Management Psychology Group

Tag: i-competencies

  • Keys to Leadership Success (Book Intro)

    Author’s Note —

    This is taken from the introduction to a book in progress (working title: The I-Competencies: Head, Heart, Guts and Will as Keys to Success). If anyone has an idea for a shorter title, please let me know. If it works better, I’ll send you a free copy of the book when it’s published next year.

    Hire smart people who get along well with others, who do what they’re supposed to do and who work hard. That will guarantee your success as a leader. Simple in concept, difficult in execution. The book will explain what these blindingly self-evident insights really mean, their practical implications and how you can use them to be more successful.

    —- Hodge Golson

    The ultimate mission and purpose of any leader is to make his or her organization successful. The leader’s ability to select and develop the right people is crucial to the accomplishment of that goal. Insightful and successful people as diverse as humorist Leo Rosten (“First rate people hire first rate people, second rate people hire third rate people”), former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (“A’s hire A’s, B’s hire C’s) and Good to Great author Jim Collins (“First the WHO, then the WHAT”) emphasize the importance of getting the best people. A leader has no higher duty than choosing people who will ensure the future success of his or her organization.

    Theories of personality can be conflicting and confusing, even for psych graduate students. Some measures of personality lead to type-casting that doesn’t hold up when subjected to rigorous predictive analysis. Competency models used by many organizations to define the desirable characteristics of their people are usually too narrow. They may lead managers to look at the wrong things or ignore the whole person picture when hiring or developing their people. Competency models don’t often differentiate between what can be taught and what may be an ingrained trait or ability. Some things simply can’t be changed or developed to any significant extent, at least in the time frame required for success in business. Having personally conducted over ten thousand psychological assessments for business organizations, I still sometimes find it difficult to understand and integrate the multifaceted and often conflicting data gathered in the interview. But the framework described in this book has helped me stay focused on the most important factors in assessment and in coaching for development. It can also help you make better selection and development decisions in your own organization.

    We can all get better at just about anything we focus upon. In spite of the fact that most of the characteristics and behavioral patterns associated with the four foundational competencies described in this book seem to be hard-wired, improvement is possible. If we set the right kind of goals, pursue them with the right strategies and monitor our progress, we will improve. Psychologist Heidi Grant Halvorson has offered compelling evidence for the dynamic nature of human ability in her book Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals.[1] This is quite encouraging and has broad implications for self-development, for coaching, for parenting and for educational applications. As with anything worthwhile, progress takes insight, planning, time and effort.  Unfortunately, unless you’re running a well-funded early career developmental program, you don’t have the resources or time to bring in raw material and nurture it to full potential. If you’re a typical recruiter or hiring executive, you need competent people with the talents and skills necessary to help out quickly. A quote attributed to Lewis Pierson, businessman and former president of the US Chamber of Commerce in the early part of last century, describes your situation fairly accurately: “Business is like a man rowing a boat upstream. He has no choice; he must go ahead or he will go back.” If that was true nearly one hundred years ago, it’s certainly so now.

    This is not to downplay the importance of good management and leadership practices, but in most instances, you simply don’t have the luxury of providing the long term nurturance, coaching, care and feeding of new hires it would require to develop them to full potential in the time frames you face. So, although people have great capacity for improvement and development, for your purposes, your candidates typically have to hit the ground running. They need to possess the appropriate raw material (the competencies described herein) walking in the door so that they can learn, adjust and make a contribution in relatively short order. The necessary business skills can be learned relatively easily and quickly as compared to moving the needle on these more deeply ingrained qualities described in the following discussion.

    As Halverson points out, few things are totally innate. But there are factors that are largely built-in by the time a person gets into the recruitment pipeline for other than entry level jobs. We consider long term and enduring patterns of behavior to be traits. Traits affect us consistently over time and consistently in a broad range of circumstances. An old nugget of business wisdom is “hire for trait, train for skill.” But if certain traits aren’t in place, certain skills won’t develop no matter how hard one tries. For our purposes – hiring the best people who can quickly become assets in our organizations – we must act as if some things are innate. Among these are the I-Competencies. These factors: Intellectual; Interpersonal; Integrity; and Intensity can be thought of as foundation competences. That is, they are fundamental and typically cannot be developed quickly or significantly by training, coaching or experience. Think of them as head, heart, guts and will. They are the result of genetics and the values and attributes one absorbs from early family and societal/cultural influences. In this respect, they differ from the many surface competencies (e.g. formal presentation skills, spreadsheet skills, technical knowledge base, etc.) which can be taught. As noted, there is evidence for plasticity in each domain, but change takes time – more than most organizations have. So, for practical purposes, we’ll treat these as hard-wired. Of course good parenting, good schooling and good coaching can help a person work at the high end of his/her abilities, and may even push the limits out much further than we can predict. But those are topics for several other books. Those are societal concerns and not likely to be high on your list of immediate issues if you’re charged with deciding which candidate will best help you achieve success in your day-to-day business battles.

