The Executive’s Guide to Leadership Competency Development
This article discusses slides taken from a strategy consulting presentation on Leadership Competency Model. You can download the full PPT here.
This presentation focuses on the critical management topic of leadership assessment, specifically addressing the limitations of traditional competency models in evaluating leaders’ potential. It highlights the need for a more comprehensive approach that considers both past behaviors and future potential, ensuring a more accurate assessment of leadership capabilities.
The core framework presented is the Leadership Competency Model, which consists of 2 main areas: Leadership Competencies and Leadership Potential. This model outlines 4 key leadership competencies, each mapped across a 4-stage maturity model, and integrates 4 dimensions of leadership potential. By combining these elements, the framework offers a balanced and actionable approach for organizations to evaluate and develop their senior managers effectively.
Leadership Competency Maturity Framework Overview
The slide outlines a maturity model for assessing leadership capabilities, focusing on 2 core competencies: Inspirational Leadership and Execution. Each competency features 4 maturity levels, illustrating the progression of leadership skills from basic to advanced. This framework helps organizations identify and develop high-potential leaders who can effectively drive performance and inspire their teams.
Under Inspirational Leadership, leaders start as “Operational Leaders,” projecting confidence to energize their teams. As they advance to “Matrix Leaders,” they must motivate individuals across various functions. In the Execution competency, leaders initially focus on keeping teams aligned and on track, progressing to “Business Leaders” who stretch team performance by leveraging diverse skills.
The highest level, “Enterprise Leader,” requires leaders to demonstrate statesmanship and accountability for strategic objectives. Understanding these maturity levels allows organizations to tailor leadership development programs to align with business goals and workforce dynamics, ensuring they cultivate effective leaders for increasing organizational complexity.
Read a more in-depth analysis of this PPT slide here.
Relationship Leadership Maturity Model Overview
The slide outlines a maturity model for relationship leadership, focusing on 2 core competencies: Influence and Collaboration. Each competency is divided into 4 levels, illustrating the evolution of leadership capabilities from basic to advanced. This structured approach provides clear benchmarks for developing leadership skills within your organization.
Under Influence, leaders progress from “Operational Leader,” who tailors persuasive messages, to “Matrix Leader,” who employs cross-matrix influencing. In Collaboration, the journey starts with “Team Working,” emphasizing mutual support, and advances to “Enterprise Leader,” where leaders create strategic partnerships that extend beyond internal operations. This model underscores the necessity of enhancing both influencing and collaborative skills as leaders advance in their roles.
Read a more in-depth analysis of this PPT slide here.
Evaluating Intellectual Potential in Leadership
The slide outlines the concept of “Intellectual Potential,” emphasizing the evaluation of high-potential leaders based on their analytical and creative thinking skills. It highlights cognitive abilities as key predictors of job performance in managerial roles, with research indicating that successful senior managers typically demonstrate strong analytical and creative capabilities.
The slide distinguishes between the left and right hemispheres of the brain, associating the left with logic and analysis and the right with creativity and imagination. This duality suggests that effective leaders must integrate both types of thinking to navigate complex challenges.
In the assessment section, 3 personal factors — “Breadth of perspective,” “Conceptual thinking,” and “Decisiveness” — are evaluated on a scale from low to high potential. This structured framework helps organizations identify and develop leaders who possess the necessary intellectual skills to succeed.
Read a more in-depth analysis of this PPT slide here.
Understanding Motivational Potential in Leadership
The slide summarizes research findings on motivational potential and its impact on leadership effectiveness. Key studies highlight personality traits such as conscientiousness, drive, and achievement orientation as vital for successful leadership. Determination and a strong sense of duty distinguish high-performing individuals, particularly CEOs, from their less effective peers.
It identifies 3 critical dimensions of motivational potential: self-belief, drive, and resilience. Each dimension correlates with specific personal factors, ranging from slow to fast potential. For example, high drive is linked to a strong desire to excel, while resilience reflects emotional stability, essential for effective leadership.
The concluding insights reveal that top leaders exhibit stronger tendencies toward achievement striving, activity, and openness compared to other senior managers. Understanding these traits is crucial for fostering effective leadership and achieving organizational goals.
