Skills Vs Competency
Too many practitioners and organizations mix up between Skills and Competencies. I have witnessed profound confusion on this topic all over . I found this book excerpt offering a comprehensive explanation on how they both differ and why we should focus on competencies than skills.
Excerpted from Creating A Culture of Competence, by Dr. Michael Zwell. Published by John Wiley & Sons, 2000. Pages 22-24
"In the business world today, there is some confusion over the definition of a competency. The biggest confusion is between competencies and skills. Skills generally refer to the mastery of technique and knowledge that applies to a specific area or profession. Sales skills include prospecting, handling objections, and closing. Drafting skills include measuring and drawing. Managerial skills include writing and forecasting. Some companies use the word competency to mean skills. This causes them big headaches for two reasons. First, there are so many skills in every position in an organization that management of a skills database is a time-consuming and difficult activity. The bigger problem is that the focus on skills distracts people from the use and assessment of competencies, which play a much bigger role in determining performance.
More importantly, focusing only on knowledge and skills misses the point. Having the greatest knowledge and skill on the planet won't make any difference if people have no desire and no drive to use that skill and knowledge.
It is not that skills are unimportant. A threshold level of skill is necessary to a job.If you are hiring an electrical engineer to work at a nuclear power plant, you need someone who knows electrical engineering. Assuming that technical ability determines successful performance, however, is a costly mistake. People with basic skills who are strong in the important competencies for a position will, because they're strong in those competencies, acquire whatever knowledge and skills they need to become a superior performer in that job. If people strong in Initiative do not know the answer to a problem, they'll use their Initiative to find it. If people strong in Service Orientation do not know the answer to a customer's problem, they'll find someone who does. Keeping the focus on competencies is keeping your eye on the ball.
It is paying attention to what matters, paying attention to the things that actually determine the difference between strong and weak performance."
Excerpted from Creating A Culture of Competence, by Dr. Michael Zwell. Published by John Wiley & Sons, 2000. Pages 22-24
"In the business world today, there is some confusion over the definition of a competency. The biggest confusion is between competencies and skills. Skills generally refer to the mastery of technique and knowledge that applies to a specific area or profession. Sales skills include prospecting, handling objections, and closing. Drafting skills include measuring and drawing. Managerial skills include writing and forecasting. Some companies use the word competency to mean skills. This causes them big headaches for two reasons. First, there are so many skills in every position in an organization that management of a skills database is a time-consuming and difficult activity. The bigger problem is that the focus on skills distracts people from the use and assessment of competencies, which play a much bigger role in determining performance.
More importantly, focusing only on knowledge and skills misses the point. Having the greatest knowledge and skill on the planet won't make any difference if people have no desire and no drive to use that skill and knowledge.
It is not that skills are unimportant. A threshold level of skill is necessary to a job.If you are hiring an electrical engineer to work at a nuclear power plant, you need someone who knows electrical engineering. Assuming that technical ability determines successful performance, however, is a costly mistake. People with basic skills who are strong in the important competencies for a position will, because they're strong in those competencies, acquire whatever knowledge and skills they need to become a superior performer in that job. If people strong in Initiative do not know the answer to a problem, they'll use their Initiative to find it. If people strong in Service Orientation do not know the answer to a customer's problem, they'll find someone who does. Keeping the focus on competencies is keeping your eye on the ball.
It is paying attention to what matters, paying attention to the things that actually determine the difference between strong and weak performance."
posted by Murali @ 2:06 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Hi,
i read the excerpt you posted which i assume was with the intent to lend clarity, however i would like to confess that it leaves room for more... since you have aimed for it to be for junta, i feel free to respond!
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