Introduction
A changing security situation in a region of relatively small states has seen many European countries revive conscript armies. National defence needs are no longer met by the all-volunteer force defence model; countries are reinforcing and, in some cases, reinstating the comprehensive or total defence approach, particularly in the Nordic-Baltic region (Jonsson et al., 2024). For many states, the building of a well-functioning army has become a fundamental issue of national security – and the importance of a leader’s ability to motivate, train and build trust is a central consideration, given the importance of the reservist soldier’s motivation and will to fight.
Under the Estonian defence system, selected conscripts are trained to become military leaders who will command platoons in wartime. Given the short duration of their training, it is crucial to understand how future leaders perceive their roles. Understanding how conscripts, very recently civilians, interpret themselves and the leadership roles they are preparing for, and how they reconcile their self-perception with ideal expectations of the role, is scientifically intriguing. Their conceptualization of this formally appointed role, which may be seen as simultaneously prestigious and distinctive, highly demanding and potentially dangerous, provides a broader understanding of the psychological challenges of assuming compulsory roles in life, particularly leadership roles.
Exploring the perception of leader competencies, the combination of conscripts’ behavioural skills and attitudes necessary for effective leadership, reveals the relative importance of various leader behaviours. The conclusions of this study offer valuable practical insight for military educational institutions, highlighting the aspects of training that need improvement to better prepare conscripts for the responsibilities of the role of a reserve platoon leader.
Research on reservist leaders is highly relevant for both politicians and military practitioners. Reserve platoon leaders (RPL) share the same background as the people they lead, making them potential role models who can influence society and their fellow conscripts and strengthen the will to fight, ultimately enhancing the reserve army’s fighting capability. Research on the military service readiness in Europe remains, however, thin (Laanepere et al., 2020). It has been said that role perception and processes of role acquisition – role change, identity development, growth as leaders, and the formation of self-concept – are relatively under-examined when it comes to the military (see, for example, Larsson et al., 2006; van Knippenberg et al., 2004). Some role perception studies related to the military date back to the 1960s and ‘70s (see, for example, Holloman, 1967; Stinson & Johnson, 1975), some more recent studies focus on leaders’ character building (e.g., Arbeit, 2017; Gayton & Kehoe, 2019) and managing soldiers’ mental health (Mallick et al., 2016). The field of professional role acquisition is represented in scientific literature from several perspectives, either from career roles and role identification (e.g., de Jong et al., 2014) or the perception of newly employed officer trainees of leadership challenges (Österberg et al., 2024) and training (Österberg et al., 2021). Whether studies of professional preparation are relatable in the case of reservist leaders is not clear.
In this article, we use the terms “role perception” and “role acquisition” rather than “professionalization” because the situation studied (conscripts training to become wartime platoon leaders) more closely resembles the process of taking up a role rather than truly preparing for a vocation. Estonian reserve officers do not perceive themselves to be professionals, and predominantly do not aspire to become professionals, as indicated by the annual Estonian Conscript Survey (Truusa et al., 2018). Additionally, the reserve service of soldiers in Estonia is generally shorter than in many countries with voluntary reserve service (Laanepere, 2021). According to the Estonian Military Service Act of 2012 (Government of Estonia, 2012), a non-commissioned officer, the rank that an RPL will receive, may be called for reserve service up to nine months in total during their reserve obligation. Estonian Reserve Platoon Leaders (RPLs) find themselves in a somewhat contradictory situation: they are preparing for a prestigious leadership role that they hope never to have to practice outside of training; if called upon, they would be required to carry a burden of responsibility for the lives of their comrades. Therefore, the current study focusing on RPLs is novel in the context of leadership and role studies, providing unique insights into the psychological challenges of the assumption of compulsory roles, especially those with great responsibility, such as leadership.
In short, this study aims to understand how reserve officer trainees perceive the role of a military leader at a group level. By examining these perceptions through the prism of leadership competencies, the study explores the process of role acquisition and how these views shift over the duration of the course.
Literature: The Perception and Acquisition of Roles
To grasp the essence of role perception and role acquisition, we must address several interconnected phenomena: role and identity, socialization, and role acquisition processes from both personal and organizational perspectives. This framework will help understand the role perception of conscripts, recent civilians now preparing for military leadership during organizational socialization such as training.
In this study, “role” is defined as patterns of behaviour, norms describing and prescribing behaviours, behavioural prescriptions that are assigned to people (see, for example, Burke & Stets, 2009, p. 7; Hogg & Vaughan, 2002, p. 298), and a set of expectations tied to a social position, guiding attitudes and behaviour (Ewen, 1993, p. 114). The behavioural approach is relevant in this study because we are looking at the leader’s role through the individual’s actions (observable and teachable abilities) and the quality of actions, behavioural skills and attitudes. In other words: competencies – what leaders do (behaviour) and how they do it (attitude).
