| Leadership profiling in UK Plc: the path to clarity or confusion? |
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| | For many organisations,
identifying the
behaviour contributing
to management
effectiveness is vital
when fighting a
recession - but a new
study by Pario HR
Solutions shows serious
shortfalls in the
leadership profiling
methods used in UK Plc
today.
According to the
study, up to 45% of
statements used in
competency models to
assess and develop
managers fail to
identify the most
important behaviours and
frequently obscure
important factors. For
example, one
organisation emphasised
team working but skipped
essential steps in
building commitment.
Another focused on a
broad description of
leadership when it
needed to create insight
and shared purpose. This
means the models are not
reliable, which raises
worrying questions about | |
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| | their validity.
The study is
particularly relevant in
a climate of economic
uncertainty when
organisations want to
identify the behaviours
characterising high
performing managers
(and, in turn, weed out
examples of low
performance). This is
important for team
productivity and
strengthening practical
leadership skills
training. However, the
findings suggest that
many organisations
currently make decisions
on the basis of models
that are fundamentally
flawed.
In most cases,
clustering related
behaviours - such as
those linked to
'effective problem
solving' - provides the
basis of a 'competency
model'. These have now
become the main
reference point for
recruitment, performance | |
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| | that help build trust,
aren't identified. This
reduces the value in
leadership development,
talent management and
coaching for
organisational success.
"A significant part
of the problem stems
from the popularity of
this approach over the
last 25 years. As a
result, competency
models have been created
with little reference to
relevant theory."
However, it is now
possible to run a
'health check' - known
as competency validation
- to review the
psychometric properties
of the competency
models. This can be done
using an online 360ยบ
feedback questionnaire
completed by different
groups of work
associates, and backed
by in-depth analysis.
These tools highlight
what the relevant
groups, including
external stakeholders,
regard as significant.
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Sharpley concludes:
"Competency validation
is a relatively new idea
but one that offers
considerable benefit to
organisations. It helps
ensure that their talent
management and
leadership development
processes are focused on
the most important
aspects of behaviour and
aren't using outdated
'one size fits all'
methods with little
relevance to their
particular area of
business."
Pario emphasises that
it's possible for
organisations to update
their competency models
to achieve levels of
reliability associated
with the best
psychometric tests. The
most significant
behaviours vary across
different organisations
but consistent themes
are linked to the
emerging concept of
authentic leadership and
development of
trust-based | |
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| | management and promotion
decisions, as well as
shaping courses to
develop staff.
However, the
reliability and validity
of these models is
rarely tested. The
findings of Pario's
study are striking,
highlighting a number of
problems.
David Sharpley,
chartered occupational
psychologist and
director of Pario HR
Solutions, explains:
"The research shows
that these models are
poorly defined. The
behaviours they identify
don't relate to the
specified competency,
and there's too much
overlap and duplication.
Important, underlying
factors, such as actions | |
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