Well, actually - Four Competencies!.
But let's turn back the clock a bit.
You feel you are read for a Manager's position or a Leadership role (internally or externally) and want to apply?
Why? Because you have the work experience and have ambitious growth plans. You feel you get along well with people, including your colleagues.
Great! You have some clarity about where you want to go career-wise.
But what happens is that you apply many times internally or at different organizations, but don't get through. You have no idea what you are doing wrong since there's no real feedback for you to work on.
Based on my HR experience in the corporate world and having coached clients who are applying for senior roles, here are my thoughts that may help you understand where the mismatch might be.
When applying for a Leadership position, whether in your own organization or in another organization, here are the key competencies / abilities that you have to showcase in your cover letter, resume and interview:
Finance - Particularly, how the business makes money and awareness of the critical cost areas beyond your department.
Why this is important? - As a leader, you will be in charge of a finite budget (size doesn't matter). Your strategic utilizaiton / consumption of this budget will impact EDBITA, as well as meet your goals. It's an opportunity to showcase application of your knowledge of finance.
Marketing - This includes understanding the product / service, customer and how the product / service is marketed and sold (based on your industry, this could include how the product is made). This means that your industry knowledge should be as upto date as possible.
Why this is important? - Customers come to our organization because of the products / services being offered. As a leader, your work directly or indirectly impacts this. So showing your understanding of how this works will be a major plus for your candidature. After all, the business survives and thrives because of the spending habits of it's customers.
Human Resources - This means showcase how you manage people, groom them for higher roles and lead the team to deliver value consistently. If you are able to also inspire people, that is a bonus.
Why this is important? In today's world, one person cannot do it all, but a team can (conditions apply of course, and a lot of those conditions depend on the leader). This means knowing in clear detail the capability of your current team members, and the skills necessary to hire (so that you can leverage these) in your future team.
Now, suppose you have specialized expertise in one of these areas and think that it is enough to move to a leadership position (especially in today's times), then I can say that leadership roles will not suit you as you will be an incomplete candidate for the role. You will find yourself getting skewed while executing your duties, leading to an imbalance in execution.
You don't need to know everything in great detail, but you must know more than the basics.
What's The Fourth Competency - you must have sufficient expertise in your own functional area, and consistently deliver value to the organization.
What does 'sufficient' mean, you wonder? It means you know enough about the job to train new team members effectively, hire and groom a new employee with little work experience into understanding and delivering the requirements of his / her role within three to six months. Additionally it means you can manage the ambiguities of the role you are currently handling.
When you present yourself as someone who is familiar with all these areas, then you become a strong contender to take on the critical role of managing, developing and perhaps leading people.
Now that you know this - what next?
As a candidate applying for leadership positions, prepare your responses to questions in these areas, as well as other aspects of the job. Take same time to understand how these tasks are aligned with your strengths. The reality is that not all of them will be aligned to your strengths. In which case, please explain that you would manage those out of alignment areas (i.e. possible weaknesses) by collaborating with your colleagues, and that you are a great team player by lending your strengths to complement their weaknesses. Integrity, of course, is non-negotiable.
If you need help to prepare for your interview, get in touch with me at +919820155778 or write to me at ryanbbarretto@hotmail.com for a discussion.
As an organization looking to hire for leader / team manager roles, please ensure that you evaluate the candidate on these criteria in particular, amongst others that are important to the organization's growth and culture. Integrity is non-negotiable. Use psychometric, behavioural interviews, special assignments or assessment centers to evaluate candidates.
Should you wish to enhance your existing hiring process, contact me for a discussion on how my BEI Workshop "The Selection Discussion" can be effective in improving the quality of people hired for your organization.
