Ethical Leadership: A Factor in Mission Readiness

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 deplo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Witt, Lawrence A, Crepeau,Loring J
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
cohesion
conscientiousness
deomi(DEFENSE EQUAL OPPORTUNITY MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE)
ethics
EXHAUSTION(PSYCHOLOGICAL)
human emotions
leadership
Military personnel
mission readiness
missions
Online Access:Request full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary: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.