A Deep Dive into Perseverance: The Role of Self-Leadership in Progressing Through Long-Term Stressful Experiences in U.S. Navy SEAL Training

Abstract

What allows one to persevere through long-term stressful experiences while others do not? Though an important question for identifying and developing individuals that can perform optimally under such conditions, the behavioral manifestation of perseverance remains understudied. To address this issue, a grounded theory study was conducted in the U.S. Navy's SEAL training course. Before SEALs are able to lead other SEALs, they must first be able to lead themselves. In this training, candidates lead themselves through arguably one of the most difficult military training programs in the country with historical attrition up to 85%. Our research team conducted in-depth interviews with 89 successful candidates from two training classes and found that specific factors such as identity, resilience, humor, and mindset play a role in perseverance in high-stress situations. However, it is the interaction of both self-driven and socially-driven components that are a significant finding of our research. Further, the findings suggest that the process of self-leadership is the mechanism that integrates both self-driven and socially-driven components. Specifically, we offer a model that suggests that individual factors, magnified by social factors, serve as antecedents of self-leadership, which then helps lead an individual to persevere.