Background The world of work is rapidly changing, and military organisations are no exception. Military organisations are increasingly subject to political and public scrutiny. At the same time, various treaties and codes of conduct have placed greater accountability on soldiers and military leaders for their actions during times of peace and combat. The transformation of the roles which military organisations fulfil, as well as the way in which soldiers and military leaders are to conduct themselves, led to the relatively recent introduction of the term ‘New Wars'. The new war construct encapsulates models, theories and approaches which stand in stark contrast to those of traditional warfare and has not yet received much attention from scholars in the field of leadership. In an attempt to respond to the various contextual factors encompassing a modern approach to warfare, military leaders need to adopt new, i.e. more contextually relevant, approaches and strategies in order to accomplish the desired outcomes of various crucial missions within a changed context. Aim of the research study The aim of the present research study was, therefore, to identify a new leadership theory, model and/or approach, which will be better suited to a changing military landscape. In order to achieve this aim, a novel view on leadership, i.e. virtuous leadership, was suggested. It is argued here that virtuous leadership will enhance military performance within a modern operational environment. In the present study, the direct and indirect relationship between virtuous leadership, new war practices and military performance was investigated. Research design and method Given the dearth of literature in this field of study, an exploratory research design was employed to gain insights pertaining to the proposed relationship between Virtuous Leadership, New Wars and Military Performance. A composite questionnaire consisting of items responded to on Likert-type response scales, and open-ended questions were designed to measure the constructs under investigation. Qualitative data from open-ended questions, as well as quantitative data from close-ended questions, was, therefore, collected, i.e. a mixed-method approach was employed to collect data. The data was further collected crosssectionally, i.e. at a given point in time from a convenient or non-probable sample of military personnel (n=138). Data analysis Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were calculated to summarise sample statistics and determine the strength and direction of the relationship between variables of interest, respectively. The PROCESS procedure (Hayes, 2018) was further employed to estimate the mediating effect of new war practices on the relationship between virtuous leadership and military performance. Results The statistical analyses revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between virtuous leadership and military performance; virtuous leadership and new war practices; as well as between new war practices and military performance. The results further revealed a statistically significant direct and indirect, i.e. a partially mediated, relationship, i.e. that new war practices significantly mediated the relationship between virtuous leadership and military performance. Findings Virtuous leadership is positively attributed to positive organisational outcomes. These research findings suggest that military organisations could enhance desired organisational outcomes by incorporating virtuousness with other leadership approaches for optimum military performance. Contribution Based on these findings of the current study, the military leadership theory has hopefully been enriched with new construct and insights. It is therefore recommended that virtuous leadership should be part of leadership training from the junior level in order to shape desired military conduct within and beyond the organisational premises. Qualitative insights suggested that military leaders demonstrated outstanding communication skills, military professionalism, compassion and exemplary leadership throughout peacekeeping deployment. However, most soldiers cited competence, emotional intelligence, courage and fairness as attributes that require further development to enhance leadership effectiveness in a new war context.

There is a need for virtuous leaders that have a sound moral compass that guide their actions and decisions towards good and honourable outcomes. In particular, the current research study responded to a call in literature to address an African context perspective of virtuous leadership. Based on this, the aim was to formulate a theoretical conceptualisation of virtuous leadership that was grounded in an African contextual perspective to develop and validate a Virtuous Leadership Scale (VLS). The current research study was a descriptive research design with a cross-sectional approach. Secondary quantitative data and primary qualitative and quantitative data was utilised by means of convenience sampling strategy and snowball technique. A realised sample for the secondary quantitative data (n = 193) and the primary quantitative data (n = 72) was collected from the general working population. A conceptual/theoretical model of virtuous leadership was proposed, which captured seven virtues that encompassed an African contextual perspective: 1) courage; 2) humanity; 3) humility; 4) integrity; 5) justice; 6) prudence; and 7) temperance. Based on this model, items were generated and analysed prior to the development of the VLS. Exploratory Factor Analysis confirmed the unidimensionality of each virtue subscale. Utilising Confirmatory Factor Analysis, the measurement model was found to be a good fit. Furthermore, empirical evidence of reliability, discriminant and convergent validity was found, however, predictive validity was not supported. The current research study developed a valid and reliable scale that measures the virtuous leadership construct. There are limitations, recommendations and theoretical contributions discussed.

[pt] Diante de tantas mudanças inesperadas no cenário global, as maiores implicações são em pessoas e nas organizações. Isso porque é cada vez maior a imposição de antecipar os problemas e reagir às transformações. Devido a este novo contexto em que as organizações estão inseridas, se faz necessário que líderes se aproximem cada vez mais dos liderados, para que seja possível responder à intempérie de maneira proativa, levando em conta as diferenças individuais, diversidade de pensamentos, maneira como os significados são atribuídos e formas de lidar com o novo. Frente a esses desafios, este estudo se propõe a verificar a relação entre as virtudes do líder e a relação líder-liderado associadas a proatividade. O presente estudo foi realizado através de pesquisa quantitativa, baseada em um questionário respondido por 82 profissionais, entre líderes e liderados de uma indústria convertedora de papel localizada no estado do Rio de Janeiro. Os achados sugerem que as virtudes do líder estão positivamente relacionadas a relação líder-liderado, com destaque para a coragem e a justiça, e que afeta positivamente a proatividade dos colaboradores. O estudo aplicou ainda como variável de controle o capital psicológico dos participantes, fator com alto impacto nas relações estudadas nesta dissertação. / [en] Faced with so many unexpected changes in the global scenario, the biggest implications are for people and organizations. This is because the imposition of anticipating problems and reacting to changes is increasing. Due to this new context in which organizations are inserted, it is necessary for leaders to get closer and closer to those They followers, so that it is possible to respond to the elements in proactive way, taking into account indivisual diferences, diversity of thoughts, the way in which meanings are assigned and ways of dealing with the new. Faced with these challanges, this study aims to verify how the leader s virtues and the LMX relationship are associated with proactivity. The presente study was carried out thought quatitative research, based on a questionnaire ansewered by 82 professionals from a paper converting industry located in the state of Rio de Janeiro – Brasil. The findings suggest that the leader s virtues are positively related to the LMX relationship, with emphasis on courage and justice, and that it positively affects the employees proactivity. The study also applied the participants psychological capital as a control variable, a fator with a high impact on the relationship studied in this dissetation.

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