A US Army Reserve (USAR) Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) Tacit Knowledge Inventory: Flexible Structure for Squad-Level Leader Self-Development
Abstract
Because the development of adaptive leaders is a top priority for the U.S. Army, the Army continuously seeks ways to improve its leader development programs. One way is by sponsoring research programs aimed at finding strategies to enhance leader competencies by examining the degree to which knowledge, particularly tacit knowledge (TK), contributes to a leader's effectiveness. TK is informal knowledge (not taught in institutions), accrued during the experience of operational assignments, and contributes to an individual's ability to problem-solve (e.g., how a leader establishes credibility upon assignment as a new leader). Improved problem-solving directly supports the Army's goal of growing adaptive leaders. Research suggests that TK levels reflect the culture of an organization through a shared mental model of how leader problems are solved. Thus far, the focus of Tk research has been on identifying and mapping it among active Army officers at three leader levels, as well as measuring its relation to other leader competencies. The goal of this project is to identify and map TK among USAR Squad Level NCOs, and develop an inventory of this knowledge for use as a leader self-development tool. This research report summarizes the process by which the USAR NCO TK Inventory was developed.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA483162
Entities
People
- David Grabarczyk
- Lincea Ruth
- Linda Higley
- Teresa Z. Taylor
Organizations
- U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences