Abstract
This chapter explores learning in leaders of action teams working in a complex, dynamic, and hazardous context. Specifically, the chapter reports on interviews with 53 US Army company commanders working in Iraq about their key learning experiences and then draws on Kolb’s experiential learning cycle and other learning theories to describe leader development in dynamic and hazardous environments. The research reveals four characteristics of the most important learning experiences in combat leaders: the experiences are “molten” in nature (meaning chaotic, complex, and volatile); create a sense of profound responsibility; involve intense affect; and stimulate embodied feedback. This chapter contributes to research by proposing how the nature of such experiences sets the tone for how individual leaders develop expertise. In addition, four developmental outcomes of leader learning in combat are presented: innovation, judgment, resilience, and compassion. Conclusions drawn from this research not only inform more obvious types of team leaders such as first responders, emergency management personnel, and law enforcement, but can also apply to a broader range of team leaders who face time-critical and highly consequential decisions.
Published Version
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