This article is about a subject that few people think of when "change" is mentioned. The topic is COMPETENCE. Just what does competence have to do with change? A lot! First we'll outline a series of very vital compentences. Then we'll evaluate their relevance. I cant discuss competence without involving the ideas of veteran career counselor, lecturer and author Adele Scheele, who is the director of the Career Center at California State University at Northridge (in southern California near Los Angeles). In 1979, in her book called Skills for Success, Adele developed a scheme of six competences. The concepts certainly hold up today, and its our opinion that theyre vital to your understanding of just how you can profit from change management, particularly although not exclusively -- in the career and job area. There are six of these competences. Adele Scheele shows each of them as an active verb phrase so as to express how theyre related to the behaviors and attitudes youll need to be successful in the new world of rapid change and increasing complexity. The six competence phrases are: 1. Experience DOING
2. Risk LINKING
3. Show BELONGING
4. Exhibit SPECIALIZING
5. Use CATAPULTING, and
6. Magnify ACCOMPLISHING. Before we look at each of these in some detail, let me make a distinction between skill and competence. Its important because a skill may be part of a competence, but a competence isnt a skill. In fact, the major distinction is that a skill is something one does, while a competence is something one is. To be able to paint is a competence, and it implies that one knows how to do it and has probably had experience in painting -- or at least has training. But the skill is the act of doing painting...and the degree of skill is a subjective measurement of how well we do it. With that in mind, lets look at the six critical career competences one at a time and see how each relates to building a basis for career or job change or advancement. We all do stuff every day. But often we do it on autopilot. This competence - DOING - involves consciously EXPERIENCING DOING - being acutely aware and conscious of our behaviors, the feelings they engender -- or the ones that drive the behaviors. More importantly, it means making a judgement about all this and changing behaviors when they dont serve our best interests or fail to lead toward our goals. This could mean doing different things. It could also mean doing the same thing in a different way, or in a different spirit. A simple and small change in the method, the display or the intention can make an enormous difference in the outcome. A very successful friend of mine, a PhD. psychologist with a flourishing private practice in which she works mostly with artists and entertainers, defines insanity as: doing the same things over and over, in the very same way, and expecting different results. If you want to see how this works, try an experiment with some of your friends or family members. Make some change in your behavior. Because these people are familiar with your habits and patterns, theyll notice even small differences rather quickly. Youll be able to tell when this happens. Youll see it in their eyes. Or theyll change the way they relate to you (its just a response to the change youve initiated). The minute you notice this happening, comment on it. Say something like, Hey, I just noticed something different in you. Whats that all about? Then shut up and listen. Youll hear about YOU -- and itll be an honest response or comment, because youll have caught these people off guard. Be warned, though, this may create a little tension. People generally dont like departures from the familiar. Its a little uncomfortable for them. So be sure to thank them for their comments and express your love or gratitude in some way. Thatll reduce or remove the discomfort, and itll open the door for you to experiment further -- in a relatively safe environment -- and to expect honest feedback. The objective in developing this competence is to expand your behavioral horizons. As you work with this concept, youll use it in your business life, in your social life, and in your personal life, because we do tend to become habit-bound, even with the people we care most about. So start thinking about new behaviors...and begin trying them out in small, safe ways. Once youre comfortable with experiencing doing, take it into work or social situations and... RISK LINKING. Risk? As weve all learned in our lives, thats usually not a comfortable word. Ask yourself these questions, and answer honestly. Do you enjoy taking risks? What kinds of risks do you take? From your answers do you notice that you probably dont really seem to cotton too much to the idea. Why? Of course. Risk is an anxiety-ridden process. It makes you uncomfortable. Depending on the degree of risk, it can even make you fearful. Right? So what do we do? NOTHING! We dont take risks, even little ones...especially with people. Remember when you asked that first love interest of yours for a date...or got such an invitation? Anxious moment? Well, maybe it was just EXCITING! How many of you can tell the difference between anxiety and excitement? The two emotions are often mixed up in the same situation...youre anxious about whether you can do whatever it is, or say whatever you must, but youre excited about the possible successful outcome. But at the same moment youre worried about perhaps NOT having a successful outcome...Right? The competence here is to LINK UP with another person or with other people in ways that can further your career goals and job objectives. And thats not easy. Weve been conditioned not to risk in this way . Wasnt it our parents who told us over and over: Dont talk to strangers and Dont speak unless youre spoken to and Dont join unless your invited. This conditioning often carries