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• Case | HBS Case Collection | May 2019

  The United States Air Force: 'Chaos' in the 99th Reconnaissance Squadron

  Francesca Gino, Jeff Huizinga and Nicole Keller

  In the spring of 2019, Lt. Col. Matthew 'Chaos' Nussbaum is nearing the end of his two-year term as commander of the U.S. Air Force's 99th Reconnaissance Squadron. In this position, he has focused the majority of his energy on finding new ways to organize, train and equip the unit, whose mission is to execute and sustain U-2 operations globally. Nussbaum's methods empowered individuals within the squadron, and enabled them to achieve much that people familiar with the Department of Defense previously considered impossible. Yet with progress came risk, and costs. This case considers how breakthroughs were made, examines the role leadership played, and asks how Nussbaum's approach can both be sustained in the 99th and more widely applied throughout the Air Force.

  Keywords: Empowerment; innovation; motivation; military; Leadership; Culture; Change; Leading Change; Innovation Strategy; United States;

  Citation:

  Gino, Francesca, Jeff Huizinga, and Nicole Keller. "The United States Air Force: 'Chaos' in the 99th Reconnaissance Squadron." Harvard Business School Case 919-047, May 2019.  View Details

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• Supplement | HBS Case Collection | May 2019

  Engineering Company Culture at Zaimella Ecuador (B)

  Gary P. Pisano and Francesca Gino

  Citation:

  Pisano, Gary P., and Francesca Gino. "Engineering Company Culture at Zaimella Ecuador (B)." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 919-706, May 2019.  View Details

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• Article | Journal of Experimental Social Psychology | May 2019

  A Counterfeit Competence: After Threat, Cheating Boosts One's Self-Image

  S. Wiley Wakeman, Celia Moore and F. Gino

  In six studies, we show that after experiencing a threat to their abilities, individuals who misrepresent their performance as better than it actually is boost their feelings of competence. We situate these findings in the literature on self-protection. We show that this “counterfeit competence” effect holds when threat is measured (Study 1), manipulated (Study 2), and when the opportunity to cheat is randomly assigned (Study 3). We extend our findings to a workplace context, showing that threatened individuals who lie on a job application feel more capable than those who report them honestly (Study 4). Finally, consistent with the argument that counterfeit competence is driven by self-protection, we find individuals do not predict they would experience such a boost (Study 5) and that cheating after threat offers benefits similar to those provided by other established methods of self-protection (Study 6). Together, our findings suggest that, after threat, misrepresenting one’s performance can function as a mechanism that helps to restore positive self-evaluations about one’s capabilities.

  Keywords: Cheating; self-perception; self-protection; Competency and Skills; Identity; Perception; Performance;

  Citation:

  Wakeman, S. Wiley, Celia Moore, and F. Gino. "A Counterfeit Competence: After Threat, Cheating Boosts One's Self-Image." Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 82 (May 2019): 253–265.  View Details

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