Ellington

The Army Research Institute (ARI) and the UW’s Foster School of Business are working together on a study to determine what makes certain leaders stand out among other leaders.

The ARI awarded a $700,000, three-year contract to the Foster School to examine data from a study focusing on leadership growth and development in U.S. Army officers from the U.S. Military Academy (USMA) graduating class of 1998.

It will focus on identifying characteristics, life experiences, leadership styles and personality traits that lead to outstanding leadership performance.

“West Point is seen as an incubator for leadership development,” said Bruce Avolio, executive director of the Center for Leadership and Strategic Thinking at the Foster School of Business, who will lead the study. “They are known for the development of ethical leadership and providing outstanding leadership for the rest of the Army.”

The study, Baseline Officer Longitudinal Development Study (BOLDS), collected data on a sample of approximately 900 cadets beginning in 1994 when the class arrived at the academy as freshmen. The longitudinal, or long-term, study will continue for another year.

Avolio said the structure at the USMA provided a controlled environment because the participants started their careers at the same time, in the same institution, and all entered into their careers with the same rank, second lieutenants.

Jay Goodwin, ARI contract officer for BOLDS, said the Army may use the study’s findings to change its officer development system at West Point.

“If we identify a specific experience or skills as significant factors in developing leadership but normally occur late in the officers’ careers, the Army may choose to examine possibilities such as exposing the officers to those experiences earlier in their career,” he said.

Avolio said the study’s benefits are two-fold: The findings could also improve the Foster School’s Masters of Buisiness Administration (MBA) program.

In fact, West Point graduates have established a reputation for leadership in changing climates, and success for today’s MBA candidates will be determined by their ability to adapt to the current recession and a struggling financial market.

West Point graduates do not necessarily apply their leadership exclusively to serve the military.

“Perhaps, 40 percent of the participants in our sample are now working in government and in corporate America,” Avolio said. “They produce leaders beyond the Army — for the greater society.”

The two schools share many leadership-developing strategies.

West Point cadets are put in leadership positions with increasingly challenging roles while at the academy, something that the Foster School has begun to implement with its MBA program by building on a student’s experience and requiring them to take up leadership roles such as class officers, case competition participants, and in internships and fellowships.

“Everyone in the daytime MBA program can find at least one leadership role,” Avolio said.

Another way the Foster School and West Point incorporate similar leadership development practices are their mentorship programs. At West Point, military officers with years of experience teach many of the courses. In the Foster School, MBA candidates connect with respected members of the business community, such as senior executives.

Avolio said the Army’s ability to adapt to unforeseen situations and circumstances left a positive impression on him.

“The army is an organization that is pretty amazing at getting things done,” Avolio said. “They are thrown into situations that a private corporation would look at and require six to nine months to conduct planning. The military force is extremely adaptive.”

Avolio hopes that the leadership study will allow the Foster School to bolster its own leadership-developing strategies.

Reach reporter Michael Truong at

news@dailyluw.com.