What is I-O?

Industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology is the scientific study of the workplace. Rigor and methods of psychology are applied to issues of critical relevance to business, including talent management, coaching, assessment, selection, training, organizational development, performance, and work-life balance.

Early Careers:
Enhancing Your Organizational Smarts

Dawn Riddle
University of South Florida

Success. We all want it, but how do we get it? This issue of "Early Careers" suggests that the answer lies somewhere between "egg salad" and the ability to boost your "organizational smarts." If the nature of this insight isn't obvious to you, read on! This column contains important information designed to improve your early professional life.

In keeping with the format promised in a previous column, we begin this edition of "Early Careers" with The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, a segment describing the professional and personal sides of a successful I-O psychologist. This issue features Eduardo Salas, whose list of professional accomplishments is, in a word, long. We sincerely hope that our attempt to summarize Dr. Salas's distinguished career "in 50 words or less" does him justice. We also hope that a proper professional account will make up for a less reverent description of Ed, the person (who, as you will see, has a great sense of humor!). All joking and poking fun aside, it is evident that a clear sense of purpose and a distinct philosophical outlook drive Dr. Salas's success.

As will become our custom, we asked our featured psychologist to identify an issue impacting early career folks. In response to this request, Dr. Salas emphasized the importance of getting street smart, or perhaps more appropriately, organization smart. We discuss this topic in the Career Gear segment of the column, which focuses on the importance of enhancing your organizational smarts. Broadly defined, organizational smarts involve knowledge of the culture, the politics, and the informal rules that shape an organization and perhaps an early career.

The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist

Eduardo Salas: The Professional

Educational Background

PhD, I-O psychology, Old Dominion University, 1984

MS, Industrial psychology, University of Central Florida, 1980

BA, General psychology, Florida International University, 1978

Professional Experience

Currently (since June of this year), Dr. Salas holds a joint appointment at the University of Central Florida. He is a professor in the Department of Psychology, as well as a principle scientist for the university's Institute for Simulation and Training.

Dr. Salas is probably known best for his work as Senior Research Psychologist and Branch Head for the Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC), formerly NTSC. At NAWC, he managed on-going multimillion dollar research and development projects in the areas of team training and performance; tactical decision making under stress; aircrew coordination training; team decision making; human performance measurement and modeling; training design, evaluation and effectiveness; team training in distributed environments; embedded training; and advanced training technology. Chances are, if you've followed the literature on any of these topics, you've read something authored or co-authored by Dr. Salas.

Awards, Recognitions, and Honors

Over the course of his career, Dr. Salas has received numerous individual and team awards for research, as well as service awards and recognitions of achievement. Most recent among the hordes of awards, Dr. Salas (with Kevin Ford, Stan Gully, Eleanor Smith and Dan Weissbein) received the American Society for Training and Development Research Award (1998). Dr. Salas has been elected to Fellow status by numerous organizations including the Society of Applied Experimental and Engineering Psychology (1994), the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (1995), and by the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (1996).

Editorships

Dr. Salas has edited numerous top-tier journals, books, and book series, including SIOP's Professional Practice Series.

Publications

Let's just say that Dr. Salas's vita contains 37 single-spaced pages of journal articles, books, book chapters, technical reports, presentations, invited presentations you get the picture.

Eduardo Salas: The Person

We recently conducted an e-mail interview with Ed, to get a better feel for the person behind the name. Afterwards, we had an ear to ear to ear chat with him (i.e., a phone conference) towell basically, to pry a bit more! The results of our investigation are described on the following pages. Our e-questions are listed in italics, followed by Ed's e-responses in quotes. Finally, information from our telephone conversation is provided in the form of post-quote prose (try saying that 10 times fast)! So, Eduardo

What do you do to relieve stress?

"Usually I kick the dog... well I don't have a dog. I usually go jogging, play racquet ball or get a good drink."

What is your favorite beverage?

"Rum and Tab!¹ Nothing better than that... well yes, but let's keep it PG."

What do you do during your time off?

"Most of the time I go shopping (I collect lots of stuff), watch TV (soccer), but I mainly write or read articles (this is fun for me)!"

Do you have a nickname? If so, how did you get it?