    The I-Competencies

    The Intellectual Competency (Head)
    This factor has traditionally been measured by standardized tests that predict success in school, but test scores alone aren’t infallible. The Intellectual Competency, or general intelligence, encompasses mental agility, quickness and creativity, depth of knowledge, logical reasoning and common sense. This factor is a combination of a person’s unique mix of skills and abilities and how well she or he uses them. People who make smart decisions and who use their talents effectively are more successful over time than those who make bad decisions and/or squander their intellectual resources. After almost one hundred years of scientific research on this dimension, the results are quite clear and unambiguous. This is the best predictor of job performance available. There are always exceptions to the rule (there are very bright people who never amount to anything and there are people of very average intelligence who work hard and achieve great accomplishments) but overall correlations between this competency and performance over time are clear and consistent in all jobs and occupations.

    The Interpersonal Competency (Heart)
    No matter how clever a person is and how elegant or elaborate his problem solutions, if he can’t communicate them to others and convince others of their merits, it doesn’t matter. People who have good social skills and who get along with other people are much more successful as a group than those who don’t have as many talents in this area. They have greater influence in the group because others like them and feel good about them. The interpersonal competency is the key that unlocks the door of influence. It enables you to communicate the worth of your ideas. This competency includes general social and persuasive skills, social insight and intuition, likeability and persuasiveness. The intellectual competency enables a person to solve a problem. The interpersonal competency enables him or her to convince other people that the solution is the right one, or at least a good one.

    The Integrity Competency (Guts)
    This is broader than the basic honesty-dishonesty dimension although that is an important part of this factor. This is the cornerstone of building trust, one of the primary factors of credibility. It includes general conscientiousness, discipline and follow-through. The person with high integrity will meet his or her commitments in the time frames agreed upon and according to the standards expected. If not, she will let everyone know in plenty of time so that they won’t be surprised. Part of this competency includes the ability to focus and to use one’s talents and aptitudes with appropriate discipline. This is the factor that holds things together and facilitates trust and consistency of performance. The greater the perceived integrity, the greater the trust.

    The Intensity Competency (Will)
    This is the motivation factor. It includes energy, stamina, drive and the ability to get fully engaged. People with high intensity are active, not passive. They are driven by a need to get things done and to see results. With the proper control and focus, people with high intensity will achieve at higher levels than those with only average levels of stamina and energy. This is the fuel that provides the force for achieving goals and for staying motivated in the face of obstacles. It is often seen as general motivation. The more motivated you are, the more likely you are to achieve results and consequently the greater your ability to influence others by virtue of your accomplishments and general credibility.

    The Basis of Influence

    Stanford professor Jeffrey Pfeffer[2] notes that the ability to influence others is crucial to success in a career and in gaining personal power. There are three major factors that predict and enhance a person’s influence skills. In an earlier work[3] based on the major findings from over fifty years’ research in social psychology, I described them as follows:

    Expertise     (does this person know what he’s talking about – does he have the necessary background, credentials or knowledge?).

    Trust (can I rely on this person – will she cover me, further my interests and do what’s expected?).

    Likability (do I relate to this person – do I enjoy being around him and like him?).

    The I-competencies are fundamental to these influence factors. Expertise depends on the Intellectual and Intensity factors (you need to be smart enough to learn the material, and you need to have the motivation and staying power to apply yourself so that you can learn it adequately). Trust is directly related to the Integrity factor. Likability is a product of the Interpersonal and Integrity dimensions. To succeed as a leader, you need people who can influence the course of events in your organization. To increase your chances for developing people who will do so, pay attention to the I-Competencies. They’re the basis of success in any business or other organization with the purpose of achieving goals.

    ________________________________________________________________________________________
    [1] Halvorson, H. (2010). Succeed: how we can reach our goals. Hudson Street.
    [2] Pfeffer, J., (2010). Power: Why some people have it – and others don’t. Harper Business.
    [3] Golson, H., (2011). Influence for impact: increasing your effectiveness in your organization. H Lloyd Publishing.

  • The Foundations of High Performance: The I-Competencies

    Are top performers made or born? How can I get more of them? The answers to these questions hold the key to every leader’s success. The more top performers a leader can select and/or develop, the greater the success of his or her organization.

