Bencker Andreas, Larsson Gerry, Fors Brandebo Maria, Johnson Urban, Ivarsson Andreas
School of Health and Welfare, Halmstad University, Halmstad, Sweden.
Department of Leadership, and Demand & Control, Swedish Defence University, Stockholm, Sweden.
Mil Psychol. 2025;37(5):398-409. doi: 10.1080/08995605.2024.2376970. Epub 2024 Jul 31.
Research shows that high-level military and sport leaders share a high-stress and high-stakes leader role due to similar experiences of demanding conditions mainly manifested in psychological burden. This raises research questions about leaders' psychological strategies to maintain their mental health and performance under demanding conditions. Thus, the current study investigated how experienced demanding conditions were related to self-rated leader performance level and mental health indicators among high-level military and sport leaders and whether the application of psychological skills by these leaders moderated these relationships. A composite questionnaire was used to collect data longitudinally, once a week for four consecutive weeks. Fifty-two Swedish high-ranking military officers and executives in elite team sport organizations completed the questionnaire. Multilevel analysis revealed no effect of demanding conditions on leader performance, but they harmed leader vitality and were associated with higher stress symptoms. Moreover, psychological skills did not moderate the relationship between demanding conditions and leader performance. However, motivational and instructional self-talk negatively moderated the relationship between demanding conditions and vitality. In contrast, emotional regulation, comprised of mindfulness and cognitive reappraisal, positively moderated vitality. Emphasizing the nuanced application of psychological skills is crucial while avoiding one-sided beliefs about their positive effects. Interventions are suggested to focus on vitality and related psychological skills to ensure leaders feel good while performing under demanding conditions. More cross-contextual leadership research, suggestively applied research, is needed to better understand the links between high-level military and sport leaders' psychological skills, leader performance, and mental health under demanding conditions.
研究表明，高级军事和体育领导人由于面临类似的苛刻条件，有着高压力和高风险的领导角色，这些苛刻条件主要体现在心理负担上。这就引发了关于领导者在苛刻条件下维持心理健康和表现的心理策略的研究问题。因此，本研究调查了苛刻条件的经历与高级军事和体育领导人的自评领导绩效水平和心理健康指标之间的关系，以及这些领导人运用心理技能是否调节了这些关系。采用综合问卷进行纵向数据收集，连续四周每周一次。52名瑞典高级军官和精英团队运动组织的管理人员完成了问卷。多层次分析表明，苛刻条件对领导绩效没有影响，但会损害领导活力，并与更高的压力症状相关。此外，心理技能并没有调节苛刻条件与领导绩效之间的关系。然而，激励性和指导性的自我对话对苛刻条件与活力之间的关系有负向调节作用。相反，由正念和认知重评组成的情绪调节对活力有正向调节作用。强调心理技能的细微差别应用至关重要，同时要避免对其积极效果的片面看法。建议干预措施关注活力和相关心理技能，以确保领导者在苛刻条件下执行任务时感觉良好。需要更多跨情境的领导力研究，即建议性应用研究，以更好地理解苛刻条件下高级军事和体育领导人的心理技能、领导绩效和心理健康之间的联系。
