Effective Leadership - Is Competency Enough?

Effective Leadership - Is Competency Enough?

The role of competency frameworks for deciding what is crucial for effective leadership is now being questioned on the basis that, whilst they are important, they are not the only skills required. A whole set of leadership behaviours and qualities are also necessary for both organisational and people development and it is these behaviours and qualities that maintain the leader in the leadership role rather than the leader operating more as a manager most of the time.

It is important to draw a distinction between personal qualities and values and leadership skills. Personal qualities and values are those cognitive and emotional characteristics of an individual that are necessary in order to capably manage and lead. Qualities such as being tenacious or resilient demonstrate an aptitude for achieving results, whereas effective communication is necessary for developing relationships and team-working. Having these qualities, however, is no guarantee that they will be used and effectively used. It is only with conscious practice that leaders will deploy these qualities and behaviours to good effect. It is with conscious practice that the leader will achieve the necessary consistency in their actions with themselves and their teams.

The competencies of leadership can be seen as being the 'what' of that which leaders do and the 'how' is the way in which the leader engages in transformational behaviours. The participative leader is, therefore, one who encourages and enables the development of both the organisation and its people using a culture of integrity, openness and transparency and the congruent valuing of others, their skills, experiences and their contributions.

Participative and engaging leadership is open-ended, enabling organisations and individuals to not only cope with change but also to be proactive in developing the shared vision.