Professional Development in Greek Military Services. Searching a Dominant Leadership Style

Abstract

Leadership is a focal concept to the functioning of all modern organizations. The leader of an organization is the architect required to create vision and strategy. Management and leadership, the third ranking of administration, is a motivating and guiding Human Resource (HR) in order to contribute effectively to achieving the objectives of an organization. A military service is a complex living mixture of body collections, roles, rules and culture. In terms of numbers, the Greek Army has hundreds of hierarchical structures and about 70,000 active personnel. There is a clear gradation of hierarchy and a code of ethics. At the same time, there is individual leadership, where a military leader commands his/her unit with a distinct and personal style. This research aims at seeking a leadership style based on a personal level to be exercised within the framework of strict structures of HR, that, when effectively exercised, helps younger military leaders improve themselves and also to be used as a proper model in a common basis for thinking and learning about leadership. Fifty officers provided relevant information by filling-in a corresponding number of Multifactor Leadership Questionnaires (MLQ) with fourty five close-ended questions, which count the extent of leadership styles as Full Range Leadership: Transformational, Transactional and Avoidant. The MLQ also examines Leadership Outcomes: Extra Effort, Effectiveness and Satisfaction. Data elaboration and statistical analysis were performed. The dominant leadership style and potential vision resulting from this style are indentified.