Introducing organizational roles effectively involves familiarizing individuals with norms and expected behaviours. This is especially so in the military, where training deliberately serves the purpose of socialization (Grojean & Thomas, 2006, pp. 36–52). The internalization of norms is considered an important tool for the professionalization and socialization of people within the military organization (Fábián & Boutton, 2024). The process of socialization involves understanding the organization’s culture, merging organizational and individual values in a blurring of distinctions between “us” and “I”, group identity and self-identity (Tajfel & Turner, 1979), and the formation of a new self-concept grounded in role identity, applying the internalized meanings to oneself. In this context, the person starts mastering expected tasks (see, for example, Ewen, 1993; Jackson, 2010).
To make the socialization process more proactive, newcomers must establish a sense of belonging, reduce uncertainty, seek information and align themselves with the group, a process facilitated through help from superiors or colleagues and comrades (Yu, 2025). The armed forces use training to socialize members who must change their behaviour according to the roles they are taught – but suitable, effective methods and processes for getting new members on board are lacking, resulting in negative experiences (Kintzle et al., 2023). The issue perhaps requiring more attention.
The social self is shaped by social context, which includes one’s occupation (Rogers, 2003). Changes in self-perception and behaviour during compulsory conscription service may be temporary, as conscripts “play the role” expected by the military. Permanent changes would help carry the behaviour and attitudes beyond active service, enhancing leadership responsibility (Laanepere et al., 2018; Laanepere et al., 2020). Social embeddedness in valued relational networks increases the likelihood of activating roles and performing well (Ashforth et al., 2008). If the role of a reservist military leader is undervalued in civilian society, it is unlikely that people will retain the role after conscription. This concern for national security based on a conscription army underscores the importance of reservist-leader training. Successful socialization and ingrained military network connections may help to overcome this issue.
The process of organizational socialization has three main stages: the anticipatory stage where a person evaluates the knowledge and skills needed for the role; the encounter stage in which a recruit begins to see the true face of the organization and the role definition; and the stage of change and role acquisition to internalize the role identity and master job-specific skills and behaviours (Grojean & Thomas, 2006, p. 45). Higher levels of role identification are related to higher productivity and more positive work-related attitudes (Van Dick et al., 2005, p. 189). Research findings further indicate that in the military context, leadership and high levels of social identity fusion can have an impact on the willingness to be loyal to organizational goals (Engelkes, Sverke and Lindholm, 2024). A military organization, then, should seek the most comprehensive merging of social identities and internalization of roles among its members to effectively achieve its organizational goals.
The process of role-identity acquisition involves a continuous cognitive comparison between the self and established role standards (emphasized behaviours). Any resulting discrepancies necessitate a reduction in tension, which demands both feedback and active interaction with a reference group. These social inputs then allow the individual to revise their self-perception and adjust to various role aspects once again (Collier, 2001). Before committing to the role and becoming confident about it, a person needs to go through the stages of ambivalence (loss of earlier self, anxiety or disapproval, and so on), and absorption (multitude of role requirements, negotiation, rapid changes, and so on; see Yellin, 1999). When learning a role, individuals compare their current self-view with ideal selves; this may have an impact on motivation (van Knippenberg et al., 2004, p. 828). Younger officer cadets face more leadership challenges than older cadets, reflecting the effect of natural maturation (Österberg et al., 2024). Ideal role perceptions affect self-esteem and mobilization with unrealistic ideals that may demoralize individuals (de Ruyter & Conroy, 2002, p. 512). Thus, it is possible that conscripts, predominantly young adults, may experience tension in the discrepancy between the organization’s expectations and their personal values, or when different roles – follower and leader, for example – conflict. Role conflicts or identity conflicts are known for their negative impact on vitality at work through lower autonomy or relatedness (see, for example, Karkkola et al., 2019), thus necessitating attention during role acquisition.
“The depersonalization process starts”, note Burke and Stets (2009, p. 118), “when a person sees oneself as a member of a group”; this leads the individual to “conform to the group’s interpretations as group members perceive situations more similarly” (Stets & Serpe, 2013, p. 35). In our case, conscript-leaders in the military are also undergoing this process of socialization. They start with a few months of reserve platoon leader training while being uncertain about whether they will get to execute the role that they are being prepared for. This may blur the process of accepting and learning the norms and behaviour desired for them.
Conscripts’ descriptions of their experience of becoming a leader and thus “constructing the professional part of their identity” (Dyer & Keller-Cohen, 2000, p. 283) throughout training are expected to reveal “the narratives of a good military leader in the institutional discourse, the shared notion of that role” (Dyer & Keller-Cohen, 2000, p. 283). By examining individuals within the same social framework – in our case conscription service for reserve officers, and their perception of their roles in that organization – we are able to identify “the shared ideas about the social structures in this organization, and the inter-individual and intergroup patterns of those understandings” (Burke & Stets, 2009, pp. 4–5). On the other hand, describing the role acquisition process with its issues and personal drawbacks may reveal such leader competencies that beginners consider critically important.
