Leaders must be able to solve the kind of complex, ambiguousproblems that arise in organizational settings. Prior research on thedeterminants of leader performance indicates that mental models may play akey role in guiding leader performance and problem solving. In the effortproposed herein the literature bearing on the development and applicationof mental models in complex problem solving will be reviewed in relation toextant theories of leader performance. This review will be used to identifythe central characteristics of the mental models leaders use in operationalproblem solving, planning, and visioning and identify the kind ofdifferential and situational variables that influence the development andapplication of these models. Subsequently, computer-based measures forassessing leaders' operational problem solving, planning, and visioningmodels will be constructed and validated. These measures will then beapplied in a series of experimental studies intended to identify the kindsof training interventions likely to contribute to the development andeffective application of these models. The evidence obtained in thesestudies should provide a basis for later training intended to developleaders' decision making and problem solving.
