Leadership: Civilian vs Military

Civilian vs. military: Who leads better, By M.Z. Hemingway, Federal Times March 6, 2007

In an OPM study that compared civilian vs. military leadership and management capabilities, the military services rate higher on leadership and defense agencies higher on management.

Researchers studying the management styles of top Defense Department executives discovered a curious thing: The heads of Army, Navy and Air Force agencies run things quite differently than their counterparts at other Defense agencies.

Senior managers in the military services — be they uniformed or civilian — are more respected by their employees and generate higher levels of motivation and commitment than their counterparts at support agencies within the Defense Department.

But top managers of those support agencies do better than their military service counterparts at managing their organizations to meet long-term goals, according to a new study by two Princeton University researchers.

Executives with higher levels of education and private-sector management experience at both military and civilian agencies scored higher on both leadership and management evaluations. Executives with private-sector experience rated five to 10 points higher on all questions.

“Ideally we want great leaders and we want great managers. We need to combine the best practices of both the service and nonservice portions of the Defense Department,” he said.