title: The psychological and neurological bases of leader self-complexity and effects on adaptive decision-making.
abstract: Complex contexts and environments require leaders to be highly adaptive and to adjust their behavioral responses to meet diverse role demands. Such adaptability may be contingent upon leaders having requisite complexity to facilitate effectiveness across a range of roles. However, there exists little empirical understanding of the etiology or basis of leader complexity. To this end, we conceptualized a model of leader self-complexity that is inclusive of both the mind (the complexity of leaders' self-concepts) and the brain (the neuroscientific basis for complex leadership). We derived psychometric and neurologically based measures, the latter based on quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) profiles of leader self-complexity, and tested their separate effects on the adaptive decision-making of 103 military leaders. Results demonstrated that both measures accounted for unique variance in external ratings of adaptive decision-making. We discuss how these findings provide a deeper understanding of the latent and dynamic mechanisms that underpin leaders' self-complexity and their adaptability.
authors.affiliation: Schools of Business, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC 27109, USA. hannahst@wfu.edu
authors.forename: Sean T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Hannah
authors.forename: Pierre A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Balthazard
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Waldman
authors.forename: Peter L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Jennings
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Thatcher
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000523:psychology; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods; D012649:Self Concept; D055815:Young Adult