David McClelland’s early work in competency development led to large scale efforts in the 1990’s toward developing competency models for various employee groups. I was a part of that movement and worked with a number of organizations to develop competency models from the ground up to energize and engage employees around what is most critical for success. One of the underlying premises of competency modeling can be found in the now accepted adage that identifies the problem: we hire based on qualifications, we fire based on competencies. 

A person may have knowledge, aptitude and skill, but successful job performance requires a much broader range of characteristics, motives, traits and other aspects of self that are brought to bear in a job. The movement brought about many changes in the field of HR as professionals learned how to investigate what a person actually does rather than what they look like on paper or would do “hypothetically”.  Organization development professionals developed organic models to help organizations uncover what distinguished successful performance for that particular organization.

Today, competency modeling lends itself well to the field of management and leadership coaching. As organizations are faced with the need to re-direct resources and change course, leaders must be the key to guiding change. Middle managers are challenged with keeping employees engaged and positive in the workplace and must possess the necessary competencies to manage up as well as to manage down during this time of unprecedented change.

So, a focus on coaching is relevant and important today, and the added dimension of competency development will provide vital links between personal strengths and organization goals. Here is a brief overview of the particular way in which I have brought coaching and competency development together. I am excited by the possibilities and look forward to learning what other ideas are out there.

Create an individual competency profile

To begin the process, I use an assessment tool that is quick, easy to understand, and allows the employee to select competencies that are best self descriptors. The self profile does not provide a complete picture, but by all accounts in research, it is more reliable than observer profiles. It also reduces resistance that one ordinarily encounters when a supervisor or manager provides the sole source of data.

Provide coaching feedback

A coach will typically be given enough information to understand basic areas of development that are mutually understood to be a priority.  With a profile in hand, the coach can now begin to dialogue around competencies with the client using descriptors which are defined and lend themselves to shared understanding. The initial coaching session is ordinarily about gathering information from the client about what “fits” in the profile, and what does “not fit”. 

The same skills used in developing competency models can be applied over time with clients to build an understanding of how they actually behave in various situations and then looked at through the lens of the initial profile.  Eventually, additional feedback from other sources helps to shape a more realistic profile and deeper understanding of when a client might operate with a new set of competencies, and when he or she might have a tendency to fall back to a “default mode” of behavior.

Development of personal strategies

As soon as the client has a good understanding of how his or her actual behavior falls on the competency scales, and most importantly, the coach has gathered enough information to know which competencies are most critical for success for the client, the next step is to develop personal strategies. I like to remind clients that this is about expanding one’s professional repertoire and also bringing success strategies from life outside work, inside the workplace.  When a client talks about the exhilaration and confidence he feels while coaching his son’s softball team, I get him to talk about what he does to make the experience successful and challenge him to turn this into a strategy he can employ at work. I encourage clients to experiment, and remind them it is like action science, we test and measure as we go.

I have only scratched the surface here, but hope to generate more posts in the future about the ways in which coaching can bring great new rewards to your workplace, and with relatively modest investments.

You can find out more information about my approach here.

Not that it makes us feel any better, but according to the Towers Watson 2010 Global Workforce Study, we in the U.S. are not the only ones to be faced with an anxious, stressed out workforce.  According to the study findings, “From the global recession, to financial defaults, to changes in business models, both employers and employees are being forced to revisit some fundamental assumptions about their implicit and explicit ‘compact’ with one another.”

More than ever, events happening outside the workplace, such as financial woes and job losses for other family members, are impacting life inside the workplace.  We do not need to look far in the world around us to see how fear translates into anger, withdrawal and mistrust. Our workplaces are easy targets for misplaced fears and as a result leaders have an even greater challenge in getting people focused on organization goals.

Three Key strategies that you can employ now …

1. Focus on leadership coaching; start at the top and make sure your leaders have what they need to lead in these times. Assess competencies and give them strategies to build on their strengths, give them follow up with a coach or mentor, teach them the skills to coach others.
2. Embark on process improvement to keep employees engaged and actively involved in contributing to positive changes in the work environment. Give them a task/challenge that is urgent and important, ask them what they think is important about the work, what they would do differently and let them participate in setting goals and measuring progress around budget, quality, timeliness and customer service.
3. Recognize the need for encouragement and support; this is the time to reach out and build bridges and mend fences. Make a special effort to reach across the divide where acrimonious relationships have taken hold. Now is the time to think about bringing in motivational speakers or adopting wellness programs. One innovative program I recently learned about is mPRW10 which helps employees develop healthy habits with a 10 minute a day program.

The Towers Watson Study offers the firm’s insights about the unfolding employment relationship in this new age. The study cites the need for organizations to foster self-reliance in employees, align people’s work with what really matters to allow them to contribute more value, and strengthen agility and flexibility in structures, processes and styles of work.

But the bottom-line is that employees first need to experience a readiness to change and an awareness of why change is necessary.  When they see the importance and the urgency, as well as a willing leader, they will be more likely to take the necessary steps.

Networks across geographical boundaries

As I plan for my business in 2010, I think about what has changed during the last decade in the way business is conducted. I think about the generation of young people who are embarking on their own business for the first time and the tremendous advantages the current environment offers them. We are in a time of change that is so dramatic that without reservation I can say, they have more to teach me about doing business than I do them. That is to say, everything has changed.

