Exploring Inclusion of Leadership Development into New Employee Orientations: A Proposed Approach from Army Leader Development

ABSTRACT

Regardless of industry, organization leaders recognize the need for a strong leadership pipeline and a culture of sustained leader development, and the U.S. Army is no exception. Beginning in basic training, Army leaders offer soldiers leader development training through various methods, including defining leadership expectations, providing experience-based developmental exercises, and offering self-development opportunities. The early introduction is part of a continuous leader development regimen engrained in military service, and—as a result—military veterans are often credited by employers for their leadership skills. This paper, through exploring Army leader development, proposes a framework for introducing leadership development during new employee orientations based on U.S. Army strategies. Though the proposed framework offers three leader development strategies for inclusion in new employee orientation, barriers exist which may impede successful application, and are discussed. Additionally, the authors identify three propositions and propose future research opportunities for integrating Army leader development in new employee orientations.

KEYWORDS:

• Military
• leadership development
• new employee orientation
• training
• onboarding

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michael J. Kirchner

Michael J. Kirchner is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Organizational Leadership at Purdue University-Fort Wayne. Kirchner earned his Ph.D. in Human Resource Development from UW-Milwaukee. His research interests include military leadership development, military veteran transitions, and leadership theory, and he frequently presents at national conferences. He is a combat veteran and a member of the Academy of Human Resource Development and NASPA Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. He can be reached at [email protected].

Mesut Akdere

Mesut Akdere is an Associate Professor of Human Resource Development in the Department of Technology Leadership & Innovation at Purdue University, West Lafayette. Mesut Akdere received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in Human Resource Development with a minor in Human Resources and Industrial Relations. Currently, he is serving as the Director of Purdue Polytechnic Leadership Academy. His research focuses on leadership, quality management, and cross-cultural management, and performance improvement through training and organization development. He can be reached at [email protected].