The research on the topic of leadership management is substantial, filled with primary and secondary sources covering the various aspects of theoretical and practical discussions. However, the literature review on the selected question of transferring military leadership traits into a business requires one to consider several areas of the scholarship and find whether works that explore this connection already exist. This paper introduces the process of researching and analyzing articles discussing various types of leadership and the foundation of military leadership as a preparatory step for writing an insightful literature review.
Finding and Analyzing Supporting Materials
Leadership in Business
As noted above, the scholarship investigating leadership theories is plentiful. In particular, the different types of leadership are discussed frequently, with such ideas as transformational and transactional leadership constituting a major part of all studies. Other dimensions considered by a limited number of studies include authentic, ethical, and servant leadership. However, the dyad of transactional and transformational leadership remains the most represented one in research. This field contains a variety of quantitative and qualitative studies reviewing the different influences of these leadership styles on the organization, performance, and employees (Deshwal & Ashraf Ali, 2020). Thus, it is appropriate to center the discussion on these two theories of leadership in the future literature review.
First, the systematic review of various leadership types authored by (Deshwal & Ashraf Ali, 2020) shows the ideas prevalent in modern organizational leadership scholarship. In relation to the present topic, the researchers state that “Authentic, Ethical, and Servant leadership styles are generally ignored or less discussed” (Deshwal & Ashraf Ali, 2020, p. 38). This statement supports the idea that transactional and transformational leadership remain at the center of studies. Al Khajeh (2018) and Jensen et al. (2019) recall the various benefits of transformational leadership, including its effect on performance, job satisfaction, retention, internal motivation, and other aspects. Jensen et al. (2019) examine the impact of transformational leadership and discover that it has a positive impact on organizational performance. In a case study of the Greek public sector, Samanta and Lamprakis (2018) determine transformational leadership to be the most effective at improving job satisfaction and the perception of the leader as effective.
Nonetheless, some studies demonstrate that the two types may be improved to enhance organizational performance further. In particular, while the negative sides of transactional leadership have been exposed in many papers, the most recent works introduce the potential risks of transformational leadership. Chen et al. (2018) present the idea that transformational leadership can negatively or positively influence a company based on the “too much of a good thing” effect. The scholars argue that the personality of employees matters here, with higher degrees of proactivity contributing to positive outcomes.
Military Leadership
Another essential part of the investigation is concerned with sources about military leadership. It should be noted that the majority of existing papers focus on military management and leadership as a separate discussion, without including the ideas of business into it. For instance, Roberts (2018) presents the twelve principles that should guide modern military leadership, describing such concepts as leading from the front, having self-confidence, fostering teamwork, being decisive, and others. This recollection of necessary traits from a person with actual command experience can be used in the present project as a foundation for military leadership theory to be integrated into the corporate setting. Although it considers leadership strictly in the field of military activities, its explanation of leadership is general enough to use it in a civilian organization.
However, several studies introduce the idea of using military leadership practices in non-military organizations to improve their performance. One of the more recent investigations written by Kirchner and Akdere (2017) explores the possibility of using military leadership development tactics in commercial training. The authors suggest that some traits of military leadership development can contribute to human resource training. In particular, Kirchner and Akdere (2017) highlight the establishment of core values for all employees and a dynamic supervisor-employee relationship. Nevertheless, this is one of the only recent studies of such a connection between military and civilian leadership development, which exposes a lack of success in obtaining relevant research to support the foundation of this paper. One has to resort to older articles in order to enrich the understanding of this topic in the literature review.
Literature Review Draft Sample
Currently, transformational and transactional leadership types are at the center of scholarly investigation. Historically, the popularity of transactional leadership has fallen, while the value of the transformational approach has increased. Al Khajeh (2018), Jensen et al. (2019), and Samanta and Lamprakis (2018) discuss the various achievements of this leadership type, including its positive effect on employee’s job satisfaction and their view of the leader as effective. In fact, the majority of both older and more recent studies conclude that this leadership approach has many benefits for the organization and its workers.
Nevertheless, in a recent development in scholarship, researchers have started to highlight the possible negative influences of transformational leadership on the employer and organizational performance. Using the focus on the organization and its employees, Chen et al. (2018) suggest that transformational leadership can adversely affect performance if the employees are not driven enough to respond to transformational leadership strategies. Pivoting away from employees to employers, Lin et al. (2018) discover that leaders choosing a transformational approach are more likely to develop emotional exhaustion and subsequently leave their position. Thus, the research poses a question of whether different styles can be implemented in organizations in order to decrease the risks connected to transformational leadership.
Project Progress: Issues, Changes, Considerations
As show in the previous segments, the current stage of the investigation is focused on finding recent studies related to leadership in both military and civilian settings. Much progress has been made in finding articles published after 2017 with information related to the project question. Nevertheless, there exists a dearth of papers that consider military leadership strategies for non-military organizations – such investigations could strengthen the present project and provide some data for comparison and further study. Overall, it is vital to add the more recent scholarship to the existing draft and focus on what is being discussed now rather than one or two decades ago. This change is vital as businesses evolve rapidly, and the generational switch in employee circles requires using recent scholarship to review the pressing leadership problems in the workplace.
Conclusion
The research surrounding leadership types evolves slowly, as the ideology built on such types of transactional and transformational is not challenged frequently or with substantial scientific support. Nevertheless, a growing number of investigations begin finding flaws in the transformational leadership model, calling for an in-depth look into different potential sources of improvements. The literature review will look into this shift and present military leadership principles alongside the recent scholarship of transformational and other leadership types to support the project’s objectives.
References
Al Khajeh, E. H. (2018). Impact of leadership styles on organizational performance. Journal of Human Resources Management Research, 2018, 1-10.
Chen, Y., Ning, R., Yang, T., Feng, S., & Yang, C. (2018). Is transformational leadership always good for employee task performance? Examining curvilinear and moderated relationships. Frontiers of Business Research in China, 12(1), 1-28.
Deshwal, V., & Ashraf Ali, M. (2020). A systematic review of various leadership theories. Shanlax International Journal of Commerce, 8, 38-43.
Jensen, U. T., Andersen, L. B., Bro, L. L., Bøllingtoft, A., Eriksen, T. L. M., Holten, A. L., Jacobsen, C. B., Ladenburg, J., Nielsen, P. A., Salomonsen, H. H., Westergård-Nielsen, N., & Würtz, A. (2019). Conceptualizing and measuring transformational and transactional leadership. Administration & Society, 51(1), 3-33.
Kirchner, M., & Akdere, M. (2017). Military leadership development strategies: Implications for training in non-military organizations. Industrial and Commercial Training, 49(7/8), 357-364.
Lin, S., Scott, B., & Matta, F. (2018). The dark side of transformational leader behaviors for leaders themselves: A conservation of resources perspective. The Academy of Management Journal, 62(5), 1-59.
Roberts, R. (2018). Twelve principles of modern military leadership. NCO Journal, 1-8.
Samanta, I., & Lamprakis, A. (2018). Modern leadership types and outcomes: The case of Greek public sector. Management: Journal of Contemporary Management Issues, 23(1), 173-191.