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Dissertation
A narrative phenomenological exploration: leaving the military and expecting to make a difference
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Drexel University
Dec 2025
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00011252
Abstract
The transition from military to civilian employment presents complex professional and personal challenges for veterans, particularly as they adapt their leadership skills, identities, and professional development experiences to unfamiliar organizational structures. Although veterans bring extensive training in leadership, problem-solving, and operational discipline, there is limited research that examines how they navigate or adapt these competencies to meet civilian expectations. This study addressed that gap by offering veterans' firsthand perspectives on how several military leaders have leveraged their military training to integrate successfully into civilian workplaces and maintain leadership effectiveness. The findings provide meaningful insights for organizations seeking to strengthen leadership integration and better support veteran employees. By understanding both the challenges and the adaptive strategies used during this transition, businesses and policymakers can develop targeted initiatives to maximize the potential of veteran leaders and foster smoother pathways into the civilian workforce. The study's findings underscore that military leader development creates a durable framework for lifelong learning, adaptability, and ethical conduct, and that these competencies remain relevant across occupational boundaries. Participants consistently described their military training as shaping their commitment to reflection, accountability, and mentorship--habits that readily transferred into civilian roles. Additionally, the transition process itself requires cognitive and emotional adaptation, as veterans reconstruct their sense of identity to align with less hierarchical, more collaborative workplace cultures and a framework of self-authorship. Finally, leadership transformation is possible when veterans integrate their military-honed skills with civilian innovation; reflective learning enables them to synthesize past experiences to meet new challenges, forming a mature, adaptive leadership identity that evolves over time. This adaptive process--long embedded in veterans' experiences of constant transition--has become even more essential in contemporary workplaces, particularly as organizational "footprints" continue to shift in the post-pandemic era. Keywords: leader development, leadership, military veteran, training, transition
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Details
- Title
- A narrative phenomenological exploration
- Creators
- Sherri Pennington Calhoun
- Contributors
- Michael G. Kozak (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University
- Number of pages
- xi, 105 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- School of Education (1997-2026); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991022150538604721