over into the workplace. You drive to work alone, speak only to those you have direct business with (other than the Good mornings, of course), maybe eat lunch alone, and then drive home at the end of another day. And the chain of command in business makes it risky to reach out, too. After all, the boss is the boss; and you cant talk to his boss. Now, Im not advocating any particular behavior here, Im just making an observation, and for some of you its not the case. It probably isnt the case for those of you who are already willing to take risks. But in most cases, the risks youre able to take with people today came only after you had taken some risks with things and impersonal situations, and had successful outcomes. Example: High school sports, particularly contact sports, are risky. But its been my experience that men and women who participated in sports in high school or college are more outgoing, more willing to risk than the rest of us. Why? Because theyve faced risk in an impersonal situation -- and often with the full support of an entire team -- and theyve been successful, which leads them to a higher degree of confidence that success is possible. Ergo, risk is OK. The next competence -- BELONGING -- has to do, fundamentally, with how you appear to others, based upon how you relate with and to them. The reason we dont often see this as a competence, much less a career-influencing competence -- or even as a skill or skill-set -- is that we take it for granted that we are, indeed, relating with others and that we belong in the relationship. In other words, we tend to see our relationships from the inside out (us looking at us) rather than from the outside in (as others see us). To develop this competence, then, we need to get outside of ourselves. We need to suspend our self-judgment and move away from any ego-based appraisals and into an objective (but not self-critical) posture. How to do this? Make a conscious effort to offer praise to a co-worker whos done something praiseworthy. Send a note; or call and say, Congratulations. Recognize the need every organization has for unity and solidarity, and play to that. After all, its part of the job and career game, isnt it? How many ads have you read that ask for a team player? Start being one now. And if youre not employed at the moment, do the exercise with a church group, a social club, or with your family and friends...use any group and look for ways to contribute to its solidarity. By the way, this might simply be by refraining from being critical, by not carrying gossip or spreading rumors, by respecting confidences, and so forth. The word will soon get around that youre a real team player and can be trusted. The second component we see is enthusiasm. Be aware that theres a fine line here. If youve been a sourpuss up to now, dont suddenly get smiley and rah-rah. But if you slowly practice supportive behaviors, the picture you present to others will change, and so will their response to you. Finally, theres support. Ask for it when you need it. People will feel good about giving it, even though they might be reluctant to offer it unbidden. Your asking proves that you value them and the group and that youre willing to be advised that youre teachable. That doesnt mean you have to do what they recommend; it only means that you give them the opportunity they really wanted -- to be of assistance, to demonstrate their own belonging, and to give support. Look for ways in which to encourage others, then express that encouragement with a word, a call, a note -- sometimes just a glance and a smile will do it. But its all part of the game, and its a great way to enhance feeling good about yourself The general idea about the next competence SPECIALIZING -- is that its possible -- even likely -- that you have some skill or knowledge that is not directly related to your job but that could help you in the workplace. By discovering, inventing or creating ways of using that outside skill in the context of your job, you will create a value-added perception of yourself throughout the organization youll become someone special. Years ago, when I was working in a large investment advisory firm, my secretary came to me one day with an idea she had for offering local artists a venue for their work by hanging it in our corporate offices, which were visited by many wealthy and influential people. Clearly, her workplace job had nothing at all to do with art, but she is an amateur painter and an accomplished sculptress and potter, so she had a natural interest in art of all kinds. We wrote a brief proposal, submitted it, and -- lo and behold -- management not only bought it, but they put her in charge of it and paid her a bonus for doing it. The next year, having tested her wings in our organization, she left us to take over as a vendor of art to corporations, and shes now one of the most successful artists representatives in the West, with headquarters in Portland, Oregon and influence in eleven states and Hawaii. Shes admitted to me that all she really wanted was to get a raise and that she couldnt think of a single way of doing that as a secretary. So she went to her value-added skill, art and artistic knowledge, and found a way to relate it to the company. Take an inventory of your special skills, interests, background and experience -- stuff that doesnt relate directly to your job. Can you find ways to use those skills at work (clue: it may not be in your job but in somebody elses). Also, if you look ahead to your next job or career, you may discover that these skills and interests you dont consider as job-related may tie in to something youd like to do rather than to what youre doing now. OK. The competence called CATAPULTING is difficult, because you may not be comfortable with what Im about to say. You see, Catapulting is the