Developing Adaptive Proficiency in Special Forces Officers

The Application of a Model of Adaptive Performance to Army Leader Behaviors

“…FM 6-22 also provides a similar definition to White et al's (2005) in their report for developing adaptive proficiency in Special Forces (SF) officers: "adaptability is an effective change in behavior in response to an altered situation" (Department of the Army, 2006, p. 10-8). Adaptable leaders are described as individuals who are comfortable with ambiguity, flexible, innovative, passionate learners, openminded, risk-takers, resilient to setbacks and who will consider multiple perspectives, smoothly handle multiple demands and priorities, and face challenges with the resources available.…”

“…One notable exception is the training program that was created by White et al (2005) for SF officers. Their program develops adaptive proficiency by providing officers with tools and strategies for performing effectively in dynamic environments.…”

“…Pulakos et al (2000) provided empirical support for an eight-dimension model of adaptive performance across a range of jobs, occupations, and task demands. White et al (2005) modified this model for an Army training program by adding a dimension, Leads an Adaptable Team. For the present research, the model was applied to the interview data such that two of the authors of this report categorized the incidents reflecting adaptive performance according to the nine dimensions.…”

“…They concluded that certain jobs might require greater amounts or different types of adaptive behavior than others. White et al (2005) drew from the work of Pulakos et al (2000) and developed an adaptive performance training program for SF officers. Because Army leaders also must develop adaptability in their teams, White et al added a Leads an Adaptable Team dimension to the model (e.g., "provides opportunities for subordinates to gain experience in new areas," "encourages shared understandings of situations among team members;" p. C-3).…”

“…Specifically, by applying a nine-dimension model of adaptive performance (based on the work of Pulakos, Arad, Donovan, &Plamondon, 2000 andWhite et al, 2005) to leader behaviors performed in operational and training contexts, we determined whether the model is appropriate to describe the behaviors in these settings. Although Pulakos et al's findings included the adaptive dimensions most critical for Infantry noncommissioned officers (NCOs), it is important to determine whether these capabilities have changed due to recent combat experiences.…”