Are your competencies relevant? 
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What are competencies?
Competencies are the knowledge, skills and attitudes that a person
brings to a task to produce superior results.
Where do association management competencies come from
and who uses them?
In 1997 the Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE)
developed Association Management Competency Standards. These standards
were updated in 2001 and another review is currently under way.
The competencies serve as a basis for the development of curriculum
for the Certified Association Executive Program and the CAE professional
designation. Most of CSAE’s ongoing professional development
and resource centre support services are linked to these competencies.
The CAE® Competency Standards have six core domains which
cover 44 sub-domains. The core domains are:
- Leadership
- Association Structure and Environment
- Direction and Strategy
- Membership and Services
- Support Operations
- Programs and Services
A summary of the CAE® Competency Standards can be found at
www.csae.com by searching for
CAE Program Competencies.
CSAE provides a self-assessment tool to help association managers
identify areas for ongoing development. The tool supports development
of a career management plan and can be used to benchmark personal
development and set plans for building a competency profile. This
tool can help you see how you measure up and is available by searching
for “Self Evaluation Tool” at www.csae.com.
Employers and search consultants use competencies to develop
job descriptions and career advertisements as part of the recruitment
and selection process. Employers are also starting to use the
Association Management Competency Standards in concert with their
performance management and appraisal activities.
The competencies cover many areas. Yet, employers are expecting
senior association managers to be able to demonstrate most of
the competencies on short notice. In reality, one would rarely
be able to demonstrate a significant competence in all levels
at a given time, as the nature of the strategy and tasks one deals
with is usually much narrower as a result of organizational priorities.
Another way of looking at it is that an organization with exceptional
growth would require different competencies than an organization
retrenching activity.
Differences in competency deployment are affected by various
change drivers, some of which are:
- External conditions, changed consumer behaviour, regulatory
conditions or new entrants to the sector or marketplace;
- New volunteer leaders or personnel in senior leadership positions;
- Mergers and acquisitions;
- New technologies and innovations;
- Fractures within the organization;
- Governance and structural changes;
- Moving the organization from tinkering to transformational
change.
Drivers and other factors will influence an organization’s
strategic direction. This in turn will influence the business
plan. Based on business plan activities, the extent of new competencies
required and those not needed can be determined. A key planning
implementation step often overlooked is determining the competencies
available and measuring to determine the competency gap.
If the strategy calls for substantial performance in membership
growth and market penetration of product and services, competencies
in research, assessment/analysis, marketing and sales would be
required. If these competencies are not available, options available
are to hire, outsource or upgrade and train existing staff.
As associations realize they need to develop and practice the
characteristics of a high performance association, they recognize
the need to enhance competencies at the volunteer and staff level.
This, of course, means a shift to either draw upon your other
competencies or develop competencies as required. Failure to provide
the necessary competencies may lead to poor performance and whatever
consequences that brings.
Career success can be restricted by not knowing what competencies
one needs to develop, or when to shift emphasis on competencies.
Managers that understand the value and competitive edge continuous
learning will provide in their careers will try to reduce the
competency gap. It is the responsibility of the association manger
to meet the current and anticipated demands of their employing
organization.
Competencies required by an association manager are increasing
and constantly shifting due to changing association challenges
and opportunities as well as technological improvements and other
drivers.
How good are you? How good do they think you are?
If you use the assessment tool and find you have gaps, a next
step is to first understand your current needs and then your future
needs based on a desired position. The self- assessment to competency
standards is a key part of career management planning. Career
management planning allows you to get an accurate assessment of
your current skills and knowledge and allows you to plan for your
future career requirements.
By planning your career, you are in a process of identifying
all possible development activities which will help close the
gap between the knowledge and skills you possess and the knowledge
and skills you need. You are, in effect, taking control of your
own career development, instead of letting your career path to
be shaped by accident, fate or other peoples’ decisions.
Ultimately, effective career management planning with a focus
on competencies will enable you to achieve increased work satisfaction
and success when you achieve a good fit between your interest,
knowledge, skills and values, and the work challenges you face.
More importantly it will help you build and shift competencies
as required.
In trying to eliminate the competency gap you may need a passport
to help provide guidance and support your career management plan.
For your journey you can treat the competencies and the listing
of learning opportunities as the map, and your career management
plan and development needs as your passport that gets stamped
as you accomplish planned developments.
It should be noted that management competencies are only part
of the equation for association success. Board competencies are
also critical and need to be understood. Board recruitment and
development should reflect organizational strategy and required
competencies. A listing of board responsibilities and required
competencies as well as a process to determine if your board possesses
the competencies it needs to govern with excellence can be found
in, “Best Practices and Tools for Not-For-Profit Boards”,
a CSAE publication.
Students in the CAE Program are required to complete a career
management plan. They often report that this is one of the most
difficult assignments they have ever had to complete. While the
process of taking a serious look at ones career can be daunting,
it can also be extremely rewarding. I often get emails from former
students indicating that the plan has given them a focus and has
resulted in many accomplishments and successes. Perhaps if you’re
looking for increased success, you too will take the time to determine
if your competencies are still relevant.
Competency Self Assessment Steps
Step 1 - Identify where you fit with the competency standards.
Determine the scope of independent action achieved for each competency,
carefully read through the competency standards and note experiences
that fit in whole or in part.
Step 2 - Document capabilities (rationale) to support your
personal competency profile.
Indicate how the competencies have been demonstrated; e.g. What
kind of projects or activities did you participate in or manage?
These examples will assist you to identify how well you have mastered
the competencies and where you fit on the profile.
Step 3 - Identify your professional development needs.
Identify specific development actions that might be planned in
consideration of your career development priorities and what scope
for independent action is desired. This includes noting areas
where you have not had sufficient experience.
Step 4 - Discuss personal competency profile with mentor
or performance appraisers.
Meet with your mentor or others to review the factors that contributed
to the formation of your personal competency profile. Progress
points for the future should be set and professional development
opportunities discussed based on organizational needs. This provides
the basis for planning and achievement during the year.
Step 5 - Pursue goals.
After the discussion, write down points and begin pursuing the
plan.
This column features innovation and practical
solutions applied to challenges, trends, issue and opportunities
for the association community. Column editor Jim Pealow, MBA,
CMA, CAE is a consultant and the Association Management Education
Program Lead Instructor/Coach for CSAE. He can be reached at jim@amces.com.
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