Executive Thinking and Decision Skills: A Characterization and Implications for Training
Abstract
Managing an organization as large and complex as the U.S. Army requires leaders of the highest caliber. Previous research has shown that leaders at the executive level, corresponding in the Army to three-star general officers and above, think and plan in ways that are qualitatively different from officers at lower levels. This report describes the development of a theory of the cognitive structures that support executive-level functioning. A key theoretical tenet is that the primary discriminator of executives is how their knowledge is organized and accessed. Researchers reviewed literature and performed an observational study to document the difference in executive and nonexecutive problem solving. Researchers developed a theory of the cognitive underpinnings of executive performance and constructed a set of recommendations for executive development on the basis of the theory.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA230218
Entities
People
- John M. Leddo
- Kathryn B. Laskey
- Terry A.. Bresnick