Leadership Development and Mindful Engagement: Life Story Narratives of Veterans in High-Ranking Civilian Roles in the United States’ Federal Government
Abstract
Mansour, Ashraf. Leadership Development and Mindful Engagement: Life Story Narratives of Veterans in High-Ranking Civilian Roles in the United States Federal Government (Under the direction of Linda Wilson-Jones, Ph.D.) This study shed light into the life stories of three veterans who were in leadership positions during their military service and transitioned to take a high-ranking position in the government civil service. The study aimed to understand the leadership development of these participants through the lens of mindful engagement that focused on the participants’ skills, practices, and habits that allowed them to develop their leadership from their experiences. The findings from the study were characterized by three main groups matching the mindful engagement process of: (1) approach, (2) action, and (3) reflection. These groups included 15 themes. Group 1 included five major themes (a) interaction with others, (b) general approach to experience, (c) claiming-granting process, (d) culture diversity, and (e) change. Group two “action” included (f) feedback seeking, (g) seizing the opportunity, (h) taking responsibility, (i) courage, and (j) pro-activeness. Group three “reflection” included (k) general reflection, (1) potential, (m) identity, (n) self-confidence, and (o) recognition. The study is valuable because it will help government and non-govemment agencies better understand leadership development in civilian and military contexts. It will also extend the discussion of leadership development and mindful engagement helping organizations tweak their training to better cater to those individuals. Finally, the study will help veterans and uniformed service members alike identifying and sharing best practices for transitioning to civilian service.
Subject Area
Educational leadership|Education
Recommended Citation
Mansour, Ashraf M, "Leadership Development and Mindful Engagement: Life Story Narratives of Veterans in High-Ranking Civilian Roles in the United States’ Federal Government" (2019). ETD Collection for Fayetteville State University. AAI29005906.
https://digitalcommons.uncfsu.edu/dissertations/AAI29005906