A Study of Junior Naval Officer Development From Their Perceptions of Authentic Leadership Behavior

December 3, 2025

A Study of Junior Naval Officer Development From Their Perceptions of Authentic Leadership Behavior

Jason Arthur Grant | 2021

Abstract

This qualitative study explored the relationship between follower development and the components associated with authentic leadership behaviors based on a research question that inquired how junior naval officers perceived the behaviors of their leaders. The study adopted the phenomenological approach, using in-depth interviews and the guided interview method, to explore the constructs. Leadership styles within an organization are influenced by the behavior of the leader, group dynamics, and organizational culture. The leadership style found in the military can vary in nature for followers as personnel routinely transfer. A purposeful sampling method allowed for the utilization of 11 junior naval officers across ranking, age, gender, warfare community, and location. The data collection was done through virtual teleconference interviews. Data saturation was determined to have been reached with eight interviews; three more interviews validated the saturation. The analysis section discusses how the results were examined. The conclusion summarizes the purpose of the study and how authentic leadership behaviors play a role in the leadership development process for junior naval officers.

Keyword: qualitative method, phenomenological, authentic leadership behavior, development, retention

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