    Competencies are clusters of KSAPs (knowledge, skills, abilities and personal characteristics) that enable a person to be successful in a particular job. There are two basic types of competencies. The foundation competencies are built into the system for the most part. These are the innate abilities and the enduring behavioral patterns we get through the luck of the draw from the gene pool and our early learning and background experiences. This is the raw material we have to work with. The surface competencies are the result of later training and experience in schools, early jobs and other learning experiences. People can develop a wide range of surface competencies depending on the types of foundation competencies they possess.

    Performance is dependent upon a person’s natural abilities and characteristics (the foundation competencies), the knowledge and skill the person possesses (the surface competencies), the ability of the organization to facilitate success and the ability of the leader to keep his or her people motivated and focused on the goal. The successful leader selects people with the necessary foundation competencies, helps them develop the necessary surface competencies and facilitates their success by keeping them focused on the right objectives. At the most basic level, high performance depends on four foundation competencies — the I-competencies:

    The Intellectual Competency. This is more than just how well a person can perform on a standardized test although it does include the aptitudes that predict success in an academic environment. However, it also encompasses common sense, mental agility, quickness and creativity, among others. It is a combination of how well the person uses his/her abilities and the unique mix of abilities. People who make smart decisions and who use their talents effectively are more successful over time than those who make bad decisions and/or squander their intellectual resources. The data are quite clear and unambiguous. There are always exceptions to the rule (there are very bright people who never amount to anything and there are people of very average ability who work hard and achieve at very high levels) but overall correlations between the components of this competency and performance over time are clear and consistent in a very broad range of jobs and organizations.

    The Interpersonal Competency. People who have good social skills and who get along with other people are much more successful as a group than those who don’t have as many talents in this area. The interpersonal competency includes general social and persuasive skills, social insight and intuition, likeability and persuasiveness among others. The intellectual competency enables a person to solve a problem. The interpersonal competency enables him or her to convince other people that the solution is the right one.

    The Integrity Competency. This is somewhat broader than the basic honesty-dishonesty dimension although it is an important part of this competency. This also includes general conscientiousness, discipline and follow-through. The person with high integrity will meet his or her commitments in the time frames agreed upon and to the standards at or above those which are expected. If not, he or she will let everyone know in plenty of time so that they won’t be surprised. Part of this competency includes the ability to focus and to use one’s talents and aptitudes with appropriate discipline. This is the factor that holds things together and facilitates trust and consistency of performance.

    The Intensity Competency. This includes energy, stamina, drive and the person’s ability to get fully engaged. People with high intensity are active, not passive. They are driven by a need to get things done and to see results. With the proper control and focus, people with high intensity will achieve at higher levels than those with only average levels of stamina and energy. This is the gasoline that drives the engine.

    As with any gift, there are potential downsides with each of the I-competencies. Very bright people may sometimes become overly academic, theoretical and philosophical. They may pursue ideas merely for intellectual challenge and fail to accomplish things in the practical realm. They can also inadvertently intimidate other people because of their strength of intellect. People with high interpersonal competency can sometimes get so wrapped up in the relationship aspects of the job that they lose sight of the tasks and goals at hand. The high discipline and conscientiousness which comes with the integrity competency can lead people to rigidity, perfectionism and stubbornness. The high energy and drive which comes with intensity can lead to errors of impatience, excessive ambition, impulsivity, an inability to relax and stress-proneness.

    In spite of potential problems, the I-competencies tend to counterbalance and facilitate one another. For instance, the drive and energy of intensity helps to ensure that the very bright person does not waste time in overly academic pursuits when practical results are demanded. Also, the conscientiousness of integrity can counterbalance the highly extraverted person when he or she is tempted to focus on relationships more than on task performance.
    Various surface competencies (e.g. financial acumen, collaborative problem solving, handling heavy workloads, sales ability) are dependent upon the foundation I-competencies at the base. If the person possesses the necessary foundation competencies and consequently has been able to develop the appropriate surface competencies, the stage is set for high performance. This is where leadership comes in. Merely having good people on one’s team does not guarantee performance. Their efforts must be focused and mobilized and they must be encouraged and rewarded for using their abilities in a collaborative manner.

    How to Succeed as a Leader

    Select for foundation competencies. If a person doesn’t have them, no amount of effort will enable him or her to develop the surface competencies necessary for top performance. The foundation competencies are wired into the system, whether by nature or nurture. At this point you cannot develop them through training or experience. Many dollars are wasted on people who don’t have the capacity to benefit from organizational training efforts.