"Many nicknames: Egg Salad (lots of people think that's how I answer the phone); Edweirdo (well this one is self explanatory but I don't think I'm weird, just different!); and Etaldo (because of the publications... ), and others I cannot remember..."

If you were stranded on a desert island and had one piece of reading material, what would it be?

"Well, I would probably take Ayn Rand's book The Fountainhead. The way I interpreted that book goes well with my philosophy. Every time I read I learn something about how to approach life. Now of course I would also take the four volumes of the I-O Handbook, maybe to stand on top of them, boats can then see me and make sure I can get rescued from the island.

¹We checked the store to verify this response. Yes, they really do still make Tab.
Do you have a routine that you like to follow?

"Yes, I'm very routine oriented. Just about everything I do follows habitssome people say I'm the most predictable person on earth!"

We told Ed our readers would not be satisfied. We knew our audience would want details we got details! Ed told us he rarely deviates from this daily routine (not even when traveling!). Below is a day in the life of Eduardo Salas:

Tuesday, ditto, Wednesday, ditto, Thursday, ditto, Friday, ditto. (He said he was predictable!) Weekends though, Ed is a completely different animal. On Saturday he's up around 8:00 a.m., heads out for a run, then shops. Yup, he shops pretty much all day. (Oh, by the way, we thought we'd plug his latest book, Making Decisions under Stress: Implications for Individual and Team Training (1998)just in case he needs the royalties to support his habit!). He heads home around 4:00 p.m., some days he then works until 6:30 p.m. Finally, the weekday evening rituals repeat themselves: change, wash, splash on the smelly stuff, enjoy a rum and Tab, munchies, Chardonnay, reading, dinner, TV, and bed! Phew! Sunday, Ed has a big breakfast (it's the only day he eats breakfast) around 11:00 a.m., works from 12:30 _ 6:00 p.m., thenyes, you guessed ithis evening routine begins again!

What factor(s) contributed significantly to your success? What factor(s) do you think might be critical to the success of others, in general?

"This one is tough, but I would start by saying I always wanted to be an I-O psychologist. When I left Peru for the U.S., I came here with the objective of becoming an I-O psychologist. Then I `fell in love' with the profession. I like what I do as an I-O psychologistI like the science as well as the practice; I like solving organizational problems and making a difference; I like to publish our findings; I like to provide guidance to practitioners on how to apply our science. So here are the factors that contributed to my success (at least from my philosophical perspective):

• A clear objective
• A passion for the profession and solving problems
• A desire to make a difference
• A drive for accomplishing and doing (and liking the doing)
• A philosophy of having fun while doing, giving, and evolving
• A solid formation in theory, methods, and practice of I-O psychology (you have to have the basics!) and good colleagues in school (fellow graduate students) that created a challenging and rewarding experience. I had great partners in graduate school. Along the way you learn (or maturity sinks in) that life and our profession is about give and take. As I interpreted a passage of The Fountainhead, `in order to give, you must have, in order to have, you must do, in order to do, you must like the doing....' Wow...how about this! Heavy stuff, ah? Well, another factor is that we cannot take ourselves too seriously.

On the more practical side here are some additional factors, assuming you have/believe in the first six:

• A reliable/good/sincere mentor, who provided advice/guidance/feedback
• [An understanding of] the politics in the organization (and all organizations have it) early on, `who does what to whom and why'
• Opportunities to learn/grow. I never said no to opportunities to do something... this helped with confidence
• Good colleagues, I was/am around people who were motivated to succeed and complemented my skills colleagues like Jan Cannon-Bowers, Kim Smith-Jentsch, Joan Johnston, Clint Bowers, Carolyn Prince, Steve Kozlowski, Kurt Kraiger and many others"

If you need a minute to digest all that, go take a break. But come back, because there's more! Again, we wanted a few more details. We learned that Ed's graduate school classmates included: Scott Tannenbaum, Jerry Hedge, and John Mathieu to name a few. Ed emphasized the positive impact of the collegiate, nonthreatening exchange of ideas generated by this cohort on his graduate school experience.