Analytical framework of leader competencies
Considering the changes in Western societies over the course of military leadership research, it stands to reason that the understanding of leadership in the military has also changed. For example, the aspect of subordinates has recently been brought to the fore in leadership studies (Karakowsky et al., 2012), focusing on leaders’ dependency on the perception of their subordinates, the importance of interactions and transactions between leaders and their subordinates (Haslam et al., 2020), or the effect of transformational leadership behaviour on the organizational identification of subordinates (Koveshnikov & Ehrnrooth, 2018). We believe that examining leadership through the lens of subordinates learning to lead can clarify the specific behaviours they feel are expected of them. This is particularly relevant during the active socialization and role acquisition process, where an individual’s personal beliefs and knowledge may disagree with the approach presented by the organization.
One possible way to conceptualize a leader’s role is through the competencies needed to be effective. Those competencies are developed over time through leadership training and practical experience (Mumford et al., 2000; Northouse, 2016). A person preparing for a certain role will learn a set of prescribed and proscribed behaviours, observable in how they describe their future role. Based on this logic, the framework we have chosen for the analysis is a leader competency model founded on management, intrapersonal, leadership, technical, interpersonal and conceptual (MILTIC) competencies – a model proven to be a useful tool for studying similar topics (Säälik et al., 2024).
The MILTIC model defines leader behaviour both through the six competencies set out above and the three dimensions of task, relations and change (Säälik et al., 2020; Säälik, 2022). The dimensions represent the most common types of task a leader may face; each dimension includes two types of competencies needed for such tasks. For example, to achieve change, a leader needs to understand the bigger picture, broader goals, and cause-and-effect principles as part of conceptual competency; completing a task, meanwhile, may require technical knowledge and management skills. A more detailed description of the leader competency model is provided in the Method section, where the coding guidelines and illustrative examples framing the data analysis are presented.
The proportion of competencies required in a leader’s position may depend on the level of leadership, the context, or the specific tasks associated with the position. Lower-level leaders such as squad or platoon leaders may need more management or interpersonal (social) competencies to fulfil their role (Säälik et al., 2020).
Background of the Reserve Platoon Leader training in the Estonian Defence Forces
In general, conscription service in the Estonian Defence Forces (EDF) is organized according to two different career paths: an eleven-month training period for leaders, drivers, and other specialists such as signallers, combat medics and so on, and an eight-month training period for the remaining soldiers. A leader’s path starts with basic soldier training (approximately 5 weeks), followed by the NCO course (for non-commissioned officers, squad leaders, approximately 12 weeks) and the RPL course to train them to act as platoon leaders in wartime (about 8 weeks together with specialization). Therefore, for RPLs, the training period lasts some 25 weeks, and the rest of their service time is dedicated to practicing their role in units with the soldiers they are expected to lead in time of crisis. More precisely, after completing RPL training, course participants are assigned to units where they gradually take over the leadership of the platoon (or equivalent unit). This process culminates in an annual field exercise at the end of the training cycle, during which the newly appointed RPLs practice leadership in field training situations relatively close to a real crisis.
Generally, basic soldier and NCO training does not include leadership classes; mostly, these are about technical military skills. Compared to the previously mentioned framework of military leader competencies, RPL training covered mostly technical/professional and management-related competencies, but with a 26-hour leadership module in the beginning of the course. It is worth mentioning that it was the only training for RPLs directly related to leadership. This short part of the course focused on psychological and social preparations for leadership to cope with the role of a military leader and introduced the basics of military leadership, pedagogy and conflict management, briefly touching upon leadership and interpersonal competencies.
There are no data about how much the RPL course participants had experienced leadership or studied such topics before conscription. However, before the RPL course, they had about 4 months of military training, giving them role examples of platoon leaders, NCOs and other leaders’ command and/or leadership approaches. This prior experience, relatively similar for all conscripts, probably shaped their understanding of leadership in the military and was revealed in their self-analyses. These analyses formed the basis of the empirical material for this study.
This study explores trainees’ understanding of a military leader’s role prior to platoon leader training, based on their previous knowledge and limited exposure to this role, and how that understanding changes by the end of the platoon leader course. The trainees interpret which competencies are needed to fulfil the role of a military leader and to effectively demonstrate appropriate behaviours for leading a unit. These processes are important to consider when designing and implementing leader preparation programs.
Method
Study Design
Deriving from the aim of this study – to understand the reserve officer course trainees’ perception of a military leader’s role on a group level, and how it changes during the course – we chose a qualitative research design. The ways in which people perceive certain phenomena, how they give meaning to themselves or roles in life, can be systematically summarized using qualitative content analysis based on Mayring (2014) or Schreier (2012), for example.
The data were gathered from self-analyses handwritten on paper in November 2019 at the beginning (Study 1) and in December 2019 at the end (Study 2) of the leadership course.
Contemporary leadership and learning theories emphasize that the ability for constructive self-reflection lays the foundation for successful performance; thus, self-analysis was considered a suitable subject for the research. This approach aligns well with the explorative nature of the study, seeking the actual experience of the trainees. At the beginning of the training, we asked them: “Analyse yourself as a leader. What are your strengths and weaknesses? And which characteristics may become useful in the role of a reserve platoon leader?’. The task was deliberately kept simple to minimize the possibility of directing participants toward socially desirable answers. We repeated the same question at the end of the training.
