Leadership theory

Experience of using competency frameworks

The very fact that organisations will go to great effort and expense to develop their own leadership framework is perhaps evidence in itself that there is no “one size fits all” even though there does seem to be a remarkably great degree of similarity between them. Perhaps, in this case, it is not so much the framework in itself that is important, but the process by which it is developed.

The identification of what is required (or desired) of leaders and the manner in which this integrates with other activities (such as the definition of corporate values) is an important voyage of discovery for the organisation and one for which it is vital that key players take ownership. To achieve this takes time, reflection and discussion - simply printing off or copying a pre-defined set of standards wouldn’t achieve the same results.

In the organisations with whom we’ve spoken (Lufthansa, AstraZeneca, DfES, NHS, etc.) the leadership competency framework is an integral element of the leadership development process – whereby it is used to define the content and mechanism of delivery and to help individuals measure and explore their own level of development. It frequently forms the basis of the 360-degree feedback process, by which they can monitor their progress and identify personal learning and development needs, and also underlies assessment and appraisals.

AstraZeneca expressed the importance of keeping the framework to a manageable number of dimensions (7 maximum) so that it remains easier to operationalise. Experience of larger frameworks (such as the previous National Occupational Standards in Management) confirms that longer lists may result in a box-ticking mentality which does little, if anything, to enhance leadership and management capability.

A further challenge also remains: what is the realistic life-span of a framework? Once formalised and implemented it is becomes easy to stop challenging and developing the framework - the search for leadership competencies within an organisation could thus become self-fulfilling and stagnate. Like any continuous improvement process, the development and identification of leadership talent needs to remain dynamic and current. It needs to move with the times and encourage creativity and diversification.

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