Freefall, Self-Efficacy, and Leading in Dangerous Contexts

We examined whether completion of a military Freefall parachuting program enhanced self-efficacy in the domains of leader self-control and leader assertiveness. The Freefall program was particularly suited for self-efficacy development because Freefall required personal mastery to overcome a substan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Military psychology 2010, Vol.22 (S1), p.S117-S136
Main Authors: Samuels, Steven M, Foster, Craig A, Lindsay, Douglas R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Leadership
Military training
Parachuting
Psychological aspects
Self control
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Summary:We examined whether completion of a military Freefall parachuting program enhanced self-efficacy in the domains of leader self-control and leader assertiveness. The Freefall program was particularly suited for self-efficacy development because Freefall required personal mastery to overcome a substantial perceived risk. We surveyed participants at the beginning and end of the Freefall program. We also distributed a subsequent survey nine months later that allowed us to compare leader self-efficacy as a function of participation in Freefall and a similarly risky but less mastery-oriented Soaring program (i.e., flying gliders). The obtained results indicated that successful performance in Freefall, but not in Soaring, contributed to leader self-control and leader assertiveness. The implications for leading in dangerous and traditional contexts are discussed.
ISSN:0899-5605
1532-7876
DOI:10.1080/08995601003644379