Leading in today’s complex work environment is certainly no walk in the park.
Leaders are often told that to be effective and find success they will need learn and master an enormous amount of knowledge and number of skills. It’s not uncommon for their organizations to identify and prioritize a large set of competencies deemed to be essential. Ideally, those competencies shape their talent management processes, such as hiring, training, and performance evaluation. Understanding the competencies a client has chosen to emphasize is key to the work I do in designing and developing learning programs.
Recently I was doing research for a course I am developing when I came across the term meta-competency. I must admit, the word was not part of my professional vocabulary, but the idea certainly was—that there are certain overarching capabilities that enable a leader to thrive in a variety of situations, both personally and professionally.
By definition, a meta-competency takes a collection of related basic skills and rachets them up to a broader state of being.
I fired up the Google engine and quickly found a bevy of research and articles on leadership meta-competencies from a range of disciplines. There is no shortage of models and lists and points of view on what constitutes a leadership meta-competency. (For starters, here’s a LinkedIn article on the topic; here’s a book about meta-competencies; and here’s a research study.) Some classifications are abstract; others are accessible. Some take a holistic approach; others emphasize how a leader shows up on the job. There are common themes but also original points of view among them.
What I did not find was a definitive list. This inspired me to reflect on the conversations I’ve had with clients and colleagues on how good leaders think, what they do, and how they show up. From this information, I culled a practical, actionable list of the meta-competencies that Dion Leadership fosters in our leadership development programs. We build our curriculum to support these next-level competencies. (Spoiler alert: There are several recurring themes in the details of this list.)
Growth-mindedness. Leaders with a growth mindset are inherently tuned in to future possibilities for themselves, those they lead, and the organization. They can establish and communicate a vision. They continually seek to learn, frame challenges as opportunities, and demonstrate resilience. In fact, I would be happy to argue that this is the mother of all leadership meta-competencies—maybe even a meta-meta-competency!
Emotional intelligence. EQ is at the core of both self-awareness and the ability to build relationships. Leaders with high EQ are better equipped to manage their own approaches and responses to a range of situations, and they are more effective at dealing with conflict, managing performance, navigating change, and exercising influence, among other key skills.
Agility. People, organizations, markets, and life in general are complex; change is constant. Agile leaders ground themselves in purpose and practicality, but are able to flex and adapt to challenges and ambiguity to achieve results. Change management, conflict management, communication, decision-making, and problem-solving skills enable this ability.
Communication. The success of every initiative, interaction, plan, project, or idea ultimately hinges on communication. Communication is an element of literally everything a leader does; poor communication can put relationships, performance, and outcomes at risk. Skillful messaging, open and careful listening, purposeful questioning, and mindful planning and presence enable progress and success.
Critical thinking. A leader’s effectiveness in solving problems, making decisions, strategizing, innovating, and managing risk depends on the ability to think critically. Critical thinking is a distinct process that utilizes objective judgments based on evidence and reason and enables rigor in determining the best course of action that will lead to the most successful outcomes. Like communication, this meta-competency has application in virtually every aspect of a leader’s job.
Execution. At the end of the day, a leader’s job is to get things done. Successfully marshaling people and resources to achieve results is the culmination of all of a leader’s day-to-day skills. This doesn’t suggest that execution is a by-any-means-necessary prospect, however. Self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and adherence to values provide critical guardrails that contribute to a healthy corporate culture that aligns with what today’s employees and customers expect.
As I mentioned in the introduction to this list, there are many recurring themes. That’s how meta-competencies work—they demonstrate the collective exponential power of a range of more focused competencies working in sync. By cultivating, practicing, and refining elements of these individual competencies, the meta-competencies take shape both at work and in life.
With that in mind, I offer that the concept of meta-competencies can help you shape your approach to leadership development. They can serve as the “biggest rock in the bucket” to determine which leadership behaviors to prioritize and help you make a case for the value and versatility of your curriculum. They can also form a framework upon which to build or reimagine your leadership development program. Spending some time outlining the meta-competencies that are most important for your organization at this particular time in your particular environment can be a fruitful exercise to make sure your program is helping leaders move from simply “doing” to “being.”
Your list might have some overlap with mine, and it will likely have some differences. Part of the fun of making a list is the way it can spark thought and debate. What on this list do you agree with? What would you change? How can you move your own competencies to the meta level?
Have fun with the exercise. And if you would like some help, give us a call.
