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A Message from OSI
Welcome to our Fall Navigator newsletter. This issue features our favorite topic, competency models. At a recent conference (with "competence" in its title!) we noted some lingering confusion about the idea of competencies, so; even though it's a common term, we figured a revisit of history and definition might be in order for new generations.
Speaking of competencies, the Polaris® competency that is currently top of mind is Change Agility. From individual context (shift to hybrid/remote work, the impacts of inflation, generational angst) to national / world change (global pandemic, climate transformation, a land war in Europe, worldwide migration) we're all navigating a turbulent sea. We were reminded by a TED Talk recently that gratitude, altruism and shared positive experiences with good friends are truly important for balance and health right now!
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Competencies Explained in Three Diagrams
Bruce Griffiths M.S.
The reasons for competency models are compelling. Without criteria for hiring, promotion, placement, performance management and training, managers are left on their own to develop their own models, and HR systems don't always offer optimal options. So; quality hires, DEI goals, productivity, and a host of other HR metrics are in jeopardy without a common language for talent management.
What are competency models? They are a library of skillsets necessary for an employee to perform their job effectively within an organization.
A single competency is one dimension in this library of skill sets and is best behaviorally defined. This preferred, behavior-based, definition is a legacy of the assessment center movement. Over 60 years ago AT&T realized the best way to define; and measure; managerial competency was through performance indicators, or behaviors. By modeling exemplars, they were able to tease out; and cluster; behaviors into relevant dimensions. Diagram 1 illustrates this concept.
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While the most reliable way to define and measure a competency is through performance, a more complete definition includes other factors (K,S,A,O's), and these factors play and important role in understanding; and developing proficiency; in a competency. Diagram 2 uses the iceberg as a metaphor for the seen and unseen elements in the Active Listening competency. | |
Finally in thinking about competencies you must allow for synergy, subsets, and interactions. Most complete competency libraries contain several dozen individual competencies, but not all are relevant for every role. And in any given context they can be prepotent (necessary, but not sufficient), synergistic; and overlapping.
Diagram 3 includes the competencies professionals need to be effective in a meeting: you can't win if you don't play (Initiative), you must get your message across (Oral Communications), be seen as confident (Assertiveness), and fair (Active Listening) to be persuasive (Influence).
| To learn more about OSI's industry leading competency library, Polaris®, please contact Crystal Matsuura at OSI at cmatsuura@orgsysinc.om or 858.455.0923. | |
Announcements
New Polaris® Licensees
We welcome our newest Polaris® Competency Model licensees, The J.M. Smucker Company and Coast Community College District to the Polaris® License community!
The J.M. Smucker Company, aslo known as Smuckers, is a manufacturer of food and beverage products. Headquartered in Orrville, Ohio, the company founded in 1897 as a maker of apple butter. Known for their jams, J.M. Smucker is in fact a family of products, and currently has three major business units: consumer foods, pet foods, and coffee.
Coast Community College District, located in Costa Mesa Southern California, is a multi-college district that includes Coastline Community College, Golden West College, and Orange Coast College. They are known for their A.S. and A.A. degrees, and as being a leader in on-line education.
New Virtual Polaris® Certification Workshops
We are now offering the Polaris® Certification Workshops via webinar (Zoom) for individual coaches and/or HR professionals interested in the OSI Polaris® Competency Model and its supporting applications, especially the 360° developmental assessment. For more information, please contact Crystal Matsuura at cmatsuura@orgsysint.com or 1-858-455-0923.
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Book Links:
Competencies at Work: Providing a Common Language for Talent Management
Co-authored by our very own president/senior consultant, Bruce Griffiths, and our business partner, Enrique Washington. Competencies at Work is a thorough, yet digestible look at contemporary competency modeling. It will equip readers to understand, build, and implement competency models as a foundational and integrating element in talent management systems. Readers will understand how competency models have evolved to be the current best-practice in defining criteria for all talent management applications such as selection interviews, promotion panels, assessment centers, job descriptions, and learning objectives. The book also provides specific guidance in the steps needed to establish a sustainable model, with research results on universal competencies contained in most contemporary models.
Competencies at Work is available now through Business Expert Press or Amazon.
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Redefining Competency Based Education: Competence for Life
Co-authored by our very own president/senior consultant, Bruce Griffiths, and our business partner, Nina Jones Morel. Redefining Competency Based Education provides an expanded definition of career competence, based on actual employer hiring and promotion requirements, which enhances university curricula to better prepare students for work and life. Readers will learn how private sector competency models have evolved to define criteria for hiring, promoting, and training talent.
Redefining Competency Based Education is available now through Business Expert Press or Amazon.
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At Organization Systems International, we are celebrating more than 40 years of quality, service, and innovation. We deliver client success with a high-performance approach designed to enhance occupational relationships, improve operational efficiency, and sustain customer relationships.
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