Compensating For Incomplete Domain Knowledge

Abstract : Preparing senior leaders to take charge of organizations in functional domains in which they have limited operational or functional experience is an important issue for the Air Force. Ideally, all senior leaders are fully qualified for their positions, but, for a number of reasons, this is not always possible. First, many senior leader positions require experience in more than one functional or operational domain, but it is difficult to develop a corps of senior leaders with all the required combinations of domain knowledge. Next, the emergence of new weapon systems, technologies, and operating environments continues to create the need for expertise that is in short supply among senior leaders. Finally, as part of a long-term career-development strategy, the Air Force frequently assigns senior leaders to operational and functional domains in which they lack experience. When senior leaders have incomplete domain knowledge, ranging from a little to none, they are challenged to use their existing skills and experience to become engaged and to begin adding value to their organizations as soon as possible. We have identified a particularly useful set of knowledge, skills, and abilities that these leaders use to achieve that goal, what we call compensating competencies. As we reviewed the current and future challenges Air Force senior leaders face, we concluded that the Air Force could benefit from an in-depth understanding of the characteristics of these competencies and how senior leaders use them.