Learning through Dialogue during Intelligence Assessments: A Translation of Theory into Practice

We translate a theory into the practice of intelligence assessments. Following Karl Weick’s (1993) retrospective approach, translation relies on previously published evaluations assessment practices. Intelligence assessments are used in organizations to inform leaders threats and opportunities. The we apply describes how an analyst learns through dialogue during conducting assessment, it consists four learning archetypes: cooperative, focused, survival, reflective. is based differential effects caused by interaction between information overload equivocality. use role as way compare two different contexts: national security law enforcement. offer three contributions: First, find that final stage practice—the review process—should occur organizationally where authoring analysts their senior reviewers reside. Second, equivocality has dialogue: In low conditions (cooperative focused learning), hierarchical structures affect dialogue; high (survival reflective organizational politics dialogue. Third, identify benefit challenge studies.