    Focus on surface competencies for training. A leader may be lucky enough to have people with fully developed surface competencies necessary for success on the job but most people will need some sort of training and experience to get up to speed. Financial skills, specific engineering problem solving techniques, in-depth knowledge of the company’s services and products and specific sales techniques are among the surface competencies necessary for success in various jobs. For the most part these can be learned through academic or on-the-job training, coaching and general experience. These are the areas for training and developmental dollars.

    Attend to the basics. Not everyone has a charismatic leadership personality. However, most people can learn to get work done through others by focusing on the right basics: be sure the goal is clear and exciting (people need to know what is expected and they need to feel it’s worth doing); help them get the resources they need; Remove barriers; monitor progress, provide corrective feedback, and use collaborative problem solving when things get off track; reinforce good performance after the goal has been accomplished.

    This is the task cycle by which all work gets accomplished in an organization. Leaders who operate effectively in all phases of the task cycle pull for exceptional performance from their team. However, if the team hasn’t been selected carefully for the appropriate foundation competencies and trained to develop the necessary surface competencies, not much will happen.

    In summary, all it takes to be successful as a leader is to get good people, be sure they have the tools for success, give them clear and worthwhile targets, provide supportive feedback and critique…then stay out of their way until you’re needed. It’s that simple…and that complex.

    Hodge Golson

  • The I-Competencies and Leadership

    The four I-Competencies (Intellectual, Interpersonal, Intensity and Integrity) can serve as a useful framework for describing some of the factors necessary for success at different organizational levels. These attributes are foundation competences. That is, they are fundamental and cannot be developed significantly by training, coaching or experience. They are the result of genetics and the values one absorbs due to early family and societal/cultural influences. In this respect, they differ from the many surface competencies (e.g. formal presentation skills, spreadsheet skills, technical knowledge base, etc.) which can be taught. Each managerial level requires different behaviors and skills for success. Some of these differences are illustrated below, using the I-Competencies as an organizing structure.

    The Intellectual Competency

    This is more than just how well a person can perform on a standardized test, although it does include the aptitudes that predict success in an academic environment. However, it also encompasses mental agility, quickness and creativity, depth of knowledge and common sense. This factor is a combination of a person’s unique mix of skills and abilities and how well she or he uses them. People who make smart decisions and who use their talents effectively are more successful over time than those who make bad decisions and/or squander their intellectual resources. The data are quite clear and unambiguous. There are always exceptions to the rule (there are very bright people who never amount to anything and there are people of very average intelligence who work hard and achieve at very high levels) but overall correlations between the components of this competency and performance over time are clear and consistent in a very broad range of jobs and organizations. The differences in the use and expression of this competency at different organizational levels are as follows.

    Supervisory
    • Learn the technology and business.
    • Solve immediate problems in a practical manner.
    • Make decisions on practical, job-related things like technical applications, methods, etc.

    Mid-level management
    • Learn about politics, relationships, social networks, other functional areas.
    • Put structure into the big picture – interpret strategy.
    • Solve interpersonal problems.
    • Adapt and change gears rapidly – be quick and decisive.
    • Translate global strategy into appropriate solutions and actions.
    • Make decisions on structure and allocate resources.

    Top executive
    • Continuous learning: fire hose always in mouth; wide open on all fronts.
    • Cope with continuous conceptual demands.
    • Be quick and agile when connecting the dots…but reflective and appropriately self-paced before coming to    conclusions (balance the competing forces of reflection vs. bias toward action).
    • Solve strategic problems.
    • Create the right structure.
    • Think clearly and creatively.
    • Challenge assumptions.
    • Make wise decisions on resources, business direction, long term strategy.
    • Analyze larger business/capital issues and develop appropriate solutions.

    The Interpersonal Competency

    No matter how clever a person is and how elegant or elaborate his problem solutions, if he can’t communicate them to others and convince others of their merits, it doesn’t matter. People who have good social skills and who get along with other people are much more successful as a group than those who don’t have as many talents in this area. They have greater influence in the group because others like them and feel good about them. The interpersonal competency is the key that unlocks the door of influence. It enables you to communicate the worth of your ideas. This competency includes general social and persuasive skills, social insight and intuition, likeability and persuasiveness. The intellectual competency enables a person to solve a problem. The interpersonal competency enables him or her to convince other people that the solution is the right one, or at least a good one. The differences in the tasks and demands associated with this competency at the organizational levels are as follows:

    Supervisory
    • Communicate clear tactical objectives.
    • Give effective feedback and critique.
    • Reinforce successes.
    • Focus on building and maintaining good relationships with bosses and subordinates.
    • Maintain proper balance between detachment and involvement.