I am reminded of a young Winston Churchill who participated in a cavalry charge at Omdurman in 1898. By 1914, he was Lord of the Admiralty, presiding a highly mechanized war fleet in World War I. Just two decades later, Churchill led a country in a World War that concluded with an atomic bomb.  If nothing else, his leadership skills included an amazing ability to adapt and incorporate change into his world view.

Similarly, we are faced with unprecedented change in the way we do business. Personally, the past year alone has brought monumental changes because of the recession. Like many of us, I have had to think about moving out of my comfort zone of face-to-face business and into uncharted territories of social media and business solutions via technology.  Like it or not, opportunities are out there, but are part of a vast network that can be experienced as chaotic and overwhelming. 

If you came into your own in the last decade, this may simply be what you know, in which case you have an opportunity to lead the rest of us. What for us is new, for you is simply convention.

 Ten years ago we would have taught you about our conventions, and said…

• networking must be a face to face proposition;
• your status depends on what school you went to and what  company you work for;
• business proposals require hours of sit down meetings and lots of paper;
• you must keep business and personal realms separate;
• you must belong to associations to access information, and you must pay a premium to belong;
• business is primarily about “who you know”;
• You should expect to drive or fly for hours to attend routine meetings.

While all of the above is still present today, particularly in the corporate world, no one can dispute that the deep impact of the recession coupled with the urgency spurred by the world of technology and social media has changed all the rules. Just as in the time of rapid change in Churchill’s life, those who scramble and adapt today are going to lead the way in the future.

Young people entering business today will expedite the rapid change and those of us who entered the business world in the last century will see our ideas of doing business fade away or become vestiges, just as life in the late 1800’s underwent radical transformation by the second decade of the 1900’s.

New conventions, i.e., the fixed customs of today, are too numerous to count, but in my mind the most important include:

• we build our networks across geographical boundaries without face-to-face contact (although that will always be valuable, it is not required);
• we value merging our personal life passions with our business persona, i.e., bringing the “whole” person to work life;
• we can access information in real time, without reliance on gatekeepers, i.e., associations, news agencies, academic institutions, professional publications;
• experience confers status;
• etiquette tends toward openness and transparency, i.e., all are invited to events and we share what we learn.

If we can wrap our brains around this new way of thinking and acting (new for those of us who came into our own in the past century) we will be able to add value to the new age with our wisdom and life experience. If we refuse to let go of the old ways, we will not only miss the excitement of the current age, we will forfeit our own legacy.

Friends Consult

When dogs bite and bees sting, we bring to mind our favorite things, but when things get stuck, or stale, what we need are a few good questions to evoke the spirit of engagement.

Over the years of working with people, I have found a few questions to be nearly fool proof.  While the goal is to get something going, to move in a new direction, or to clarify, the point is to engage and to encourage others to bring more of their self to the matter at hand. Whether we are managing or consulting, we intend to put an idea into motion with the participation of others. For that, we need to energize others in both heart and mind.

So here goes, these are a few of my favorite questions, just in time for holiday gatherings. May your holidays abound with good cheer and meaningful conversation around the table. 

1.            Tell me about a time when….

2.            What does it look like when [that] is happening?

3.            Would you say things are better, worse, or about the same?

4.            What is the most difficult aspect of what you do?

5.            Why is that important?

6.            What has been your experience with [that]?

7.            What is the heart of the matter for you?

8.            What makes this hard for you to discuss?

9.            What is your concern?

10.          What would help you move forward? What would hold you back?

Richard Anderson, CEO of Delta, was recently interviewed by the New York Times [here] and asked what he looks for in job candidates. He said a resume can outline education and experience, but it is the intangibles, such as the ability to communicate, lead and adapt to change, that are the most important. He refers to this as the human factor and suggests that gut instincts play a role in determining whether a candidate possesses these competencies.

He says he likes to ask candidates what four books they last read and what they enjoyed about the book. Also, he asks about their family, where they grew up, what their parents did, where they went for high school. He asks about their avocations, how many kids they had in their family, and other questions about their background and history. He says he is looking for a strong set of values and a good work ethic. In short, he is looking for emotional I.Q.

There is a saying: We hire based on qualifications, we fire based on competency. Unfortunately, too often training on interview skills is dominated by legal advice to steer clear of any question that might be construed as discriminatory. In fact, the best defense an organization has against such claims is to practice good human resource management. This means a commitment to professional standards, uniform implementation of policy and consistent treatment of candidates. Organizations that commit to such practices tend toward naturally diverse workforces.

Although intangible, Richard Anderson is clear about what he is looking for. He will rely on his gut instincts but his judgment is informed by many years of observing people. He does not worry about the prohibitions against asking personal questions because on the way to meeting with Richard Anderson, candidates were vetted in a thorough and professional manner. The take home lesson is the same for all employers: start with the nuts and bolts of the hiring process, but don’t stop there. Once the final candidates are selected, delve into what makes them tick, and go deep into the end zone of their personalities. Rely on what you know about people and the culture of your organization. Many organization leaders admit that hiring the right people is the hardest part of their job, and this is a sign they are on the right track.