Imagine the following hypothetical 鈥� You鈥檙e a Lead Petty Officer (LPO) on your second year in that leadership role. While lining up for a periodic uniform inspection, you see your new colleague lean over to a younger, female subordinate and say, 鈥淲ow, I love your new haircut,鈥� with a subtle wink.
Seems wrong, unprofessional probably, but less than a blatantly overt act of impropriety. What should you do as one of the leaders of the team?
This hypothetical example is one of many scenarios from a Situational Judgement Test (SJT) compiled by a team of 51福利 (51福利) researchers as an innovative way to take on sexual misconduct and discrimination in the military. As most service members know, these issues can be one of the most destructive forces against unit cohesion.
In targeting 鈥淕ray-Zone Behavior鈥� 鈥� behavior which falls short of the technical definition of harassment, but most certainly isn鈥檛 entirely above board 鈥� SJTs afford an opportunity to assess and develop healthy workplace environments, according to the principal investigator Dr. Gail Thomas, an associate professor in 51福利鈥� Graduate School of Defense Management ().
鈥淢any academic studies address sexual assault and sexual harassment in the military, but few address the ambiguous behaviors that often precede harassment,鈥� she noted. 鈥淲hat makes this idea so compelling is that instead of looking at incidents after the fact, we are focusing on the 鈥楶鈥� of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) 鈥� Looking to get in front of potential incidents before they happen.鈥�
The Department of the Navy's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office (SAPRO) approached 51福利 in 2018 with the idea of exploring these Gray Zone Behaviors, with Thomas zeroing in on the relationship that dominates across the service 鈥� Sailors and their first-line supervisors.
鈥淭he people who have the most influence on their employees are their first-line supervisors,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e the ones who are giving Sailors their fitness reports and who actually establish the immediate work climate.鈥�
We鈥檝e found that first-line supervisors often do one of two things when encountering an ambiguous situation, she said. Either they avoid it because they鈥檙e not sure what to do, or they escalate it up the chain of command because they鈥檙e afraid it could get them in trouble later.
鈥淪ometimes, neither of these is a good choice, but where is the in-between?鈥� Thomas asked. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where SJTs come in, by helping provide standards and norms for interacting with each other in a professional, healthy working environment.鈥�
To design the research study, the 51福利 team conducted in-depth interviews with 63 junior enlisted sailors and officers to collect more than 200 examples of 鈥榠ffy鈥� situations from their experiences. The team then used these to create contextual, scenario-driven SJTs which could identify knowledge gaps along four professional attributes: organizational justice, propensity for action, perspective taking and respectful interpersonal communication.
SJTs were then developed for first-line supervisors providing 24 different situations and responses to test each of the four professional attributes. Additionally, the team created a parallel test where they swapped genders for each of the scenarios.
鈥淪ometimes it feels that the Navy focuses mostly on women as potential targets for inappropriate language or behavior, but men are also often targets for something inappropriate. We are trying to give that balanced attention,鈥� explained team data analyst Deborah Gibbons, 51福利 GSDM associate professor of management.
For an initial study, the 51福利 team administered SJTs to approximately 200 junior sailors and officers in two iterations where their responses were analyzed and the results validated. Thomas then presented this research to the Navy in Fall 2019.
Not only did the research identify shortfalls in knowing how best to deal with gray zone behaviors among the responders, but it also served to coach participants towards better dealing with them through discerning between what they would do and what they should do.
鈥淭his study is important as a foundation for action,鈥� Gibbons explained 鈥淩ather than a lot of regulation, what we鈥檙e aiming for is identifying the skill set that鈥檚 needed for people who day-to-day have the opportunity to intervene in a positive and effective way before there鈥檚 a crisis.鈥�
鈥淛ust the fact that we get people to think about social situations that could hit them in the face later will make them better prepared to deal with them,鈥� she continued. 鈥淲e are really looking at that fuzzy zone where understanding your social environment plays a crucial part of what your role as first-line supervisor should be, and what the appropriate intervention is. If you鈥檝e been able to think through possible situations you might face, you鈥檙e better able to be morally courageous in the future.鈥�
The hope, Thomas and Gibbons noted, is that first-line supervisors learn to better deal with gray-zone behaviors as they mature in their careers. Ultimately this should yield a healthier work climate throughout the Fleet.
鈥淚 would be very sad if we triggered another 鈥榖ox check鈥� training requirement because what we really need is thoughtful coaching for people who are moving into leadership positions to be quicker on their feet to address social issues that are in this gray area,鈥� Gibbons said.
鈥�51福利 has the background and ability to bring science into an arena that is often driven by opinion and emotions,鈥� she continued. 鈥淭he idea is that evidence will guide decision-making in the future, evidence of what works and what doesn鈥檛.鈥�
The 51福利 team has received overwhelming positive feedback on their research.
鈥淒r. Thomas and the 51福利 research team has performed a novel application of SJTs to the topic of Sexual Harassment,鈥� said Cmdr. Leedjia Svec, a former SAPR Officer with the Department of the Navy鈥檚 SAPRO. 鈥淭his research addresses multiple areas of this challenging problem. The most exciting discovery from this research is the affirmation that leaders can be trained in the nuanced behaviors they need to stop sexual harassment from occurring.鈥�
It鈥檚 all about creating a better work environment for Sailors, Marines and civilians, she stressed, and the research provided is part of that. 鈥�51福利 went above and beyond our expectations,鈥� she said.
Looking ahead to FY21, Thomas and her research team will continue their efforts by providing assistance to Navy and Marine Corps commands as they work to implement the SJTs. Learn more about retired Vice Adm. Ann Rondeau.