Veteran as leader: The lived experience with U.S. Army leader development

• Date: 01 March 2018
• Published date: 01 March 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.21302
• Author: Michael J. Kirchner

QUALITATIVE STUDY

Veteran as leader: The lived experience with

U.S. Army leader development

Michael J. Kirchner

Indiana University Purdue University-Fort

Wayne, Fort Wayne, IN

Correspondence

Michael J. Kirchner, Department of

Organizational Leadership, Indiana University

Purdue University-Fort Wayne, Neff Hall

288D 2101 E. Coliseum Blvd. Fort Wayne,

IN 46805.

Email: kirchnem@ipfw.edu

Each year at least $50 billion is spent globally on leadership

development—more than any other training and development pro-

gram. Managers are concerned about the leadership shortage faced

by their organizations and have been aggressive in their attempts

to address the issue. These same organization leaders argue that

the leadership and teamwork skills possessed by U.S. military vet-

erans are highly desirable. This article presents findings from a phe-

nomenological study that examined how U.S. Army veterans

experienced leader development during their term of service.

A purposive sample of 10 lower enlisted Army veterans completed

a pre–military leadership autobiography and a face-to-face inter-

view. Four primary themes emerged: (a) consistent first Army expe-

riences, (b) observed leadership, (c) performing is essential, and

(d) we are all leaders despite not understanding the process. This

article contributes to the field of human resource development by

discussing the Army leader development program as experienced

by veterans and offering nonmilitary organizations a progressive

leadership development methodology based on Army training.

KEYWORDS

leadership development, military, organizational learning, training

and development

1|INTRODUCTION

Nonmilitary organizations in the United States have established veteran hiring initiatives as part of a national, “vet-

eran-friendly”employer movement. It is nearly impossible to identify an organization that would claim they are not

military friendly, but an explanation of the term rarely follows. Perhaps more important is the apparent oversight for

the U.S. military's approach to leader development. U.S. Army soldiers participate in an extensive leader develop-

ment program, and little, if anything, is known about the experience. Callahan, Whitener, and Sandlin (2007) argued

that leadership development is one of the most important activities undertaken by human resource development

DOI: 10.1002/hrdq.21302

Human Resource Dev Quarterly. 2018;29:67–85. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hrdq © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 67

(HRD) professionals, while Madsen (2012) stated that leadership development is now a component of HRD theory,

research, and practice. In part because of the training and career advancement opportunities offered, the military

excels in the learning process for leader development (Thomas, 2006).

This article outlines research conducted with 10 lower enlisted, post-9/11 U.S. Army veterans about their

leader development while serving. References to “the Army”refer exclusively to the U.S. Army and do not apply to

other branches of service or armies from other countries. After completing a leadership autobiography and an in-

person interview, four themes encompassing the experience with Army leader development were revealed. These

themes advance HRD's understanding of leader development in the U.S. military and offer implementation strate-

gies for nonmilitary organizations. Each of the four themes are discussed and implications for HRD scholars and pro-

fessionals are presented.

2|SIGNIFICANCE

The development of workforce leaders remains the most sought after of all organizational training initiatives. The

growing need for qualified, trained, and prepared leaders in today's rapidly changing workforce is reflected through

rising investments in leadership development programs. Despite $50 billion being spent annually by employers

around the world, only 37% of leaders rated their organization's leadership development program as “effective”—a

percentage that has remained stagnant over the past seven years (Development Dimensions International, 2014).

Additionally, less than two-thirds of organization leaders described themselves as highly or very confident in their

ability to meet the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) challenges in the workforce, while only 18%

of human resource employees claim their leadership is prepared to lead in the current evolving environment

(Development Dimensions International, 2014). The disparity between annual spending on leadership development

and confidence in organization leadership suggests that training may not be highly effective. While the private

workforce admittedly struggles with leadership development, another sector has been credited for their ability to

develop leaders.

The U.S. Army veteran's general leader development experience has not been examined, even while employers,

as highlighted in the Harrell and Berglass (2012) study, make claims about their leadership abilities. To clarify, U.S.

Army officers and noncommissioned officers in the military have been studied (Bartone, Kelly, & Matthews, 2013;

Reed & Craig Bullis, 2009; Useem, 2010), but lower enlisted soldiers have been overlooked, despite also being rec-

ognized for their leadership. In fact, the most cited reason by employers to hire veterans and the aspect that makes

them most employable is the leadership skills they possess (Harrell & Berglass, 2012; Kropp, 2013). Harrell and Ber-

glass's (2012) study found that 68 of 69 participating employers who seek veterans for hire admitted the former

service member's leadership skills directly affected their hiring decisions. As their study revealed, nonmilitary organi-

zations have not distinguished officers and noncommissioned officers from lower enlisted service members, and

instead highlight the leadership capacity all veterans have obtained because of service (Harrell & Berglass, 2012).

This study was an examination of the lived leader development experience of Army veterans who did not serve

as officers or reach a noncommissioned officer position. Veterans of all ranks are prescribed leaders in the nonmili-

tary workforce, thus making their initial development worth exploring. The field of HRD is well positioned to exam-

ine the military's approach toward developing leaders with implications for both researchers and practitioners.

Leader development in the military has not been scrutinized through research and may offer innovative practices

for nonmilitary organizations. Findings from military leader development studies may also enhance practitioners'

understanding of holistic approaches toward leadership development. The study was guided by the following

research question: How do post-9/11 Army veterans describe their lived leader development experience while serving in

the U.S. armed forces?

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