Although the course participants were aware that their self-analyses were being used in a study, we also stressed that the task would not be graded as a test, thus reducing the bias of giving “right” answers. However, the effect of being in a training situation should be reckoned with when analysing the data.
Participants
This EDF reserve platoon leaders’ course had no dropouts. All participants handed in their self-analyses used for the pre-study and post-study, allowing us to observe the perception of a group and the changes in it.
The sample included all 88 conscripts who participated in the EDF reserve platoon leaders’ course in the 2019/2020 training cycle. All respondents were between the ages of 19 and 28; two were female, 86 male; 71 had secondary education and 17 had graduated from a higher education institution. The socio-demographic profile of the participants of this study sample is similar to courses of other years, since the system of allocating conscripts for the RPL course is kept consistent across drafts.
Ethics
We obtained informed consent from all participants. They had the right not to submit their self-analysis questionnaires for the research. To assure participants’ confidentiality and anonymity, all identifying information was removed from the transcripts which were compiled into a single text corpus, separate for Studies 1 and 2.
Respondents are quoted below by their number and the designation “Pre” or “Post” to indicate which study their response was given in.
Data Analysis
Data were collected at the beginning and at the end of the course to capture participants’ perceptions before and after training. We applied qualitative content analysis to the text corpus to summarize the perception of the group at the beginning of the course (Study 1 data) and then at the end of the course (Study 2 data); the comparison enabled us to detect the changes. We used a combined approach: first, a deductive analysis based on the MILTIC model (described below) to detect changes in the proportions of coding units (i.e., meanings), and then an inductive analysis to add qualitative depth to the descriptions of leader competencies.
The coding unit was a clear meaning component (seme) in the text – a description of a leader competency, a word, a phrase, or a sentence. The coding guidelines described in Table 1 are based on the three-dimensional six-competency model (Säälik et al., 2020; Säälik, 2022) previously used for analysing conscripts’ perceptions of a good military leader (Säälik et al., 2024). The semes were first given a content/sub-theme code, and then divided according to six competencies (management, intrapersonal, leadership, technical, interpersonal and conceptual competency) and three dimensions (task, change and relations). For example, the management competency category consisted of sub-theme codes such as planning, decision-making, and organizing people, time and activities, free time, etc. General descriptions or adjectives that were not identified as leader’s competencies (behaviour, way of doing something) and thus did not clearly coincide with any of the six competencies (e.g., “leads well”, “is honest”, “physically strong”, etc.) were categorized as “other” and not included in the final analysis.
Table 1
Coding Guidelines, Explanation and Examples.
| DIMENSION | COMPETENCY | EXPLANATION | EXAMPLES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Task | Technical/professional | Related to the field of military profession, technology and procedures, etc. | Knowledge of military forces, including procedural, rules, regulations, drill, weaponry, technology (e.g., skills to use map applications for route planning, etc.) |
| Management | Related to management and administration = command | Planning, decision-making, organizing, dealing with resources, giving orders, maintaining discipline (praise and punishment): gathering information about completing a task, dividing tasks, imposing one’s will, etc. | |
| Change | Leadership | Related to leadership, initiating changes, empowering people, etc. | Knowing the personnel, positive influencing, motivating, empowering, inspiring, supporting and guiding development: initiating change via communication, vision or enthusiasm, etc. |
| Conceptual | Related to further goals, wider ability to assess information, predict results, etc. | Seeing the big picture, recognizing patterns, the ability to assess and select excessive information to evaluate trends and changes, foreseeing possible results, etc., taking risks at seeing the possible outcomes based on the existing but also missing information. | |
| Relation | Interpersonal/Social | Related to relations, ability to understand people, relations, and social situations. | Communication, clear self-expression; following the rules of conduct; considering others and their needs in social situations; ability to choose ways of conduct that suit specific people and situations; self-regulation in social situations, establishing and maintaining relations, etc. |
| Intra-personal | Related to the ability to understand and regulate oneself, etc. | Recognizing, understanding, and regulating one’s emotions, wishes and values, analysing and developing oneself, self-regulation (when others are not present), etc. |
Analysis also included multiple categorizations when the meaning component entailed two areas of study categories. For example, the phrase “understanding others, because only then you can motivate them properly” was coded twice: first under interpersonal competency (for the act of understanding) and again under leadership competency (for the objective of motivating). Thus the phrase counted for both competency groups.
The first round of open coding was done with the online programme QCAmap (Mayring, 2014). Then the grouping, matching suitable categories and aligning expressions of codes and categories was completed manually using the tables and sorting functions of the Excel programme.
To ensure the quality of the analysis, we used peer review and triangulation alongside co-coding and a rigorous review of coding guidelines. Two raters coded a random sample of the material according to a six-competency framework. Initial inter-rater agreement (the percentage of overlapping coding units) showed good accuracy, ranging from 0.76 to 0.84. Following a discussion of the discrepancies, we refined the coding guidelines and clarified the definitions. Subsequently, the inter-rater reliability reached 0.91 to 0.98. This improvement is attributed to the more precise code descriptions, the increased proficiency of the coders, and the fact that the peer reviewers and coders were also the creators of the competency model.
