Page 107 - The extraordinary leader

84 • The Extraordinary Leader

1. Complexity

One large public-sector organization had an outside consultant create a list
of competencies for each of three pay bands in the organization. Each pay
band (or salary group) had 173 to 175 specific behaviors defined for it, which
in turn were organized into 15 general competencies. Imagine a list of 175
behaviors that you were expected to understand and somehow apply to your
work. It is patently ridiculous. Few people could ever comprehend the mean-
ing of this amount of complexity, let alone put it into action.
Although that is an extreme example, it is not unusual to see organizations
with lists of 30 to 50 competencies for their leaders to be evaluated and
developed against. Complexity has become a major deterrent to effective
implementation.

2. Some Faulty Assumptions about Competencies

There are several important assumptions underlying the focus on competen-
cies. They were seldom stated overtly, so let us try:
1. Each organization possesses its own unique set of attributes or
competencies.
2. Competencies within each person are distinct and separate from each
other. They can be isolated and studied as if they were separate
chromosomes in a person’s genetic makeup.
3. The more similarity or congruence between an individual and the
organization’s unique pattern, the better leader he or she will be.
4. Competencies are all of roughly equal importance.
5. The best way to develop any competency is to focus directly on that
specific trait or behavior. Working harder and longer at it will make
you better at it, and therefore make you a better leader.

Unfortunately, it now appears that most of these assumptions do not coin-
cide with the current reality, nor are they reinforced by our current research.
Correcting the Assumptions
Assumption 1. Competencies are unique to each organization.
Fact: Despite the efforts to create distinctive lists of competencies, there is a
remarkable sameness about them from one company to another. Several
explanations for this come to mind. The first is that the requirements to work