    Mid-level
    • Establish, build and maintain networks.
    • Build supportive lateral relationships.
    • Scope is 360 degrees – all relationships are important.
    • Develop reputation as approachable source of information and help.
    • Realize impact on others – develop and fine-tune self-insights.
    • Develop the confidence to hire people stronger than you are.
    • Learn how to develop and use the talents of others.
    • Learn how to disagree without being disagreeable.

    Executive
    • You can’t lead by giving direct orders to everyone at this level. To really influence the organization, you must    harness the power of symbolic behavior. Remember that people are always watching you. Learn how to    show the behaviors, attitudes and actions that give the troops the right message.
    • Develop strong relationships outside the company. A good network helps you gather the intelligence that will   affect the company.
    • Develop good political intuitions and skills.
    • Work on your insights – develop and nurture good sources of feedback, advice and counsel.
    • Fine tune your skills of assessment. Realize that everyone looks good at this level and that it is usually the    seemingly minor, subtle things that derail a person in the executive ranks. Be sure you’re getting the best people possible on your team.

    The Intensity Competency

    This includes energy, stamina, drive and the ability to get fully engaged. People with high intensity are active, not passive. They are driven by a need to get things done and to see results. With the proper control and focus, people with high intensity will achieve at higher levels than those with only average levels of stamina and energy. This is the gasoline that drives the engine providing the fuel for achieving goals and for staying motivated in the face of obstacles. It is often manifested in an organization or team setting as general motivation. The more motivated you are, the more likely you are to achieve results and consequently the greater your ability to influence others by virtue of your accomplishments and general credibility. The tasks associated with this competency at each level are as follows:

    Supervisory
    • Set the example of hard work and timeliness.
    • Stay involved with the task. Master all processes.
    • Apply yourself well and don’t stop until you’ve finished the job.
    • Keep your subordinates focused on the task. Don’t tolerate slacking off.

    Mid Level
    • Deal with increasing demands on your energy.
    • Process new information rapidly and effectively. You must translate, interpret and communicate increasingly    large volumes of material.
    • Push yourself and others to achieve at high levels and to sustain performance.
    • Try to keep your life in balance but be prepared to make sacrifices for the job.
    • Develop good stress management skills.
    • Act. When in doubt, step out and lead. Apply yourself with a consistently high level of energy and focus.

    Executive
    • Realize that this is the most demanding job you’ve ever had. There will be little time for personal life.    Everything is now about the job. Your work is never finished. You must have great stamina just to    keep up.
    • However…in spite of the above, you need to be sure you have appropriate ways to recharge and keep your stress    level manageable.
    • You must work with energy and resilience. The demands on your time and energy are relentless.
    • You must be able to adapt quickly to changing demands.
    • The job requires intense determination.

    The Integrity Competency

    This is somewhat broader than the basic honesty-dishonesty dimension although that is an important part of this competency. This is the cornerstone of building trust. Trust – along with expertise – are the two primary factors of credibility. This also includes general conscientiousness, discipline and follow-through. The person with high integrity will meet his or her commitments in the time frames agreed upon and according to the standards expected. If not, he or she will let everyone know in plenty of time so that they won’t be surprised. Part of this competency includes the ability to focus and to use one’s talents and aptitudes with appropriate discipline. This is the factor that holds things together and facilitates trust and consistency of performance. The greater the perceived integrity, the greater the trust. The tasks associated with this competency at each level are as follows:

    Supervisory
    • Do what you say you’ll do.
    • Establish trust with subordinates and bosses.
    • Act in a consistent and fair manner.
    • Apply clear standards fairly.

    Mid-Level
    • Build a broad base of trust.
    • Become recognized as a person of conscientiousness and credibility
    • Never, ever, betray a confidence.
    • Do what you commit to doing, do it on time and meet or exceed the standards you promise. If you can’t do this,    let everyone know well in advance. Never leave anyone hanging.
    • Don’t let anyone get blindsided if you can stop it without violating other laws of trust.

    Executive
    • Be a role model for credible, ethical behavior. Realize that all eyes are on you and that your behavior speaks    for you and the organization. The behavior needs to be consistent with the verbal message.
    • Remember the difference between doing things right and doing the right things.
    • Remember that you are the face of your organization to people on the inside and outside. Your actions will be    carefully scrutinized. Bend over backwards not to do anything that might remotely be interpreted as    questionable behavior.

    Although there may be some overlaps between the competencies, there are enough differences to make it useful to categorize and define them as described above. A person can’t make up for a marked deficit in any one of these competencies by being very strong in the others if he/she wants to ascend into the top ranks of management and leadership. This is a multiple hurdle system. One must have at least some minimal level of competence in each dimension or he/she will eventually de-rail.

    Hodge Golson