Hiring (In)Competence

I recently had the chance to do some quick work with a local non-profit organization looking for an Executive Director. I put together a hiring guide to help them out. As part of that guide, I included some information on competencies, which I think people don't use enough, and they end up hiring talented people who may actually be incompetent. We've got to balance these two: talent & competence.

This process got me thinking, I don't have a good collection of competence related materials, so I figured I'd develop it.

First, let's agree on what I mean by competency. The simple definition of competence is having the necessary skill, knowledge, capacity, or qualification for something. Every position has a number of competencies required, some more important than others (that will be a future discussion).

My first step is defining the competency groups. In doing a little research, I found many categorizations of required competencies. I've ended up with seven competency groups:

• Business Acumen - The knowledge, understanding, and application of the principles of successful business operations (i.e., the “nuts and bolts of running a business”).
• Management - The knowledge, understanding, and application of the principles of organization effectiveness (i.e., the process of getting work done through other people).
• Mental Acuity - The ability to grasp ideas, to think and reason and apply knowledge, and to reach valid conclusions and make good decisions (i.e., the mental capacity to understand situations and the implications of actions taken).
• Mechanical Aptitude - The ability to understand, control, and safely operate mechanical equipment (i.e., the physical capacity to handle situations).
• Results Driven - The motivation and ability to determine desired outcomes and align resources and efforts to achieve those outcomes (i.e., the ‘will to win’ or ‘drive’ to achieve).
• Leading Change - The ability to anticipate changes, obstacles, risks, or needs, and successfully navigate through them (i.e., having a realistic view of the desired future and what is required to achieve it).
• Leading People - The ability to engage, inspire, and motivate people to accept new ideas, follow direction, and deliver results (i.e., getting people focused and energized about accomplishing a defined goal).

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Update:

Here's a sheet you can download that captures this information. As always, I appreciate your feedback!

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