Association for Behavior Analysis International

Translating science into application is a major challenge for OBM consultants. Behavior analysts working as OBM consultants are faced with the challenge of performing applied projects with enough rigor to supply meaningful data from which important business decisions can be made while functioning in environments where strict experimental control is simply not realistic. The application of behavior analysis in real-life settings, even when conditions are less than perfect, can permit detailed data about phenomena of social importance. The symposium includes a study that analyzes how leaders respond when provided the opportunity to view other leaders. In everyday setttings, leaders routinely interact with other leaders who they observe and evaluate, frequently to ascertain if the person observed is an effective leader. This study examines whether leaders can identify leadership behavior in other leaders. The study is based on Komakis taxonomy of operant leadership.

Translating science into application is not the only challenge for OBM consultants. In fact, the bigger challenge is performing applied projects with enough rigor to supply meaningful data from which important business decisions can be made while not being handcuffed by desires for experimental control that are just not possible in real-time action research. This talk will provide some insights in to how to find this balance without abandoning the strategies and tactics of behavioral science that are the hallmarks of OBM. Examples from a career that has included both a full-time academic teaching and research position at a major university and nearly 20 years of private consulting will be provided.

In everyday setttings, leaders routinely interact with other leaders who they observe and evaluate, frequently to ascertain if the person observed is an effective leader. This study examines whether leaders can identify leadership behavior in other leaders? The study is based on Komakis taxonomy of operant leadership. Over one hundred managers were shown three films of an actress performing real-life dialogue which contained low, medium and high frequency use of monitors and consequences. The participants were given the task of pressing a button each time they believed that the actress exhibited a leadership behavior. The participants also rated the three films in terms of overall leadership. The results from more than 100 participants indicate that managers overall ratings match the density of monitoring and consequences in the films, but that they identify only a fraction of these behaviors as they occur. The findings have implications for the selection and training of leaders.