Results and Discussion
Table 2 provides a general overview of conscripts’ perceptions of leadership competencies (their role perception) and how these shifted during the Reserve Platoon Leader (RPL) course. Study 1, which analysed self-assessments written at the start of the training, identified 335 coding units, with 231 (69%) referring specifically to leader competencies (behavioural descriptions). Study 2, based on self-assessments at the conclusion of the course, identified 703 coding units, of which 626 (89%) were categorized as leader competency. In Study 1, 104 items (31%) were classified as “other,” whereas in Study 2, only 77 items (11%) fell into this category. This shift – moving from vague descriptions to specifically defined competencies – indicates that participants’ understanding of the military leader’s role became significantly more detailed and focused over the duration of the course.
Table 2
The Comparison of Proportions of Military Leader Competencies Counted as a Result of the Content Analysis in the Pre- and Post-Course Reserve Platoon Leaders’ Perceptions.
| DIMENSIONS | COMPETENCIES | STUDY 1: PRE-COURSE | STUDY 2: POST-COURSE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | % | DIMENSION TOTAL % | N | % | DIMENSION TOTAL % | ||
| Task | Technical | 0 | 0.0 | 22.1 | 11 | 1.8 | 12.0 |
| Management | 51 | 22.1 | 64 | 10.2 | |||
| Change | Leadership | 36 | 15.6 | 27.3 | 82 | 13.1 | 18.5 |
| Conceptual | 27 | 11.7 | 34 | 5.4 | |||
| Relations | Interpersonal | 82 | 35.5 | 50.6 | 149 | 23.8 | 69.5 |
| Intrapersonal | 35 | 15.1 | 286 | 45.7 | |||
| Total | 231 | 100 | 626 | 100 | |||
[i] Note. Framework of the content analysis is based on the leader competency model by Säälik et al. (2020).
In the pre-course study, respondents’ perception of leader behaviour was somewhat traditional, with communication and management as prevailing aspects (35.5% mentioned interpersonal competency and 22.1% mentioned management), accompanied by leadership and intrapersonal competencies (respectively 15.6% and 15.1%). The post-course study, however, showed which leader competencies became critically relevant in the perception of RPLs during reserve officer training: 45.7% of analysis units mentioned intrapersonal and 23.8% interpersonal competencies, followed by leadership with 13.1% of all mentioned leader competencies.
These results indicate that RPLs’ perception of expected leader behaviour acquire conformity and detail during the RPL course. Theoretical literature suggests that in the very first stage of role acquisition, ambivalence, people tend to only have a vague perception of the new role (Yellin, 1999, pp. 244–246). In Study 1, leadership competencies were initially described in general common-knowledge terms. For example, management competency was often simplified to the phrase “plans thoroughly” (Pre Respondents 3 and 12).
Because the next stage of role acquisition, absorption, is characterized by a multitude of new role requirements (Yellin, 1999), we expected the participants’ final descriptions to be more vivid and nuanced. The results corroborated this expectation. By the end of the course, descriptions of planning had become more precise and varied, including phrases such as “Plans activities precisely (Post Respondent 26 and 78), and thoughtfully (for example, Post Respondents 4 or 17), or “Plans rapidly” (for example, Post Respondents 12 and 23) “to ensure the unit operates like clockwork” (Post Respondent 138). Furthermore, technical professional competency, which was entirely absent at the start of the course, emerged in the post-course analyses. Participants began to use specific organizational language such as “has knowledge of the EDF and its structural units” (Post Respondent 244) and “applies the combat capabilities of higher units” (Respondent 306). The organizing function of a leader also became more detailed; descriptions expanded to include quality assurance, effectiveness, and the sophisticated management of time, personnel, and resources. These shifts indicate that developing leaders learn to conceptualize their roles within a much broader organizational context.
As the wider literature notes, the process of socialization drives group members to perceive situations in more similar fashion (Stets & Serpe, 2013, p. 35). As expected, we found convergence in the group’s interpretations. In the self-analyses of Study 2, leader competency was described with a greater level of behavioural detail, with more specific adjectives and examples. For example, as part of the task dimension and management competency, the act of decision-making was linked to speed, with descriptions such as “makes decisions fast”, “promptly” or “with no hesitation”. Also, the nature of the situation in which the decision must be made was added (“is able to decide in every/extreme/tense/critical/difficult situation(s)”, “makes bold/hard decisions”), showing respect towards a leader’s ability to cope with demanding situations. The comprehension of a result was also added by bringing out that a leader makes good, the best or appropriate decisions – “adhering to the goal and with minimal damage”, for example (Post Respondent 139), which means the leader needs to assure the expected result is achieved, but with as little loss as possible.
In addition, several indications of ambivalence and role conflict were present in the results: both a tension between understandings of “ideal role” and “real me” and negotiations between the personal and the organizational self; with more lively language, descriptions referred to a more sophisticated understanding of the leader’s role aligned with inner concerns, searches, dilemmas, doubts and fears. For example: “Even if I happen to decide to be lazy and let others do the hard work – it starts eating me from the inside, then comes the feeling of shame for letting others do what I could do myself” (Post Respondent 370). A revelation of such intrapersonal concerns coincides with the second stage of role acquisition, absorption, in which the person begins to devise and negotiate as a role incumbent while monitoring self-performance in the new role: “errors and failures obviously occur, and negative sanctions may be perceived as severe criticism” (Yellin, 1999, pp. 246–248).