Ed also mentioned that influential mentors were valuable to his success. His graduate school mentors included: Wayne Burroughs (at the University of Central Florida), who gave Ed an opportunity to become an I-O psychologist; Al Glickman, who taught Ed the value of theory and the importance of seeing the big picture; and in a complementary role, Ben Morgan who drove home the importance of dealing with the practical side of life. Ed's early career mentor (at NAWC, formerly NTSC) was Richard Reynolds, who understood military bureaucracyespecially that surrounding research in the Navy. Dick taught Ed "the system" and how to navigate through the system to accomplish goals.

Although learning the politics of the organization is listed eighth above, it came up tops on the list of important early career topics for this column's readers. According to Ed Salas, the earlier a person can gain knowledge of the "ins and outs" of the organization, the better. Therefore, the following Career Gear segment elaborates on the importance and attainment of organizational smarts.

Career Gear

Organizational smarts. Some people have them, some people don't, and some people get them way too late. This segment discusses the nature of organizational smarts, illustrates how they can affect an early career, and suggests methods for acquiring them on the job.

The Nature and Importance of Organizational Smarts

The term "organizational smarts" has two general meanings. First, it includes a clear understanding of your organization's structure, culture, and modus operandi. Second, it involves your ability to acquire organizational intelligencethe lowdown, the skinny, and other pertinent insider information. No, we're not suggesting anything illegal or unethical here, but our sources indicate that you should think about your intelligence network. For better or worse, your early career can be shaped by many factors outside of job performance, including organizational politics.

Echoing Dr. Salas's perspective, Jerry Hedge, president of PDRI, believes that "understanding the organization (its culture, politics, and way of operating) is more important than the I-O knowledge you possess." Besides, he adds, "If Ed Salas says it's [important], then it must be so!!" Clearly, organizational smarts are essential.

How Organizational Smarts Can Impact an Early Career: A Case Study

To illustrate the importance of organizational smarts, we describe the case of a young man who recently earned his PhD from a prestigious I-O program.² We'll call him Newby_Brand Newby. Upon completing his degree, Dr. Newby accepted a position as an in-house psychologist in the human resources department of a large, well-known organization. During his first month on the job, Newby's supervisor gave him two special assignments: a job analysis project and a spot on an interdepartmental task force, created to develop a web-based selection tool. "a good way to learn some other names in the organization," Newby's supervisor had mumbled when she assigned him to the task force.

² Names and facts have been changed to protect the innocent.

While both assignments seemed do-able, the task force's selection tool really sparked Newby's interest. You see, Newby had completed his dissertation in the area of personnel selection, and he knew he had a lot to offer the task force. This sentiment was reinforced during the first meeting, when he learned that he was the only HR person on the 5-member team. Two of the others were from the company's public relations department, one from the technology group, and the final individual was from upper administration.

During the weeks that followed the first task force meeting, Newby poured his efforts into a proposal, which he decided to present at the second monthly meeting. He headed to the meeting with a song in his heart and a proposal that was sure to knock `em deador so he thought. Instead, Newby's idea got squashed before he even finished presenting it. "Oh, we tried something like that once," said a senior public relations person. "It seemed like such a good idea at the time, but it didn't work very well." The remainder of the meeting was spent honing an idea that everyone but Newby seemed to know about. Apparently, the four other task force members were currently working on several projects together. During their day-to-day exchanges, they had developed a clear idea of what they wanted, along with a prototype of the task force's new web-based selection tool.

"How did this happen?" Newby asked himself. A disheartened Newby decided to talk to one of his HR colleagues. In doing so, all was revealed. She recounted a history of bad blood between human resources and the public relations department, which she dubbed "the snake pit." In addition, Newby discovered that since the task force was developing a selection system, company policy mandated an HR person's presence on the project. The colleague herself was approached before Newby was hired, but she successfully squirmed her way out of the assignment. To top things off, the other members had worked closely together on numerous projects over the years with great success. It seemed they had formed a "clique" and were reluctant to allow others access for fear of jeopardizing their winning streak.

Chagrined but a little bit wiser, Newby returned to his office to work on the job analysis, which he'd been putting off while developing the task force proposal. He had effectively managed to waste nearly 2 months on the job, and he had a lot of catching up to do.

Acquiring Organizational Smarts

The preceding example illustrates how organizational smarts, or a lack thereof, can dramatically influence one's early days on the job. How can you avoid the path of Newby? "Do what your I-O training prepared you for," advises Jerry Hedge. "Namely, collect data. Ask questionsof co-workers, bosses, support staff; observe how things get done; pay attention to informal communication channels. The more you understand about the context within which you're operating, the better your chances of being successful."

