George B. Forsythe

Identifying and Assessing Tacit Knowledge: Understanding the Practical Intelligence of Military Leaders

Abstract Tacit knowledge (TK) is knowledge drawn from everyday experience that helps individuals to solve real-world, practical problems. This study applied a method for identifying and assessing TK to the domain of military leadership in order to understand why some leaders are more successful than others. Interviews were conducted with Army officers at three levels of leadership in order to identify the type of practical, experience-based knowledge that is not necessarily part of formal training or doctrine. Subsequently, the Tacit Knowledge for Military Leaders (TKML) inventory, consisting of a series of leadership scenarios, was developed to assess the amount of knowledge leaders possess. Three versions of the TKML were administered to a total of 562 leaders at the platoon, company, and battalion levels. At all three levels, TKML scores correlated with ratings of leadership effectiveness from either peers or superiors, and the scores explained variance in leadership effectiveness beyond a test of general verbal ability and a test of TK for managers. These results indicate that domain-specific TK can explain individual differences in leadership effectiveness and suggest that leadership development initiatives should include efforts to facilitate the acquisition of TK.

Construct Validity of Medical Clinical Competence Measures: A Multitrait-Multimethod Matrix Study Using Confirmatory Factor Analysis

This study investigates the construct validity of three methods used to evaluate clinical competence in medicine: standardized test, supervisor performance ratings, and peer performance ratings. Three attributes of clinical competence are investigated: cognitive abilities, interpersonal skills, and professional qualities. Measures representing each attribute-method combination include: National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) examination (standardized test of cognitive abilities); two scales derived from the California Psychological Inventory (CPI) (standardized test of interpersonal skills and professional qualities); and the three scales derived from the Resident Evaluation Form (REF) (peer and supervisor ratings of all three attributes). Scores for each attribute-method combination were obtained from a convenience sample of 166 resident physicians in three primary care specialties. These scores were cast into a multitrait-multimethod matrix design and analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis. Results suggest a lack of construct validity for the CPI and REF scales, moderate convergent validity for the NBME, and substantial method variance in the REF-derived ratings. Findings are discussed in terms of the implications for a theory of medical clinical competence, further research and development in clinical competence measurement, and current measurement practice in medical education.

Identity Development During the College Years: Findings from the West Point Longitudinal Study

Using R. Kegans (1982, 1994) theory of identity development, it was discovered that most military cadets enter college with relatively simple ways of making meaning, and for many the college years are a time of significant developmental change. For most, the key developmental issue is not self- authorship but establishing shared meaning.

Leader development in natural context: A grounded theory approach to discovering how military leaders grow.

Despite an increasing number of programs that aim to develop or educate leaders, the underlying processes involved in leader development or growth are not well understood. This study was undertaken to discover what factors or processes are involved in leader development for junior military officers, from their own perspective and in the natural context of their career and life experiences. Military officers (N = 51) from 5 different countries were interviewed using a standardized approach, and interview transcripts were analyzed according to the constant comparative method of grounded theory, as elaborated by Glaser and Strauss (1967). Consistently across the 5 countries, the core of the process model of leader development is the social interaction between the young officer and his or her significant others (soldiers, peers, and superiors). In the favorable case, officers end this process feeling secure, being able to flexibly adapt their overt behavior on an underdistanced–overdistanced continuum according to situational demands, and have a firm professional identity.

Confirmatory factor analysis of house office candidate appraisals.

This article illustrates an application of confirmatory factor analysis, using the LISREL program, to retrospective analysis of rating data common in health professions education. We begin with specification of a causal model reflecting the multitraitmultimethod design of a surgical houseofficer ranking system. The model is then tested using data provided by rating system functioning over two successive years. The results suggest that although most rating measures do cluster around latent traits as hypothesized, there is more method variance in the data set than trait variance. The trait and methodfactors are also found to be highly intercorrelated. Practical implications of these results include specific modifications in the rating system, potentially leading to improvement of the system.