The relationship between authentic leadership and resilience in enlisted soldiers

The U.S. Army requires resilient soldiers who can positively adapt following an adversity. Leadership styles grounded in positive psychology can increase psychological resilience in subordinates. The present study's purpose was determining if a relationship exists between the perception of authentic leadership and subordinate resilience in U.S. Army enlisted soldiers. A descriptive correlational design using survey instrumentation was the methodology for data collection and analysis. Participants (N = 132) completed two surveys. Findings indicated a positive relationship between the perception of authentic leadership and subordinate resilience. Data analysis indicated no statistically significant difference between resilience level and age, military rank, and time in military service. Balanced processing was identified as the component of authentic leadership that best predicted subordinate resilience. This empirical evidence of a positive correlation between the perception of authentic leadership and subordinate resilience indicated that the U.S. Army can leverage authentic leadership to improve the psychological well-being of soldiers and minimize adversity-related psychopathology.