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To develop a theoretical understanding of how indirect leadership is done in a military context.

A grounded theory approach was used. Twenty‐two high‐level Swedish commanders, and six of their subordinates were interviewed.

A model was developed which suggests that indirect leadership can be understood as consisting of two simultaneous processes. One is action‐oriented and consists of interacting with a link (usually a small group of directly subordinate managers) which passes the messages down to lower organisational levels. The other influence process is image‐oriented and consists of being a role model. Both processes are filtered through a “lens” which consists of the relative impact of a safety culture on the activities. In the favourable case, the employees at the lower levels trust both the link and the higher management. This appears to be a necessary condition for commitment and active participation. In the unfavourable case, there is a lack of trust. This breeds redefinitions of the messages and a necessity for relying on reward and punishment to obtain obedience.

Lack of representativeness, indirect influence from lower to higher levels, as well as possible gender‐related aspects, not studied.

The suggested model may be a valuable tool in higher management education.

The identification of two co‐occurring pathways of influence.

The purpose of this research is to develop a theoretical understanding of indirect leadership in a severely stressful peacekeeping context, focusing on the perspective of subordinates. Peacekeeping missions in recent decades have led to increased exposure to acute danger.

Retrospective in‐depth interviews were carried out with 17 Norwegian officers and soldiers, who were involved in the handling of a violent riot in Kosovo during a peacekeeping mission. The interviews were analyzed using a grounded theory approach.

A model emerged with three categories: Situational Characteristics, Organizational Characteristics, and the Commander's Intent. A related core category was labelled Subordinates' Appraisal or Sensemaking. During the climax of the riot, a strict following of the ordinary chain of command was impractical. Local initiatives at lower organizational levels were needed, but these, in turn, required competence and a trustful organizational environment.

Not representative of the entire population. Given the male‐dominated military context under consideration, there could be no meaningful analysis of possible gender‐related differences. The results related to a general model of indirect leadership and specific stress. Organizational theory‐related additions and limitations are suggested.

The proposed model may be a practical tool for management education.

The study's identification of key aspects of indirect leadership in severely stressful contexts is a useful addition to the literature.

It has been claimed that job satisfaction is the most important and frequently studied attitude in organizational behaviour research. However, as most studies relate to lower hierarchical levels, the purpose of this paper is to gain a deeper understanding of job satisfaction and organizational commitment among high-level managers – military leaders in this case.

A grounded theory approach was used. The empirical material is based on 12 interviews, two of which were with women. The informants had wide experience of a number of leadership positions as well as participation in international operations. Their ranks ranged from Colonel to Brigadier General, and they represented army and naval units, the Armed Forces Headquarters and Swedish Defence University.

The qualitative analysis resulted in a theoretical model that describes the job satisfaction of military leaders at the strategic level, which concerns establishing and balancing organizational commitment. This means that top level managers develop, manage and recreate a “sense of oneness” between themselves and the organization – a strong identification that is established, challenged, changed and renegotiated in a continuous process. Establishing and balancing organizational commitment is built on two overarching categories: keeping up the organizational image and responding to organizational greediness.

Research limitations are as follows: small sample, lack of representativeness and lack of elaboration on possible gender-related aspects.

The suggested model may be valuable in educational settings when evaluating the job satisfaction and organizational commitment of high-level officers. The model may have practical implications when it comes to selection, retention and leader development of high-level military officers.

A new integrative, theoretical model of job satisfaction and organizational commitment of high-level officers is developed and discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the applicability of a previously developed model of indirect leadership (qualitative Grounded Theory case study) in a broader military context.

The model was operationalised to specific questionnaires for high‐level managers, middle‐level managers, and lower‐level employees. Data were obtained from 147 Norwegian and 134 Swedish military officers, representing all three levels, and serving in the Army and Air Force respectively.

The theoretical model of indirect leadership was partly supported. Higher importance was attributed to image‐oriented top‐down influence, rather than to action‐oriented influence via directly subordinate commanders, which may be understood using developmental, transformational, and authentic leadership formulations. Meaningful patterns of subgroup differences were obtained.

Indirect leadership is complex and bottom‐up influences were not taken into account, not all aspects of the top‐down influence process were covered, only military contexts were studied, and no meaningful analysis of possible gender‐related differences was possible in this male‐dominated context.

The obtained support of the theoretical model legitimises its use as a tool in higher military management education and coaching.

The measurement tools of indirect leadership and the quantitatively based support of a Grounded Theory model with a how‐focus on indirect leadership.