I have worked with clients to develop competency models and map those competencies to learning opportunities. These models described the threshold competencies for the job roles affected and incorporated descriptions of what makes a top performer. Threshold models work in many organizations, particularly when there is a need or a desire to define the minimum expectations of a performer as well as the differentiating competencies, which separate the top performers from the average performers.
This week I attended the excellent competency modeling program offered by Workitect, which offers a slightly different approach. They focus on identifying and defining those competencies that differentiate the behavior of top performers in an effort to shift the performance of all employees closer to the top performers. I love this approach. It is elegant and focuses on what is truly important, the behaviors demonstrated in the workplace.
Coincidentally, Hannah Morgan (2009), who blogs about all things related to a successful job search, this week blogged about “participation trophies” in her post ”Be Somebody” which essentially reward all children on a team, regardless of their contribution to a successful outcome. Morgan ties this to mediocrity on the job and states that, “mediocrity is no longer tolerated by employers” and that the world has become so competitive because organizations are so lean. It’s true and the use of competency modeling is a way to combat the idea that it is OK to be average. There’s no longer room to be mediocre.
Morgan asks the reader, “Can we teach them to continue to develop themselves, set goals, learn how to sell and to be good people? Can we?” I believe the answer lies in the competency model. Whether it is a threshold or top-performing model makes no difference because the goal of competency models is to develop team members and to improve performance. The hidden value is this, if we can change each individual team member’s thinking, behaviors, and desire to improve and develop, and actively use and the competency model to focus on what is defined as top performance, we can shift the organization’s overall performance to be closer to the top. Of course, as the organization shifts, so does the average, which means that the competency model is a living, breathing document and not something that sits on a shelf, like those participation trophies.
In my own work, this means that I am focusing more on the behaviors that I am demonstrating. As a self-employed individual, I don’t get rewarded just for showing up. I need to demonstrate the behaviors and competencies that will make my business a success. I am my business’s top performer, but I can also be it’s worst performer. I need to focus on maintaining that top performer status and doing what it takes to be a success.