Is Guidance as a Tool for Leadership Communication Effective for Military Leaders?

Abstract

Serving as a military officer requires among other skills strong communication skills. The Norwegian Military Academy (NMA) educates its cadets in the use of guidance as a leadership communication tool. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether participating in a 5-day guidance course would lead to an improvement of the ability to communicate better with others. Materials and Methods: Forty-nine officers from the NMA participated in the study. The participants served as supervisors in nine exercises related to practicing guidance as a communication tool. Eight of the participants filled out a questionnaire three times during the 5-day course. Results: The results showed that the supervisors felt that they became better at communicating with others and at building and maintaining relationships. Interestingly, trust was found to decline a bit between the supervisor and the person being supervised. However, they felt that they got to know the other person. In addition, the supervisors felt that they increased their awareness of which communication tools that were effective to use to give the conversation its necessary/desired content and form. They also felt that they became more aware of the kind of information they asked for in the conversation. Furthermore, they felt that they were able to communicate more effectively as leaders, and they perceived that their ability to develop others became enhanced by the use of guidance. Finally, the supervisor´s felt that their ability to influence the supervised person´s attitudes through the creation of new thinking and reflection also increased. Conclusions: The results from the present study suggest that practicing guidance as a leadership communication tool is an effective communication tool for military officers.