Title: Transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry: a critical analysis for recruiting and developing talent

Authors: Maurice Dawson, Emad Rahim

Addresses: Strayer University, 9220 Franklin Square Drive, Nottingham, MD 21236, USA. ' Walden University, 155 5th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55401-2511, USA

Abstract: This article proposes a framework to create effective transitional leadership in the defence and aerospace industry. The proposed framework identifies and maps traits and skills of military personnel in a manner that can be tested and validated in accordance with principles of human resource management. Applying this framework would assist hiring managers in their selection of program or project managers from the military in transition to a defence contractor support organisation. Employing a research approach embracing a mix of both qualitative and quantitative strategies, the study examined more than 50 respondents to a 34-question survey, focusing on 14 respondents who submitted fully completed surveys. The conceptual framework for this study is derived from investigations conducted by project management practitioners and scholars who have built upon the research of previous research, which studied project development models within various industries.

Keywords: programme management; transitional leadership; Department of Defense; USA; United States; government departments; aerospace industry; recruitment; defence industry; talent recruitment; human resource development; HRD; critical analysis; military personnel; personnel traits; personnel skills; human resource management; HRM; project managers; defence contractors; support organisations; qualitative strategies; quantitative strategies; project development; project organisation; project management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPOM.2011.039819

International Journal of Project Organisation and Management, 2011 Vol.3 No.2, pp.164 - 183

Published online: 14 Jan 2015 *

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