In one of the previous posts, we talked about the importance of stress management in building resonant relationships.

Although stress management is crucial, effective leadership requires the mastery of many other skills and behaviors.

In this blog post, we’ll look at the big picture and introduce a comprehensive leadership competency model, created by Dr. Richard Boyatzis.

Not all competencies are created equal. According to Dr. Boyatzis, there are two types of competencies:

  1. Threshold competencies
  2. Performance distinguishing competencies

Threshold competencies differentiate average performance from poor performance. They are:

  • Knowledge (expertise)
  • Experience
  • Deductive reasoning

These competencies are necessary. However, to be able to lead organizations and teams you need a whole another set of competencies. These are known as performance distinguishing competencies. There are three types:

  • Emotional intelligence competencies, which enable you to understand and manage yourself better.
  • Social intelligence competencies, which enable you to understand and manage others better.
  • Cognitive intelligence competencies, such as systems thinking and pattern recognition, which enable you to understand the world.

In all honesty, when I first learned about this model, I thought to myself “I’ve got some work to do!”

I started by focusing on self-management and systems thinking, because I wanted to improve my ability to handle things under pressure and understand the complexity of modern organizations. I’ve learned some really interesting things and I’ll make sure to share them in one of the following blog posts.

In the meantime, I invite you to join me on my journey! Begin by asking yourself: “Which competency do I need to focus on?”