Photo: Niklas Sagrén, Swedish Defence University.

Your doctoral thesis has the title ”Adaptive behaviors and skills in high-level military staff work”. What were your most important results?

My research highlights the importance of military staff officers’ adaptive behavior and interpersonal skills for reaching organizational goals. Although the military is a traditional, hierarchical organization, military staff officers that work at the higher levels of the organization generally work in collaborative environments, both nationally and internationally.

The results indicated that high level military staff officers used a variety of behaviors to manage organizational demands. These were interpreted to be either reactive or proactive in nature depending on the individual’s ability to anticipate the demands. In the case of reactive adaptive behaviors performed by individuals, they were interpreted to serve a function for momentary problem-solving for organizational problems; however, they may not be beneficial for organization learning or development when used regularly. As for proactive adaptive behaviors, a few were identified as being relevant in the context, including networking and influencing behaviors.

Regarding relevant adaptive skills, previous studies in civilian contexts have shown that interpersonal skills (including political skill) are important for being able to navigate the organization effectively. My thesis points out that this is also very important in hierarchically structured organizations that operate on clear rules and mandates, such as the Armed Forces. These findings may be important for forming future study aims and can be used for educational purposes for the Armed Forces. The findings may also be relevant for leadership and organization development.

You were the first PhD Student at the Department of Psychology to have your dissertation in the webinar format. How was your experience?

I think the defence went rather smoothly despite having the grading committee and opponent in geographically different areas. I think the use of the webinar format was definitely favorable since I could not see the other participants. I could only see the individuals who were directly involved in the process (moderator, supervisors, grading committee, opponent), which I think made for less distractions when I answered my questions.

Overall, I was very pleased with the ability to minimize any peripheral distractions and focus on the conversations regarding my research. I would definitely recommend it to others that may need to defend during the corona pandemic.

You have been a so called Employed PhD Student. How did that work for you and would you recommend it to others?

I think it worked quite well for the most part. Naturally, there were benefits and drawbacks to the set-up. One benefit was the opportunity to take time to engage in more advanced methodology course work at SU, which I believe has improved my research skills for the future. My supervisors at SU were very supportive with time for feedback, which was very appreciated.

A difficulty of being involved in two institutions is juggling the demands from both, which sometimes included conflicting timelines. The best part has been the ability to network and collaborate with various individuals from two places that have the same drive and interest for work and organization (I/O) psychology.

What have you been working with after your defence?

I have had many exciting opportunities arise in a short amount of time. I worked with organizational development for health care services this past year for Region Värmland, which was very rewarding. Although I love research, I also missed my clinical work as a psychologist and now I have found a way to combine both interests. I currently work part-time as a psychologist (with digital treatment) and I continue to research and teach at the Swedish Defence University.