Personality Hardiness as a Predictor of Officer Cadet Leadership Performance
Abstract
Future military officers must be highly resilient, resourceful, and quick to adjust in rapidly changing situations. In view of this, the time may be now to reconsider the role of normal personality traits that might influence leader performance. A promising personality dimension in this regard is known as "hardiness". High hardy persons have a strong sense of life and work commitment, a greater belief of control, and more openness to change and challenges in life. The present study examined one class of United States Military Academy cadets over time, testing the power of hardiness and several additional cognitive and personality variables to predict military leadership performance over a four-year period. In regression models predicting Military Development (MD) grades for each of four college years, as well as cumulative MD grades over four years, hardiness proved a strong and consistent predictor of military development grades for these officer cadets. It appears that hardiness -- this pervasive and steady sense of commitment, control, and challenge -- facilitates adaptation and performance in the highly stressful world of West Point Army officer cadets. Evidence from this study suggests that personality hardiness is advantageous for young and future U.S. Army officers. These findings have implications for officer selection and training.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADP010353
Entities
People
- P. T. Bartone
Organizations
- United States Military Academy