5.6 Managers across organizational levels

In a study focusing on the development of tacit knowledge over the managerial career, Williams and Sternberg (cited in Sternberg et al., 1995) constructed a measure of both a general and a level-specific tacit-knowledge. They obtained nominations from superiors for "outstanding" and "underperforming" managers at the lower, middle, and upper levels in four high-technology manufacturing companies. This approach allowed them to delineate the specific content of tacit knowledge for each level of management (lower, middle, and upper) by examining what experts at each level knew that their poorly-performing colleagues did not.

Williams and Sternberg identified specialized tacit knowledge for each of the three management levels and found that this knowledge was differentially related to success. These results were derived from comparing responses of outstanding and underperforming managers within each management level on level-specific tacit-knowledge inventories. Within the domain of intrapersonal tacit knowledge, knowledge about how to seek out, create, and enjoy challenges is substantially more important to upper-level executives than to middle- or lower-level executives. Knowledge about maintaining appropriate levels of control becomes progressively more significant at higher levels of management. Knowledge about self-motivation, self-direction, self-awareness, and personal organization is roughly comparable in importance at the lower and middle levels, and somewhat more important at the upper level. Finally, knowledge about completing tasks and working effectively within the business environment is substantially more important for upper-level managers than for middle-level managers, and substantially more important for middle-level managers than for lower-level managers. Within the domain of interpersonal tacit knowledge, knowledge about influencing and controlling others is essential for all managers, but especially for those at the upper level. Knowledge about supporting, cooperating with, and understanding others is extremely important for upper-level executives, very important for middle-level executives, and somewhat important for lower-level executives.

In addition, Williams and Sternberg examined the relationship of tacit knowledge with several criteria across levels. They found that tacit knowledge was related to the following measures of managerial success: compensation (r = .39, p < .001), age-controlled compensation (r = .38, p < .001), and level of position (r = .36, p < .001). These correlations were computed after controlling for background and educational experience. Tacit knowledge was also moderately associated with enhanced job satisfaction (r = .23, p < .05).