competence of allying yourself in some way or other with people who can move you ahead in circumstances where youd be stalled if left on your own. See? It harks back to It isnt what you know, its who you know. And we all know thats not quite so. But remember, I didnt ever say that you shouldnt know -- or even use -- the people who can get you ahead...just that youd better have the knowledge. And the fact is, one way of using catapulting is to get the knowledge you need from the very people who can help you get ahead. Thats called mentoring. And its an honorable, honest and ethical pursuit. For the mentoree, its using people in the best sense. Its giving people who want to help you the opportunity to do so. How you do this is simply to pick out the people you believe could be most helpful. Approach them, tell them what youd like. Say please. Then take their advice, use it, benefit from it, report back to them on how it worked, then say Thank you. Thats pretty simple, isnt it? And it works. It really does. Do you have any problems with all this? One frequently expressed problem is that the people who can help are above in the pecking order. You may be reluctant or afraid to ask, or you may feel uncomfortable asking for help from people who seem to be so clearly superior to you. Forget it. As long as theyre human, theyre approachable. And whats the worst thing that could happen? Theyd say NO. Well, then, time to move on to someone else who might help and repeat the process. Remember, eventually, someone will say YES. So each time you hear NO, say thank youand mean it. After all, youre one NO closer to a YES!! Finally, now, what will make this all work for you is to let yourself be used in the same way. Let me give you an examplea personal example. I once had a boss who literally trained me to assume his job. He did this with the full knowledge that at some point, if I chose to do so, I could undermine him and perhaps leverage him right out of his position. But he took the risk, and with me it worked. I never even thought of dislodging him. I just saw his generosity as a succession plan for himself. He wanted to give the company the best successor possible, and I was already on the doorstep. I did take over the slot when he moved on, and I kept it for three years. My successor, by the way, was a co-operative education student who came to work for me even before he was through undergraduate college and before I became director of the department. When I got promoted, I talked with him, found that he wanted to be both a journalist and an academician (which was, in essence, what I was), and we decided that he would train to take over. Hes still there -- and has been since 1969, when I left to go into a corporate job in advertising and sales promotion -- where I also stayed for the next 17 years! So use catapulting. Its OK, and its a great way to smooth the transition from level to level within a company or from job to job within an industry. And note that your mentor doesnt have to be someone in your company or even in your industry. Use your imagination. Think of all the interesting, influential and powerful people you knowor could know. Then pick some and begin approaching them. Direct contact is always best, but sometimes you can even attract attention with a letter or phone call. The final competence is ACCOMPLISHING. But more than any of the others, the descriptive verb, MAGNIFY, is what gives it power. Heres how to magnify your accomplishments. Think of something youve done in your life that you were proud of. Lets just say that it was organizing a sales meeting for your company. You made or were in charge of all the arrangements -- hotel, meals, conference site, speakers, agenda, travel. And it worked out very well. You may have even received a nice letter from some of the speakers or from your company president, saying how good it was. Now, how could you magnify this (even if you werent particularly interested in doing this sort of thing for a living)? OK, you perhaps could offer to serve on the convention committee of your professional association or society. Dont belong to one? How about working with your church or synagogue on its annual carnival or picnic or rummage sale or retreat or trip? What does that have to do with work, career and business? Nothing -- on the surface. But by involving yourself in your community and outside of work youll begin to build a reputation that will serve you well on a rsum, could get you recognition at work or in your business or profession, and will give you a great deal of satisfaction. On the flip side of this, if youve developed a skill in the community, you can Exhibit Specialization by finding ways to use that skill at work. Your efforts on a church planning committee could work for you as you serve on your companys annual picnic committee. The more of this you can do, the more youll be thought of as a leader. And the more youre thought of as a leader, the more opportunities youll have to apply all the other competences and to be seen, recognized, rewarded, renewed and reconstructed. And when the time comes to look for a new job, or to change levels or responsibilities at work, or to face any situation containing change (hence, the possibility of fear), youll be ready, willing and able to take on the challenge and to assume the responsibility. Its a process. Its called personal growth. And you can do it. So, here they are again...the Six Critical Career Competences. Doing, Linking, Belonging, Specializing, Catapulting and Accomplishing. This, in our opinion, is the best model weve seen for recognizing, utilizing and profiting from non-technical skills -- COMPETENCES -- or states of being that can propel you to successful job, career and life. We hope you take this with you into your worldthat you review it, do it, and report back. |
