A. Conjar

Organizations

  • Booz Allen Hamilton

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Abstracts
  • Accuracy
  • Army
  • Data Analysis
  • Friendship
  • Infantry
  • Information Processing
  • Information Science
  • Leadership
  • Military Organizations
  • Network Science
  • Perception
  • Psychological Phenomena And Processes
  • Psychology
  • Social Networks
  • Social Psychology
  • Social Sciences

Readers

  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.
  • Organizational Psychology.
  • Systems Analysis and Design