"Not long ago, I was talking to an old friend and China analyst about the need for Intelligence Community (IC) analysts to spend significantly more time looking at themselves and their own agencies, processes, procedures, habits, biases, etc.-in other words, to be more introspective. I thought this an uncontroversial assertion as it has beenwell established in management literature that healthy organizations have robust introspective proclivities."
"The above comment beautifully captures not only the IC's aversion to introspection but also what is probably the main reason for that aversion-our "mission focus." In fact, for most of us "mission, mission, mission" becomes a mantra from the day we take our oaths. But that admirable mission focus also comes with a very real downside: we tend to see introspection as a distraction from the mission rather than as a prerequisite to mission success."
"That said,our aversion to introspection might well be disputed by some observers. After all, most of us take multiple personality assessments (e.g., Myers Briggs,, etc.) during the course of our service. Additionally, we do have many of the trappings of an introspective community: organizations (e.g., National Intelligence University, Center for the Study of Intelligence, etc.), personnel (e.g., methodologists, tradecraft specialists, historians, etc.), and publications (e.g., NIU's Research Notes, Shorts and Monographs; CIA's Studies in Intelligence, etc.) that are specifically dedicated to thinking about the practice of intelligence."
Intelligence Community analysts often avoid introspection due to intense mission focus and heavy workloads that frame self-examination as a distraction. Cultural wariness about scrutinizing U.S.-related ("blue") issues further inhibits looking inward. Despite routine personality assessments and institutional trappings—universities, centers, methodologists, tradecraft specialists, historians, and dedicated publications—introspective practices remain insufficient. The mission-first mindset, exemplified by the complaint about an overflowing read pile and no time for "navel-gazing," leads analysts to deprioritize organizational learning and examination of their own processes, procedures, biases, and habits.
Read at The Cipher Brief
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