In light of Dr. Hedge's advice, you might consider conducting reconnaissance ASAP, collecting data on the organization's structure, its members, and its history. Such data are available from a number of different sources. For instance, an organizational chart provides information concerning the relative location of various positions and departments within the company's hierarchy. Organizational telephone directories may list employees' departments, titles, and so forth. And don't forget the company's Intranet. An Intranet can supply supplementary information regarding the company, departments, and key players. Furthermore, it might uncover important communication channels. Company newsletters and department memos are also good sources for getting the company lowdown. Finally, "water cooler conversations" can be educationalunofficial discussions with supervisors and coworkers often provide valuable information regarding the organization and its history.

The importance of knowing the organization's history cannot be overstated. The experts note that the collective history of everything that happened before a new employee's arrival manifests itself in various formal and informal ways (Taylor & Martin, 1987). Furthermore, those who understand the company's history can use their knowledge to wipe away those who don't (Salancik, 1987). This phenomenon is illustrated in the preceding case study, when the task force member immediately shot down Newby's idea, indicating that it had been tried before and hadn't worked.

In short, information concerning the organization's structure, its members, and its history is often readily available if you know where to look. Incidentally, these data could have given the fictitious Newby a much clearer idea of the players, their agendas, their cliques, and how little power he wielded amidst his task force colleagues. In addition, the preceding sources may have uncovered the impetus behind the task force, the reason for the mandatory HR participation, and the historical conflict between human resources and public relations. Such information would have helped Newby channel his efforts in more effective directions.

Academic Jobs and Organizational Smarts

Although the Newby case study illustrates a practitioner's plight, organizational smarts appear equally important for academicians. Henry Kissinger once remarked that "university politics are vicious precisely because the stakes are so small." Although we're pretty sure he was kidding, Kissinger's statement is consistent with the recommendation that a new assistant professor should carefully attend to his or her surroundings. Said another way,

"Don't be stupid. Don't take strong stands on issues you don't understand immediately after arriving at the university. Keep your ear to the ground, listen carefully, ask questions, and figure out as much of the politics as you can. You do not want to offend people inadvertently. You may choose to offend them at some later point, when you understand the dimensions of the issue, but to do so in error is foolish"
(Taylor & Martin, 1987, p. 33).

In sum, organizational smarts are beneficial, regardless of whether you have political aspirations. As a new employee, you run the risk of unintentionally stumbling into political dilemmas. To the extent that you are aware of the issues, you can monitor and control your own involvement.

Conclusion

So there you have it! Some tips for enhancing your organizational smarts and a bit of Ed Salas (or was that Egg Salad?) to hold you over until we meet again in the next issue of TIP. Speaking of the next issue, don't forget to mark "read `Early Careers' column" on your April 2000 calendar. Featuring Dr. Sheldon Zedeck of the University of California at Berkeley, the April edition is simply a "must" for anyone seeking early career success.

Until then, we will consider ourselves successful if at least one of the following phrases came to mind as you read the preceding column: "No, really?" "I wouldn't have guessed," "Well now, there's food for thought," or perhaps "He doesn't write with an accent." Finally, we sincerely hope that this discussion will make your early career path just a little bit smoother.

To contact the "Early Careers" editors:

Lori L. Foster
Department of Psychology
104 Rawl Building
East Carolina University
Greenville, NC 27858-4353
e-mail: FosterL@mail.ecu.edu 

OR

Dawn L. Riddle
Department of Psychology, BEH 339
University of South Florida
Tampa, FL 33620-8200
e-mail: riddle@luna.cas.usf.edu 

References

Cannon-Bowers, J. A., & Salas, E. (Eds.). (1998). Making decisions under stress: Implications for individual and team training. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Salancik, G. R. (1987). Power and politics in academic departments. In M. P. Zanna & J. M. Darley (Eds.), The compleat academic (pp. 61-84). New York: Random House.

Taylor, S. E., & Martin, J. (1987). The present-minded professor: Controlling one's career. In M. P. Zanna & J. M. Darley (Eds.), The compleat academic (pp. 23-60). New York: Random House.

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