The influence of leader-keyman relations on combat crew effectiveness.

The relation between the leader's interpersonal attitudes and the effectiveness of military combat crews is investigated. Two types of leader attitudes are considered: a generalized attitude toward co-workers, derived by asking the S to predict personality test responses of most and least preferred co-workers; and, the leader's sociometric preference for a particular co-worker. Studies with B-29 bomber crews and Army tank crews indicate that psychological distance between accepted leaders and their keymen is related to effective teamwork. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)