Leadership Competency Framework – playing the long game in leadership development
The value of off-the-shelf leadership development programs or generic standalone workshops is incredibly limited.
We’ve all attended these kind of professional development sessions – the buzz might remain for a day a week or even a month – just like the tips from that last self-help book you read that you were certain were going to unlock endless motivation and your untapped potential.
The reality is that for this learning to stick, it must be tailored and built on the behaviours, skills and knowledge, that are agreed and understood to underpin success in your organisation. Ideally, with a shared understanding of the pathway to achieving that success.
The most surprising part;
this is easier to achieve than many think.
For those familiar with the concept of a Leadership Competency Framework this will serve as concise reminder and maybe some nice cliff notes to refer to next time you need to convince someone of its value. If you are new to this approach to Leadership, we hope this serves as a valuable introduction to the concept. We are passionate about the impact this can have in underpinning Leadership for any sized organisation!
Leadership Competency Framework defined.
Defining what good looks like should be the natural first step to set a person up for success in any endeavour. If we don’t know what good looks like, it’s almost impossible to incrementally develop the skills, knowledge or behaviours to achieve that goal - leadership and job performance broadly is no different.
A competency framework is a list of key knowledge, skills, and behaviour that, if mastered, will see a person perform a task to the desired standard. The keys to the effectiveness of this - each competency needs to be defined in a way that makes it observable, thus clearly defining what good looks like.
For example, the ability to communicate effectively is a common competency that we recommend (and the research shows) every organisation include in their Leadership Competency Framework. Examples of observable communication behaviours are below.
When the key behaviours that combine to allow success in a job are a list of observable competencies, we can easily assess performance, teach and develop, establish expectations, and hold people accountable.
The Benefits of creating a Competency Framework for your leaders
Provides Clarity – There is no clearer way to articulate the responsibilities of a job and ‘what good looks like’ than a complete list of observable behaviours, skills, and knowledge.
Its tailored – Unlike off the shelf leadership development, a Capability Framework is designed and aligned to your unique operating environment, strategic objectives and org structure.
Aides Recruitment and Selection – When we can clearly describe all elements associated with leading within our organisation, recruiting against these criteria becomes so much more straight forward.
Manage Performance – It’s common for team members to need some additional support and mentoring to meet performance standards at some point during their employment journey and our leaders are no exception to this.
Consider how much simpler and more impactful this support can be when tied to clearly observable behaviours that have been communicated ahead of time. This allows you to develop a performance improvement plan that is clearly related to behaviour, avoiding the additional support being misinterpreted as a personal attack relating to character or personal relationships.
Train and Develop – Whether at an individual level or organisation, a tailored Capability Framework provides the ability to develop and deliver targeted training that addresses your leader’s unique needs. From identifying gaps between current vs. desires performance, to prioritising which training will be most high impact, a Leadership Capability Framework will help.
Research has shown that skilled
front-line leaders can improve
overall business performance
by over 30%
It improves overall business performance
Highly capable leaders improve the performance of your organisation at every level. Research has shown that skilled front-line leaders can improve overall business performance by over 30%! Organisations who invest in implementing a Leadership Capability Framework, and developing their leaders, are also more innovative, agile, and likely to build/sustain a competitive advantage.
At Ascent People Insights we know that organisations can influence the behaviour and performance of their teams in a variety of ways. These opportunities to influence include things like the development of Competency Frameworks, all the initiatives and tools we encourage our clients to use are interconnected, offering integrated, evidence-based, tailored opportunities for businesses to get more out of their people.
Want to see what a tailored leadership framework looks like in action?
Check out how we partnered with MaxiTRANS to design and deliver a fit-for-purpose leadership program in a blue-collar manufacturing environment, resulting in real, measurable outcomes.