Complexity and leadership: the case of a military organization

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to adopt the complexity theory (CT) as a frame of reference to analyze leadership action within a military organization. Through the CT framework, it considers a military organization as a complex adaptive system (CAS), which evolves and adapts to the environment to survive, similarly to a living organism. This case study identifies complex dynamics, which are proper to CAS and it proposes avenues to harness them to increase organizational performance. Ultimately, this paper provides insights on how a CT framework may be used in describing and understanding an effective leadership action and grant it with mechanisms to measure its effectiveness.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper rests on a single case study, which examines a leadership action in a military organization. Capitalizing on privileged access to top managers of an Air Force’s Major Command, the author carried out tailored surveys aimed at identifying organizational leadership effectiveness.

Findings

Based on these data, the study provides qualitative evidence that suggests a relevant relationship between CT-based leadership action and organizational effectiveness.

Originality/value

The CT-based leadership approach challenges the paradigm of ordered, hierarchical organizational design by proposing a more flexible, networked approach in relation to organizational effectiveness. The complexity-based approach to leadership proposed in this paper suggests an adaptive leadership model that better corresponds to complex human organizations, and helps leaders identify more effective management solutions.

Citation

Surace, A. (2019), "Complexity and leadership: the case of a military organization", International Journal of Organizational Analysis, Vol. 27 No. 5, pp. 1522-1541. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOA-12-2018-1614