LEADERSHILEADERSHIPP

COMPETENCIECOMPETENCIESS

Margie Jantti, University of Wollongong Australia and Nick Greenhalgh, Career Innovations

A REFERENCE POINT FOR

DEVELOPMENT & EVALUATION

For many years best practice principles have driven leadership development

ABEF • Promoting a leadership

system that generates desired competencies

• Attracting, recruiting and deploying people

• Evaluating and developing individuals

Investors In People• Learning and

development is planned to achieve the organisation’s objectives

• …capabilities...needed to lead, manage & develop people are clearly defined and understood

Translated into:• Career development discussions

• Lots of development opportunities

• Leadership training support

• Professional cadet program

• Personal and professional attributes aligned with our values and Ideal Culture

But ……Over the last 4-5 years it was

difficult to fill leadership positions

The leadership imperativeThe leadership imperative•Ageing workforce•Leadership drain•Limited appetite•Equipping existing leaders with needed skills

STEP 1

Leadership Success ProfilesWho:• Library Executive• Team leaders and managers

FYI For your Improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Michael M. Lombardo & Robert Eichinger, 2009.

Drawn from a pool of 67 competencies from the Lominger Leadership Architect ®

Success Profiles - competencies

Library executive• Perspective• Managing Vision & Mission• Political Savvy• Strategic Agility• Business Acumen• Self Knowledge• Developing Others• Comfort Around Top

Management• Negotiating

Team leaders & managers• Building Effective Teams• Performance Management*

*(confronting direct reports)

• Organising• Drive for Results• Intellectual Horsepower• Organisational Agility• Innovation management• Managing Vision & Mission

Confronting direct reports(level of difficulty – high)Defined:

Most organisations are running leaner today. With rapid change and team-based efforts increasing, problem performers can’t be hidden as they may have been in the past. Overcoming your reluctance to deal with them is key to your unit’s performance and your career as well. Managers who excel at confronting direct reports are timely, consistent, focus on performance gaps and help the person succeed. But if the efforts fails, taking timely but compassionate action to separate the person from the organisation is the true test of management courage.

From: FYI For your Improvement: A guide for development and coaching. Michael M. Lombardo & Robert Eichinger, 2009.

Confronting direct reportsUnskilled:• Not comfortable in giving negative messages• Lets problems fester hoping they will go away• May give people too many chances

Skilled:• Deals with problem direct reports firmly and in a

timely manner• Doesn’t allow problems to fester• Reviews performance and holds timely

discussions

STEP 2

Career interviews

Discussed career aims, level of ambition, barriers to achievement.

The results were revealing:Considerable appetite and potential for leadership

But ……

Barriers to achievement included:• Large gap between team leader and executive team

– simply didn’t know how to bridge the competency gap

• Fear of failure• Carrot wasn’t seen to be big enough, e.g. flexible

work conditions, remuneration

STEP 3

Evaluation - I

• Self and peer assessment against the competencies

• Scale: – 5 towering strength– 1 serious issue– DK don’t know– Gap: more than 1.1 considered significant

• Feedback to participants

Sample assessment scores

Scale: 5 towering strength1 serious issueDK don’t knowGap: more than 1.1 considered significant

STEP 4

Coaching – conversations for action

One on one–Agreement on development goals–Clarity and focus–Authentic; dealing with real issues

Plus Coaching workshops for the leadership cohort

Competencies integration

• HR policies and guides, position descriptions• Annual performance planners• Job enrichment portfolios• Induction and probation

More authentic discussions about leadership development and evidence of success

Evaluation II

• 3600 feedback– Against all 67 Lominger competencies– Detailed report– One on one debrief with consultant– Commitment to sharing results with peers

and manager

Evaluation III - what did we achieve?• Significantly improved confidence• Authentic focus on performance gaps and

steps in place to close them• Considered, constructive career plans• Greater preparedness to address performance

issues• Turnaround in ‘underperformers’

What else have we achieved?

• Professional cadets secured team leader and manager roles

• Improved alignment of skills and talent – playing to strengths

• We know what we are looking for – improved clarity

Voice Project* Survey ResultsVoice Project* Survey Results

* http://www.voiceproject.com.au/Our-Tools/climate.aspx

External validation

Development of competencies for roles at all levels in the Library has provided a more robust platform from which to clarify:•Description of role and performance expectations•Career progression opportunities and how to work towards these•Accountability to deliver as an individual within the team

From: IIP feedback report, 2010

Practicalities• Significant investment – but better ROI

than a ‘leadership workshop’• Scheduling time• Disaffection by those not initially

targeted for coaching• Sustaining over time

Still potential for disappointment – despite efforts undertaken

Sustaining efforts

• Strategic projects• Internal coaching network• Leadership development framework

The 70/20/10 rule70% planned and systematic OTJ experiences

20% development from feedback, reflection, coaching etc

10% training courses, research, reading

To conclude:

From:• Fear of failure• It takes a long time• Emotions, biases • Its just not worth it

To:• I can do this• It can be accelerated• Lets deal with the

facts• I am being invested in

LEADERSHILEADERSHIPP

COMPETENCIECOMPETENCIESS

Margie Jantti, University of Wollongong Australia and Nick Greenhalgh, Career Innovations

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?