Competence, really?
A non-exhaustive review of the literature clearly demonstrates that this word is used synonymously with knowledge, task, skill, experience, ability, talent, etc.
However, a highly respected researcher, an authority in multiple sectors of economic and social life, has thoroughly examined the subject. Guy Le Boterf, Doctor of State in Human Sciences and Doctor in Sociology, and Associate Professor at the University of Sherbrooke, has formulated a definition of competence that enjoys consensus among those interested in the topic.
A competence is a complex know-how that enables a person to deliver a quality product or service in a given context referred to as a "family of situations."
To do this, the person draws from their internal or external resources. Externally, they can rely on networks of experts, scientific literature, and databases. Internally, they rely on their own cognitive baggage: their knowledges (which can be declarative, strategic, procedural, or factual knowledge), their know-how (which encompasses cognitive, metacognitive, psychological, and psychomotor skills), and their interpersonal skills (which include relational or emotional abilities)._
It should also be noted that while the person exercises their competence, they must juggle all their resources to select those that are relevant, put them into action, combine them, and arrange them to demonstrate this know-how.
Guy Le Boterf
What is important to retain from this definition is that competence is a know-how. Thus, a person "competent" in a domain x, y, or z is only competent when they are in action.
To illustrate this last paragraph, which may undoubtedly disrupt various beliefs, let us take the violinist Alexandre Da Costa. If you listen on YouTube to the video of Alexandre Da Costa - Apertura "Lo spettacolo deve andare Avanti" (for example), you can feel the emotion.
The notes he draws from his violin give chills. It is, in my opinion, a moment of grace. The virtuoso is at the top of his game. Maestro Da Costa is clearly competent in violin when he recorded this video. Let’s imagine that one evening, during a concert, he has a cold, a headache, and doesn’t feel well. His performance suffers; he is not at his best. Is he competent? Much less so! Why? Because during that concert, his state of health did not allow him to delve into his resource bank to extract the knowledges, know-how, and interpersonal skills that make him the world-renowned great violinist.
Furthermore, when Mr. Da Costa does his grocery shopping, he may be very competent at selecting the finest piece of beef from the display, but he is not competent in violin!
When this employer states that Jacinthe was hired for her financial skills, he is not expressing himself correctly. He should say that he hired Jacinthe because she has solid knowledge in finance and her experience aligns with the reality of his company. Moreover, Jacinthe will never be 100% competent in finance. When, for example, she is leading a team meeting, she is not competent in finance because she is not using her knowledges, know-how, and interpersonal skills in that area. However, when she returns to preparing budget forecasts, she will be competent because she will pull from her knowledges, know-how, and interpersonal skills the resources she needs to produce the budgets she is responsible for.
When we know that it takes between 5,000 and 10,000 hours to develop a competence, we agree that one doesn't develop 25 in a career!
This lengthy detour brings me to present the cornerstone of the development plan, which is the competence profile. **How can we create a development plan that ensures the individual will work on their true needs, those that will allow them to improve or prepare for another position, while also meeting the needs of the organization?**
The Competence Profile
A competence profile should consist of 5 or 6 competences. No more! A competence is complex; it combines and arranges several resources (knowledges, know-how, and interpersonal skills). It has no deadline.
These competences are then broken down into tasks, which are more specific. They have a beginning and an end.
The last element to be included in the job profile concerns the job requirements, that is, the level required to be fully efficient in each of the tasks. This could be on a scale from 1 (beginner) to 4 (expert). For example, let’s take the position of finance director, held by Jacinthe, in a small to medium-sized enterprise.
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Competence Profile: Finance Director |
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Skill |
Task |
Levels of requirement |
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Supervise the preparation of the organization's financial reports |
1. Prepare financial statements, profitability analysis reports, and summary statements. |
3 |
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2. 2. Coordinate the financial planning and budgeting process. |
3 |
|
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Manage the staff |
1. Recruit candidates. |
2 |
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2. Integrate new hires. |
2 |
|
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3. Train the staff. |
3 |
|
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4.Evaluate staff performance. |
3 |
|
Once this exercise was completed, Jacinthe and her manager, the General Director, took the time to discuss Jacinthe's level of mastery for each task in the competence profile. They concluded that Jacinthe needs to improve in staff training. Indeed, a team member will retire in the coming year, and another will go on maternity leave for at least twelve months. Jacinthe will therefore need to train the replacements, which she has not had to do in her previous jobs. She needs to learn about this subject.
Now that Jacinthe and her director know what Jacinthe needs to develop, it is necessary to define the modus operandi.
The Development Plan: The 70-20-10 Model
This model does not seem to have very solid scientific foundations; it reportedly originated from a study by researchers at the Center for Creative Leadership in the 1980s, examining approximately 200 executives and their learning practices in the workplace. Nonetheless, it is used in multiple organizations around the world, likely because it makes intuitive sense.
The model explains how employees learn, specifically:
- 70% of learning in the workplace comes from experiences,
- 20% comes from interactions with colleagues,
- 10% is the result of structured formal training and readings.
While these precise percentages should be considered more as trends, it is nonetheless evident that about 90% of learning occurs informally.
Yet, so many individual development plans are limited to a list of trainings and readings to be completed within a certain timeframe.
These trainings are even more useful and justified if they are supported by activities that allow for exchange and practical application. It is this combination that gives full potential to the training plan.
What can be done for Jacinthe to learn how to train her staff effectively?
Jacinthe needs foundational knowledge. She could undertake training on adult learning, how to develop training programs, etc. Once she has acquired this knowledge, Jacinthe could benefit from coaching by an external resource who would assist her in developing her training content. Finally, she could test her content with her current team to practice facilitating training sessions.
Developing People is Everyone's Business
Too often, managers feel helpless when it comes to finding projects that allow people to acquire various experiences. Of course, if these managers only rely on what is happening in their immediate environment, limitations will quickly arise.
A good practice might be to hold a needs assessment session a few times a year: on one side, the development needs of the staff, and on the other side, the ongoing and upcoming projects within the organization, including resource needs. The pool of potentials expands, offering many more opportunities for development.
Moreover, welcoming a colleague into one's team for a project, task, or committee provides the chance to get known while supporting the professional development of that person. The employee develops, teams improve, and ultimately, the entire organization benefits.
To go further:
Skills development: assess needs and draw up a plan
