DISSERTATION APPROVED BY June 16, 2020 James R. Martin Jr. Date James R. Martin, Jr., Ph.D., Chair Elizabeth Elliot-Meisel, Ph.D., Committee Member Jennifer Moss Breen, Ph.D., Director _______________________________________ Gail M. Jensen, Ph.D., Dean MILITARY LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATION: A CASE STUDY OF THE PACIFIC THEATER IN WW II ___________________________________ By Anthony C. Zinni ___________________________________ A DISSERTATION IN PRACTICE Submitted to the faculty of the Graduate School of Creighton University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Interdisciplinary Leadership _________________________________ Omaha, NE (May 15, 2020) Copyright (2020), Anthony C. Zinni This document is copyrighted material. Under copyright law, no part of this document may be reproduced without the expressed permission of the author. iii Abstract The US military, faced with unprecedented challenges, has sought to transform its services and other commands into more innovative organizations and has struggled in trying to understand the process to accomplish this. Studies that have been conducted to determine how best to make this transformation have not offered a comprehensive methodology or model that has proven useful. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the practices of military leadership teams and organizational innovation in historic and highly successful military commands, specifically in the World War II Pacific theater of operations, to gain insights into how current and future leadership may influence innovation. The research examined historical documents, leader accounts, and scholarly literature on innovation. Through this case study, insights were gained into how current and future leadership may influence the transformation into innovative organizations through their practices. The insights gained included understanding the importance of organizational culture, context and contingency, characteristics of effective innovation leaders, structure of innovative organizations, and components of a viable innovation process. Recommendations are made as a result of the study findings regarding military leadership selection, education, training, and development. Organizational changes and processes development recommendations are also included as are recommendations for the private sector and future research. Keywords: innovation, innovative organizations, innovative leadership, innovation processes, teaming iv Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to the military members of the Greatest Generation who served our country during World War II in the Pacific theater of operations. v Acknowledgements This program has been demanding and challenging and as a result I gained a great deal from it. I would like to acknowledge the mentorship of my committee chair, Dr. James Martin, committee member, Dr. Elliot-Meisel, my faculty advisor, Dr. Candace Bloomquist, and all the faculty members involved in the program. Their leadership and knowledge made my journey exceptionally rewarding. vi Table of Contents Page Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgments................................................................................................................v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................1 Military Innovation..............................................................................................................3 Statement of the Problems ...................................................................................................5 The Problem of Definitions.......................................................................................5 How Leadership Influences Organizational Innovation...........................................6 The Current Reality for the Military.........................................................................6 The Current Need for Military Innovation...............................................................7 Problem Statement...............................................................................................................9 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................................9 Research Question ...............................................................................................................9 Aim of the Dissertation in Practice ....................................................................................10 Proposed Methodology ......................................................................................................10 Why a Case Study Approach.............................................................................................11 Pacific Commands During World War II..........................................................................11 Definition of Relevant Terms............................................................................................13 Innovation............................................................................................................13 vii Innovative Organization.......................................................................................14 Delimitations, Limitations, and Personal Biases...............................................................14 Limitations............................................................................................................14 Delimitations..........................................................................................................14 Personal Biases......................................................................................................15 The Role of Leadership in this Study................................................................................15 Adaptive Leadership..............................................................................................16 Participative Leadership.........................................................................................17 Process Leadership.................................................................................................17 Context and Contingency.......................................................................................18 In-Group Leadership..............................................................................................18 Teaming.................................................................................................................19 Followership..........................................................................................................19 Transformational Leadership.................................................................................19 Heroic Leadership..................................................................................................20 Significance of the Dissertation in Practice Study.............................................................20 Summary ............................................................................................................................21 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................23 Innovation in Organizations: A Discussion .......................................................................23 Organizational Innovation: What Factors May Influence It? ................................24 The Environmental Factors Influencing Innovation..........................25 The Characteristics of Innovative Leaders....................................................25 Who can Be Innovative Leaders.......................................................26 viii What Characteristics do Innovative Leaders Possess?.................................27 The Practices of Innovative Leadership .................................................................28 Innovation in Teams..............................................................................................28 The Development of Organizational Learning.....................................................29 The Dynamics of Changing Organizational Culture and Behavior......................30 The Establishment of Innovation Processes..........................................................31 The Development of Organizational Creativity....................................................32 The Achievement of Desired Performance Through Innovation..........................33 The Nature of Military Innovation .....................................................................................33 Characteristics of Military Organizations ..............................................................34 Military Leadership................................................................................................34 What is Innovation in a Military Context?............................................................35 The Military Requirement to Continuously Innovate............................................36 The Views of Scholars on the Pacific Theater ...................................................................38