As indications of dilemmas, doubts and negotiations mostly appeared among the intra- and interpersonal competencies, these will be more thoroughly discussed, with leadership, in the following sections.
Intrapersonal competency: Seeking balance and perceiving self-development
In the post-course descriptions concerning intrapersonal competencies, some concern about the opposition of self-confidence and insecurity was detected: a determined, assertive mindset was accompanied by doubts about being “the boss” among other conscripts. In addition, difficulties with reconciling personal and collective gain or wellbeing arose:
Being a military leader is not the goal in my life in general… yet, I have to remind myself here that the wellbeing of a unit comes before my own personal wellbeing. I hope to find that balance and still be able to maintain some personal time. (Post Respondent 307)
As Koh & O‘Higgins (2018) have said, a leader’s emotional self-regulation cannot be underestimated; the effectiveness of a military leader, both perceived and genuine, are related to it. The study participants’ self-analyses also brought up the relevance of emotional balance when leading men in the military: while for some people, the greater understanding of the depth of the responsibility that RPLs carry can have a self-improvement effect, others would need more support to find ways to handle this type of pressure: “I get easily worked up, often saying things I don’t mean and later regret” (Pre Respondent 50); “One of my biggest weaknesses as a military leader is that I am sometimes impatient and impulsive … which makes me incapable of making decisions” (Post Respondent 96); “How to still be a good example to the subordinates in situations where the brain is truly frozen?” (Post Respondent 240).
We believe that perceiving the leader’s role as demanding, stressful and full of pressure causes worries about emotional balance, and that the presence of such worries may itself be the reason for the “frozen brain” – a circle that needs to be stopped. Developing intrapersonal competence could help; this leads to better comprehension and recognition of one’s emotional triggers and inner values, affording better self-regulation (see, e.g., Knights, 2018; Koh & O’Higgins, 2018). This is something worth consideration in training programmes and in the mentoring of novices in any profession or role – not only military leaders.
According to the results, by the end of the course the RPLs considered the need to adapt and learn to be necessary for self-development, using feedback and self-analysis to learn about their strengths and weaknesses. The participants underscored that military training has helped them to get to know themselves better and to focus on who they want to be, using the future tense for their intentions to continue with the leader’s role after the conscription period. The results indicate positive attitudes towards military training, and the intention to sustain the learned skills post conscription: “Comparing my previous leadership skills to the ones I have now, I’ve made a great leap thanks to the experience that in the civil world would have been difficult to gain” (Post Respondent 523). Another respondent wrote:
Before coming here, I was rather obsessed with the thought that a higher position or rank makes a man a leader. Now I can say how wrong I was… Taking it as an ideal was wrong. … Most important to me is that I learned what kind of leader I would like to become. (Post Respondent 741)
We believe this is particularly valuable within a reserve army system where service obligations are infrequent and the effects of training may fade over time. As previously noted by Laanepere et al. (2018, 2020), permanent positive shifts in reservists’ attitudes are vital for national security. When combined with a favourable outlook toward military training, these findings highlight how the self-reflection tool actively supports the process of role acquisition.
Interpersonal competency: Looking for equilibrium between empathy and toughness
The importance of interpersonal (social) competency is demonstrated by its occupying a full third of the entire lists of competences at the beginning of the course. The self-analyses at the end of the course, however, presented a much more diverse list of codes – listening skills and self-expression, articulation, performance skills and coping with the situation of being in the centre of attention, for example, or general understanding of human behaviour and ways of thinking. RPLs emphasized the importance of communication skills – especially confidence, clarity and public performance – as core components of leading effectively. “The leader should exhibit a certain level of confidence” (Pre Respondent 82) and “be loud enough so that everyone gets to the line-up” (Post Respondent 208). While listening skills were mentioned less explicitly, they appeared indirectly in codes related to cooperation and support. Respondents also stressed adaptability and understanding others, one noting that “it is always possible to find a solution if you are flexible enough and can understand what the problem actually is” (Post Respondent 506).
Taking on command responsibilities brought both growth and tension. Some RPLs described conflicts between personal values and expectations of the military role, a pattern also noted in previous research. The importance of trust-building through interpersonal competence emerged, with one respondent noting that “the key to my success as a military leader is gaining the trust of others through social skilfulness, because I am not good at keeping control only through being tough” (Post Respondent 19). Yet this desire to lead through trust was often accompanied by fear of being exploited: “One of my biggest drawbacks is to empathize with people and to feel for them. People will exploit this characteristic to make their life easier and deceive me” (Post Respondent 69).
