Leadership Development
Performance Test Designing an Effective Competency Model
The demand for leadership competency models has grown in recent years, but it has done so much faster than the underlying expertise. The value of such models comes from the behaviors that make up the competencies and the processes used for identifying them. Here are some keys to creating an effective competency model.
A
s organizations seek to improve their competitive advantage, much effort is being devoted to improving leadership, and such efforts often include the use of competency models. Unfortunately, the results of using leadership competency models have been mixed. An underlying source of many problems is that leadership competency models are often too simplistic in their appearance—that is, it is rather easy to gain a general understanding of what the competency model is and the potential value for the organization. Competency models, particularly leadership competency models, generally have a lot of face validity. For example, typically seen competencies include initiative, influence, business acumen, relationship building, orientation toward results, insight, communica-
tion skills, delegating, motivating others, and managing change. What organization would not consider these to be important components of leadership effectiveness? On the surface, then, selecting the elements of a leadership competency model appears to be straightforward. However, it is not the competency labels or titles that are most important. The value really comes from the behaviors that make up the competencies and the buy-in resulting from the processes used for identifying them. Another underlying issue is found in the very use of the term competency. The American Heritage Dictionary defines competence as “the state of being adequately or well qualified; ability.” Competence is commonly used to refer to someone’s ability to perform a specific task. It is
by Kim Kanaga
7 L I A • V O L U M E 2 7, N U M B E R 4
The demand for leadership competency models has grown in recent years, but it has done so much faster than the underlying expertise. The value of such models comes from the behaviors that make up the competencies and the processes used for identifying them. Here are some keys to creating an effective competency model.
A
s organizations seek to improve their competitive advantage, much effort is being devoted to improving leadership, and such efforts often include the use of competency models. Unfortunately, the results of using leadership competency models have been mixed. An underlying source of many problems is that leadership competency models are often too simplistic in their appearance—that is, it is rather easy to gain a general understanding of what the competency model is and the potential value for the organization. Competency models, particularly leadership competency models, generally have a lot of face validity. For example, typically seen competencies include initiative, influence, business acumen, relationship building, orientation toward results, insight, communica-
tion skills, delegating, motivating others, and managing change. What organization would not consider these to be important components of leadership effectiveness? On the surface, then, selecting the elements of a leadership competency model appears to be straightforward. However, it is not the competency labels or titles that are most important. The value really comes from the behaviors that make up the competencies and the buy-in resulting from the processes used for identifying them. Another underlying issue is found in the very use of the term competency. The American Heritage Dictionary defines competence as “the state of being adequately or well qualified; ability.” Competence is commonly used to refer to someone’s ability to perform a specific task. It is
by Kim Kanaga
7 L I A • V O L U M E 2 7, N U M B E R 4