Military and sport have attracted increased research interest separately as two distinctly demanding performance- and leadership-driven contexts. However, cross-contextual psychological research in leadership is lacking. Such research has potential to expose unique cross-fertilising insights into resemblances in leadership challenges among military and sports leaders, transferable to a broader range of contexts. Thus, the current study simultaneously explored high-level military and sport leaders’ real-life experiences of similarities in demanding conditions and their psychological manifestations. Sixteen participants – eight Swedish high-level military leaders and eight Swedish high-level sports leaders, participated in the study. Using a qualitative inductive cross-contextual design enabled in-depth knowledge and transferability. A reflexive thematic analysis (RTA) of sixteen interview transcripts generated four common themes of demanding conditions: (1) Developing organisations: Leading under extensive workload and responsibility, (2) Managing destructive superiors and subordinates: Standing up for oneself, (3) Taking care of the minds and moods of others: Leading deliberated difficult conversations, and (4) Periods of extreme concentration: Leading critical coordination, decisions, and timing. In the findings, own severe stress reactions to dealing with and manoeuvring multiple leadership challenges and the struggle with resources and interaction with individuals are commonly identified responses among the participants. High-level military and sports leaders are tied into a high-stress, high-stakes leader role. Implications are presented.

Senior executives in sports and high-ranking military officers are mutually engaged in highstressand high-stakes leader roles arising from similar experiences of demanding conditions.However, cross-contextual research focusing on high-level leaders’ psychological skills andleadership behaviors in maneuvering demanding conditions is wanted. Thus, the current studysimultaneously explored the likeness between high-level military and sport leaders’experiences of their performance of leadership behaviors under demanding conditions and theapplication of psychological skills as a driving force behind performance. Sixteen interviewsof high-ranking military officers and senior sports executives (four men and four women ineach group) were conducted, followed by an inductive reflexive thematic analysis. Acognitive-behavioral thematic structure model was generated and illustrated high-levelmilitary and sports leaders’ experiences of what leadership behaviors they experienced wereimportant to perform to maneuver demanding conditions and achieve organizationalobjectives. The findings revealed that what these leaders have in common is their use ofprogressive and evolutionary leadership, consisting of a combined set of leadership behaviorsoverarchingly themed as 'advancing' and 'evolving,' each with several sub-themes, forexample, 'targeting' and 'transforming.' Moreover, the leaders described the application ofhighly personalized and combined psychological skills as leader performance enhancers,overarchingly labeled ‘self-forwarding’ and ‘self-attuning.’ Leadership coaches and otherprofessionals can improve their leadership service delivery competence by using thesuggested model, which depicts psychological skills and leadership behaviors in collaborativeaction. Quantitative longitudinal and mutually applied leadership research can be conductedon high-level military and sport leaders to further understand their performance.

Research shows that high-level military and sport leaders share a high-stress and high-stakes leader role due to similar experiences of demanding conditions mainly manifested in psychological burden. This raises research questions about leaders' psychological strategies to maintain their mental health and performance under demanding conditions. Thus, the current study investigated how experienced demanding conditions were related to self-rated leader performance level and mental health indicators among high-level military and sport leaders and whether the application of psychological skills by these leaders moderated these relationships. A composite questionnaire was used to collect data longitudinally, once a week for four consecutive weeks. Fifty-two Swedish high-ranking military officers and executives in elite team sport organizations completed the questionnaire. Multilevel analysis revealed no effect of demanding conditions on leader performance, but they harmed leader vitality and were associated with higher stress symptoms. Moreover, psychological skills did not moderate the relationship between demanding conditions and leader performance. However, motivational and instructional self-talk negatively moderated the relationship between demanding conditions and vitality. In contrast, emotional regulation, comprised of mindfulness and cognitive reappraisal, positively moderated vitality. Emphasizing the nuanced application of psychological skills is crucial while avoiding one-sided beliefs about their positive effects. Interventions are suggested to focus on vitality and related psychological skills to ensure leaders feel good while performing under demanding conditions. More cross-contextual leadership research, suggestively applied research, is needed to better understand the links between high-level military and sport leaders' psychological skills, leader performance, and mental health under demanding conditions. © 2024 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Demanding conditions expose senior leaders to difficult leadership challenges, resulting in high levelsof stress and mental health issues. Whether coaching-based executive leader development programsconfirm this by, in addition to leadership, also considering the leader's health and what characterizesthese programs, especially the coaching component, is still an unconsolidated field of knowledge.Therefore, the current scoping review explored the characteristics and emerging key findings ofcoaching-based executive leader development programs for senior leaders, and their encompassing ofhealth. The review was based on Arksey and O’Malley’s framework for searching social scienceliterature. PsycINFO, ProQuest One Business, and Scopus were searched, identifying 258 referencesand 18 unique references: up to the 25th of August 2023. The review revealed a mixture of leadershipaspects in the program intentions whereas health was the notable exception. Phases of blendedlearning and one-to-one and group coaching shaped the programs which lasted for months, up toseveral years. The programs enhanced leadership aspects categorized as strategic and operational,collaborative and relational, and psychological, as well as a few health-related aspects. Leadersappreciated a health focus when given the opportunity as well as safe, sound, reflexive, andperspective-giving coaching.