Page 106 - The extraordinary leader

The Competency Quest • 83

This competency approach swept through human resource departments.
It has been estimated that at least 80 percent of companies have created such
competency lists. The competency movement promised to bring scientific
objectivity to employee selection and development. Indeed, we think it
brought greater rigor than previously existed and helped to improve the hiring
process. And for the past two decades, companies have focused their people
development efforts around these defined competencies. In sum, the
approach has impeccable logic to it.

Why Hasn’t It Worked?
So, why has the competency movement not borne more fruit? Why has it not
been successful in helping organizations produce higher-caliber leaders? As
John Gardner wrote, “Why do we not have better leadership? The question
is asked over and over. We complain, express our disappointment, often our
outrage; but no answer emerges.” 1
We think the competency movement had several major flaws.
1. It was too complex. Leadership, along with everything else in life, has
to be reduced to some manageable simplicity. The competency
movement pushed in exactly the opposite direction.
2. It was based on some faulty assumptions. Most of the problems with
the competency movement stem from these questionable beliefs.
Once recognized and corrected, we believe the basic premise is sound
and has the potential to make a much more useful contribution.
3. It produced several unintended consequences. Many worthwhile
programs and projects in organizations produce unintended
consequences. The competency movement has produced a number.
Again, if they are identified, and ways are found to remedy those
consequences, the competency movement should go forward.
4. It suffered from poor execution. As with most initiatives, the strategy
can be sound, but if the execution is flawed, it does not succeed. A big
portion of the problem with the competency movement has been a
lack of execution on the fundamentals that began the movement.

Our objective is to help the reader understand what has gone wrong,
but more important, how this basic approach can be fixed and made more
effective.