Competencies in Context

The following are examples showing how to apply the 4 Pillars Managerial competencies to:  position descriptions, job advertisements, interview questions, performance plans, and the evaluation process.

Leading and Managing People

Collaboration and Team Building

Level 2 Competency:  Prevents conflicts by proactively addressing sources of conflict.

Position Description

• Effectively recognizes, manages and proactively addresses conflict.

Job Advertisement

• Demonstrates ability to effectively address conflict.

Interview Question

• Describe a situation in which you recognized the potential for a conflict that was difficult to manage.  What did you do?

Performance Plan

• Discusses and addresses staff and customers’ concerns on an on-going basis.
• Attend conflict prevention training and discuss how the information will be applied at work.

Evaluation

• ____ has demonstrated a strong ability to prevent conflict by working directly with two employees who began to get into a conflict over job duties.  S/he asked both employees for their perspectives, asked how they proposed to work out the situation and made additional suggestions to help resolve the problem.

Coaching Suggestion

• As soon as you become aware of a conflict or the potential for one, discuss your suggestions for how to approach the situation with your supervisor.

Knowing the Organization

ITU / Unit Vision / Mission / Goals

Level 2 Competency:  Helps staff to implement the vision / mission / goals of the ITU in the day-to-day work of the unit.

Position Description

• Demonstrates ability to communicate the ITU vision and mission, and implement the goals of the unit’s goals

Job Advertisement

• Ability to communicate and implement goals.

Interview Question

• Give me an example of how you have incorporated the vision, mission, or goals into the daily operations?  Describe whether or not it worked.  Why?

Performance Plan

• Assist staff in meeting the established annual goals (based on the unit’s vision and mission), by communicating the goals to staff, and helping them determine the most effective way to meet the goals.

Evaluation

•  _____ met with her/his staff quarterly to review the unit’s vision, mission and goals, and discussed the most effective way to meet the goals.  S/he was able to meet 80% of the established goals, and was unable to complete one project because of budget constraints.

Coaching Suggestion

• Let’s talk about the goals of our unit, how they related to the ITU’s vision and mission, and your plans for helping the staff understand the relationship between their jobs and the vision, mission and goals.  That should make it easier for you to share that information with them.

Managing Resources

Project Management

Level 1 Competency:  Identifies goals, tasks, and resource requirements. 

Position Description

• Identifies project goals, tasks needed for each phase of the project and necessary resources.

Job Advertisement

• Demonstrated ability to identify and manage project goals, tasks and resources.

Interview Question

• Describe a project you managed and explain how you met the goals.  How did you identify what needed to be done and what was needed?

Performance Plan

• Develop project goals, identify tasks that need to be done for various project phases and what resources are needed to complete the project.

Evaluation

• For the ___ project, ____ identified the goals and tasks, and assigned those tasks to the appropriate team member and contractor.

Coaching Suggestion

• When you think about this project, what do you see as the most important goal?  Why is it important?  What needs to be done?  Who is in the best position to accomplish the tasks?  Are there other goals and how will they be completed.

Communicating Effectively

Meeting Management

Level 1 Competency:  Provides constructive feedback to individual staff members. 

Position Description

• As situations arise, promptly meet with individual staff members to constructively address performance issues and provide positive feedback.

Job Advertisement

• Proven ability to provide constructive feedback to staff.

Interview Question

• Give an example of a time a staff member didn’t handle a situation effectively, what happened and how did you handle it?  What was the outcome?

Performance Plan

• Attend HR workshop(s) on effective communication, providing feedback and/or “dealing with challenging employees”.  Within a week of the training, discuss with your supervisor what you learned and how you will apply it.
• When faced with a difficult situation, discuss your approach with your supervisor or trusted co-worker and work out what you will say.

Evaluation

• ___ effectively provides positive feedback to staff.  S/he can improve her/his ability to constructively discuss areas that need improvement particularly in situations that may cause conflict.

Coaching Suggestion

• Think about a couple of times when you have been pleased by what a staff member did, and a few instances in which someone didn’t do their job well.  What did you say, or what could you have said, so the employee was most likely to “hear” your response.