Cohesion, Flexibility, and the Mediating Effects of Shared Visionand Compassionon Engagement Army Acquisition Teams

This study examines shared vision and compassion as mediating factors and their impact on the effect of cognitive cohesion, emotional cohesion, and flexibility on individual engagement. For over 50 years defense acquisitions have been studied with little improvement in how weapons systems are developed and delivered to the U.S. military. This study takes a novel perspective in analyzing army defense acquisitions teams taking cues from systems theory, emotional intelligence, and family systems. Our survey of 412 individuals in an Army Life Cycle Management Command revealed an interesting link between individual team member perceptions regarding team cohesion and flexibility and the individual s level of engagement in a team environment. Both compassion and shared vision are significant mediators of these effects. Our results are in keeping with extant literature on family business systems which points to the importance of group cohesion and flexibility for sustainable positive performance. Army acquisition teams may benefit from applying techniques, or best practices, used by family business to balance team cohesion and flexibility for improved program performance.