Many respondents discussed challenges in asserting authority, separating camaraderie from command, and balancing strictness with empathy. They often drew more on negative past experiences of subordination (e.g., seeing others slack off) than on examples of functional leader-follower dynamics. A recurring theme was the struggle to reconcile traditional images of military leadership – strict, formal and distant – with contemporary expectations emphasizing humanity and respect. As one RPL described: “During the NCO course, they always emphasized that over the course of service, regular interaction with privates should cease or at least become much more formal. But now I have found confirmation that regardless of certain formality, it is much more important to also show respect and maintain a humane contact with subordinates” (Post Respondent 388). As role acquisition theory brings out the importance of familiarizing individuals with organizational norms and expected behaviours (Grojean & Thomas, 2006), and individual and organizational values need to be merged as effectively as possible (Tajfel & Turner, 1979), the differences between the original and new environments, previous norms and values of the role-takers compared to the new trained behavioural norms need to be taken into consideration.
The importance of interpersonal skills also appeared in the study of conscripts describing a good military leader (Säälik et al., 2024). At its core, leadership is, as stated, an interpersonal activity (Nissinen, 2006, p. 24). Thus we believe these social skills should be seen as an important part of leader’s role, its prescribed competencies, a relevant part of the role acquisition process and thus also a part of the training courses.
Leadership competency: Is being a positively pushy person even possible in the military, and can I handle it?
In the MILTIC model, leadership, as a competency, is defined as mode of conduct. It differs from “standard” interpersonal competency in that the leader seeks change in others, embodying inspiration and motivation so that those others might improve themselves or achieve something. This is not a question of management, a competency associated with more formal acts where an individual is responsible for processes and resources and the achievement of specific results (Säälik et al., 2020).
For the RPLs, leadership competencies were a matter of a leader’s positive, accepting and respectful attitude towards the subordinates or the team. Understanding and truly knowing their strengths, weaknesses and motives was considered necessary for the creation of a well-performing collaborative team with a positive atmosphere conducive to self-development: “A good leader should be able to generate the feeling of security in their subordinates, and the possibility for development, and have a respectful attitude towards them” (Pre Respondent 55). In a previous study, the conscripts also pointed out similar qualities of good leadership: the creation of positive atmosphere, the offer of support and the acceptance of failure with a view to development and the achievement of better results (Säälik et al., 2024). We can conclude that when former subordinates became their comrades’ leaders, their perception of leadership reflected the values and behaviours that they would expect from their superiors rather than those of the organization.
While there were indications that the creation of a leader-image was considered highly satisfying (“A very exciting aspect of becoming a military leader is the fact that I can create my own personal image of a leader, and the way my subordinates see me”, according to Post Respondent 47), the course participants also expressed some anxiety about their suitability for the role and its burdens, both at the beginning and at the end of the course. Respondents feared that they lacked the necessary qualities to push others to do things, or that they were not entirely comfortable with it. And while appreciating the positive aspects of leadership, they expressed uncertainties about its application in the context of a military culture emphasizing discipline over personal freedom.
As the course did not focus on followership, we argue that leader-follower dynamics may have been reflected by RPLs intuitively: “Punishing, forcing and pushing people down are repulsive to me, especially in an environment where the relationship between a superior and subordinate is not clear”, wrote Post Respondent 33. Another respondent noted: “When going back to the unit I think about my future service and separate my ‘personal me’ from the ‘professional me’ as much as possible to be able to maintain my relationship with subordinates, and discipline” (Post Respondent 86). Yet another explained at length:
During the NCO course, they always emphasized that over the course of service, regular interaction with privates should cease or at least become much more formal. I felt that I was put in a difficult situation. I felt that they tried to mould me into an arrogant and tough leader who oversees his subordinates with a serious look in his eye. But now, especially thanks to 2nd Lieutenant Smith,1 I have found confirmation that regardless of certain formality, it is much more important to also show respect to those of lower rank. And in terms of leadership, it is possible, indeed necessary, to maintain a humane contact with subordinates – meaning it’s OK to have fun and joke around from time to time. (Post Respondent 12).
The capacity to influence others in a positive manner was a significant component of leadership competency according to RPLs at both ends of the course; setting a personal example by being a role model and demonstrating initiative and active participation was mentioned by many. As Post Respondent 34 put it: “As I do not whine about completing my tasks, it is at least somewhat helpful when my subordinates see that the headman also works without whining.”
Another recurring theme arose from the challenge of reconciling traditional, formal images of military leadership with contemporary expectations that emphasize respect, humanity and constructive interaction with subordinates. RPLs noted the difficulty of transitioning from peer relationships to roles requiring authority, especially when leading individuals with whom they had previously trained. Taking command often brought tension between personal values and the perceived expectations of military authority. Many respondents sought to build trust through competence rather than toughness, as illustrated by the reflection: “I think the key to my success as a military leader is gaining the trust of others through competence because I am not good at keeping control through being tough alone” (Post Respondent 512). At the same time, RPLs feared that empathy and openness could be exploited, resulting in uncertainty about how to balance the strict and the approachable.
Appropriate leadership traits as identified in this study, approvingly described in terms of individual consideration and inspirational motivation, reflect those equally valued in the work of authors such as Nissinen (2006) and Cutler (2014). It can be concluded that an individual may maintain the image of a considerate and caring leader, common in the civilian context, while undergoing military training – despite perceived pressure from military authorities to be tough and forceful. While negotiating this process, rather than abandoning their earlier sense of self, those taking the leader’s role apparently retain some of their previous beliefs.
