DEVELOPING EXECUTIVE LEADERS: THE RELATIVE CONTRIBUTION OF COGNITIVE ABILITY,PERSONALITY, AND THE ACCUMULATION OF WORK EXPERIENCE IN PREDICTING STRATEGIC THINKING COMPETENCY

We conceptually define and empirically investigate the accumulation of work experience—a concept that refers to the extent to which executives have amassed varied levels of roles and responsibilities (i.e., contributor, manager, lead strategist) in each of the key work activities that they have encountered over the course of their careers. In studying executives’ work experience accumulation, we consider key antecedents such as executives’ cognitive ability and personality traits, namely Extraversion and Openness to Experience, and examine the value of work experience accumulation on executives’ strategic thinking competency. Analyses of multisource data from 703 executives revealed 3 key findings: (a) accumulated work experience positively relates to executives’ strategic thinking competency after controlling for individual characteristics and other measures of work experience; (b) executives’ cognitive ability demonstrates the strongest and most positive relationship to executives’ strategic thinking competency; and (c) extraverted executives tend to achieve higher levels of work experience accumulation. Relative weight analyses also indicated that cognitive ability and accumulated work experience are the 2 most important predictors for executives’ strategic thinking competency among the other predictors. These findings are discussed in light of their practical implications.     

Varieties of Intellectual Talent1

Precocity, prodigiousness, brightness, intelligence, talent, creativity, eminence, renown, greatness, and genius may be aspects or consequences of characteristics often lumped together under the multi-dimensional term “giftedness.” Certain of these concepts can be traced from Galton through Spearman, Binet, and Terman to outstanding recent contributors. We consider identification of intellectually talented youth and, to some extent, their educational facilitation. Although the “abilities” view of talent is emphasized, more qualitative approaches such as those of Bloom, Ericsson, Gardner, Simonton, and Sternberg receive attention. Life outcomes of mathematically and/or verbally precocious youth identified across the nation by talent searches emanating since 1971 from Johns Hopkins University and elsewhere may help clarify relationships between intellectual precocity, creativity, and achievement.     

Women, “False” Memory,and Personal Identity

We contest each other's memory claims all the time. I am concerned with how the contesting of memory claims and narratives may be an integral part of many abusive situations. I use the writings of Otto Weininger and the False Memory Syndrome Foundation to explore a particular strategy of discrediting women as rememberers, making them more vulnerable to sexual harm. This strategy relies on the presentation of women as unable to maintain a stable enough sense of self or identity to be trustworthy testifiers to their own harm.     

The Gap Between Research and Practice on the Question of Counseling Effectiveness

This article looks at outcome research from a practitioner's point of view and suggests that a serious problem may be caused by research that assumes the technique being studied is experienced by the clients. An argument is made for a research model that emphasizes the client's experience of the effect of the technique.     

A Model of Stress and Counseling Interventions

Current popular interest in stress and its effects on physical and psychological functioning has implications for counselors and clients. Although many counselors have not been trained in the physiological and medical aspects of stress, they do have skills that can be appropriately applied to the alleviation and modification of environmental and internal sources of stress. This article describes a model to aid counselors in understanding stress and in designing and implementing counseling interventions to mediate its effects.     

Counseling Chinese-Americans

The Chinese-American student's cultural background plays an important part in his expression of personality traits and the manifestation of his problems. This article presents an analysis of Chinese values and suggests that the counseling situation may arouse intense conflicts for many Chinese-American students. It also suggests a modified counseling approach that can be used in working with these students.     

A Health Careers Program to Improve Employability of Low-Achieving Youth

Applicants to a high school health career orientation program were followed for three years after graduation. There were 235 participants and 271 in the control group. Groups were fairly matched in age, grade level, prior exposure to health work, and interest in health occupations. Controls were above-average academically. Participants served in a 6-week summer program, worked under close supervision in 35 health career areas in hospitals and health-related agencies, took field trips, and received supplementary guidance. Participants showed low drop-out rates and high levels of expressed satisfaction; were likelier to engage in extracurricular health-related activities; studied and trained more; explored more before making an employment choice; showed higher levels of job satisfaction, higher earnings, and less turnover.