Is your specific
industry sector so unique that successful leaders need to have special
competencies?
On the one hand,
leaders in different companies and industry sectors do different things
in different ways. For example, in biotech companies the combination of
competencies that leaders must have to be effective could be called
unique and different from the competencies in other work environments
since special technical skills and knowledge are needed. On the other
hand, leadership is more similar across different industry sectors than
it is different. After all, the bottom line is the ultimate and common
criterion for leadership effectiveness in all profit-based enterprises.
So, the reality about whether any industry requires unique leadership
skills probably lies somewhere between the extremes outlined above.
Regardless of how unique you find your specific industry sector, here
is how you can pick the best leaders in any environment - including
yours. Investing in this process costs less than one week of average
salary of most executive and professional staff, a small proportion of
recruitment fees or the cost of hiring the wrong person, while payback
is very substantial.
Step 1: Identify the
must-have competencies.
This is not art, but
merely science. Several sound approaches help to understand the key
competencies to deliver success in a specific work environment, whether
managing knowledge workers or a production line.
They include
traditional job analyses, collecting opinions from job incumbents and
managers, and testing existing managers to see what competencies high
performers have in common and that are also different from the low
performers. Don't believe everything you hear but approach the question
empirically. For example, I have run into the paradox of on the one hand
the executive committee saying that high assertiveness and
creativity were attributes of highly effective leaders in their
company. On the other hand the managers of the most successful parts of
that company were in fact under-assertive and not at all creative--they
just managed creative thinkers well. The executive committee had shared
with me their values and beliefs but had not tested their convictions
against reality. I found out that the client must be comfortable with
the process in step 1 to be committed to the outcome, because it can be
a counter-intuitive.
Step 2: Measure the
competencies--design an appropriate assessment process and sensible
standards.
In Step 2 a focused,
scientifically based assessment kit and sensible standards are
developed of what competency level is acceptable and what isn't. This
kit serves to identify, quantify and feed back the competencies of
internal candidates for leadership jobs or of external candidates. The
best way to develop the kit is to rank order the must-have
competencies, and select the most appropriate measure for each
competency. Often an existing instrument (such as a questionnaire with
high predictive validity for job performance) picks up on a series of
core competencies, at which point it becomes part of the kit.
The kit must
offer a pleasant, respectful experience for candidates and deliver an
actionable, well-articulated report. Most importantly, it must deliver
accurate, reliable information that demonstrably predicts performance on
the job.
Step 3: Apply the
competency assessment outcomes in the selection process.
First, people who are
tested should receive full disclosure of their results and how
these will be used. This demonstrates the value the company puts on
people. Naturally, employees need to know their strengths and
development areas. External candidates must be treated respectfully so
that the sponsoring company can be an employer of choice. The company
must be briefed on how to use assessment outcomes: where individual
employees fit best, how they can develop shortfalls, how job candidates
can capitalize on strengths. I give hints on how to
develop/manage candidates recommended to be hired. Of course, the hiring
decision remains with the hiring manager but by using formal competency
measurements this decision is broadened, is made more responsibly, and
has demonstrably better long-term consequences in terms of lower
turnover and higher performance.
This focused,
systematic approach to predicting job performance through measuring key
competencies that results in a kit does not only apply to
selection issues, but is equally applicable to succession planning and
career management problems. In sum, the major advantages of this focused
and systematic approach to identifying leaders are: Substantially
improved leader selection decisions--and more effective leaders;
increased competitiveness and desirability as an employer;
more-effective management of employees; maximized retention and
minimized turnover of staff; optimized productivity of staff through
high motivation and morale; sound succession and assignment planning,
and improved articulation of training and development needs.
Michael Godkewitsch PhD,
C. Psych
Consulting Psychologist & Partner