Overall, we saw how RPLs navigated dilemmas related to authority, trust, empathy and discipline when going through the role-acquisition process. Their accounts reveal the complexity of developing a leadership identity that aligns with both military demands and their own personal experiences and values.
Limitations
First, it should be noted the principles and conditions of conscription are not shared by every country with a reserve army, and results are not necessarily applicable to the wider professional military service or to civilian leadership trainees. But it should also be noted that, given the degree to which the results coincided with theories of leadership and role acquisition, we believe the study to be relevant to a wider audience of educators, researchers of organizational culture, psychologist etc.
Being based on a single course iteration, the authors are careful in generalizing the results over the entirety of reserve platoon leaders as a discrete cohort – but, given the sufficiently thick data, the authors feel comfortable in interpreting the results, and consider them a useful contribution to the field of research.
As RPLs are selected from conscripts, some pre-selection bias may have affected the participants in the beginning, conferring a feeling of superiority – although during the RPL course they must take on a number of practical leadership tasks serving to contextual their knowledge and abilities, conceivably balancing any elevated self-perception they may have enjoyed. Also, the fact that the data were gathered during the training process may have driven the participants to offer more expected ideas of the ideal military leader. They knew, however, about the tasks being used in the research, and failure in any task would not signify a failure in the wider course; as tasks served a general analysis of their future role, the results were expected to be not more biased than any other survey data gathering.
That the study was conducted before and after a specific course only, and did not extend to the conclusion of the full conscription period is another limitation; this might explain why the data indicated that for the most part participants reached the role-absorption stage, without full commitment and confidence in their capacity (Yellin, 1999). RPLs are likely to have reached more complex stages of role acquisition by the end of the conscription period when they have had more time and practice in the field.
Conclusions
The study aimed to explore group-level perception of leadership roles among reserve officer course trainees during their role acquisition process, and changes occurring in this process. Over five weeks, trainees’ views on military leadership evolved from the simplistic and idealistic to more nuanced and group-conformed. While this shift in perception is anticipated according to the literature of role acquisition, the increased focus on intrapersonal competencies highlights conscripts’ primary concerns, underscoring the complexity of the leader role acquisition process and the challenge of aligning personal identity with organizational expectations – features comparatively undefined in the existing literature.
The findings indicate that intrapersonal competence is central to the internalization of the role of military leader among reserve platoon leaders. Training stimulated reflection on tensions between confidence and insecurity, personal and collective wellbeing, and emotional control under pressure. Although leadership was perceived as demanding, this challenge fostered self-awareness and growth. By the end of the course, participants expressed a clearer understanding of their personal relation to the concept of leadership and an intention to continue developing following conscription. These results highlight the value of structured self-reflection and emotional self-regulation in leader development, particularly within a reserve system where sustaining long-term attitudinal change is essential.
The findings also highlight interpersonal competence as an important dimension of the military leader’s role, characterized by a continuing search for balance between empathy and authority, toughness and human-centeredness. Over the course of training, participants developed a more nuanced understanding of good communication skills, bringing out the importance of confidence, clarity and trust-building as core leadership competencies. Tensions emerged between traditional, hierarchical images of military command and contemporary expectations of respectful, humane interaction; this arguably hindered the process of role acquisition. Thus, we believe the aspect of differences between the previous and new environments with possibly contradictory prescribed role behaviours should be taken into account in studies of professionalization, socialization processes, and military leadership.
Leveraging the unique perspectives of “insiders-yet-outsiders” as in this study – civilians training to be military leaders, subordinates transitioning to leadership roles – brings together diverse viewpoints and presents an insight into the role-internalization process in rather strict and demanding environment with rules and values different from the environments participants previously enjoyed. This approach can help determine whether these perspectives are contradictory or complementary, fostering a closer alignment between military and civilian leadership perceptions.
The study reveals that during a relatively short course preparing an individual for the role of leadership, one can significantly enhance one’s self-knowledge and confidence, finding encouragement to embrace leadership responsibilities and face challenges. While role acquisition, particularly for military leaders, involves substantial responsibility and risk, the study identified certain positive trends over a short period. Trainees’ perceptions of the role became more comprehensive and detailed, making the expected behaviours more tangible and thus easier to learn. These insights, if operationalized and implemented, have the potential to improve the training system and better prepare military leaders.
Reserve-based armies in Western industrial countries, particularly, should consider revising leadership training to ensure that personnel understand the role models they embody, and whether these behaviours align with desired outcomes. Similarly, in other areas where rapid role preparation processes take place, supportive methods and psychological tools of raising self-awareness and thus facilitating the internalization of roles should be considered, helping trainees to consciously navigate the difficulties of the role acquisition process.
Notes
Acknowledgements
The preparation and data collection were conducted as part of The Leadership Development Programme of the EDF, 2018–2022.
Competing Interests
The authors have no competing interests to declare.