“We have decided that the periodic table of elements, the basic building blocks of the universe, are not applicable to our world. We need to create our own list of elements because we are so different from everyone else that it doesn’t apply. We are going to classify this new periodic table based on color, so instead of atomic numbers, we will have them listed from red to indigo. We think it is better to base our model on what we can see, rather than an analysis of structure.
By doing this, we will exclude ourselves from the entire body of knowledge that has been built on the actual periodic table, and will therefore need to establish an entirely new set of rules that govern our version of chemistry. We will completely isolate ourselves from any research that is done within the field of chemistry, even though there is a significant amount of learning we could extract from it. We won’t be able to use any of the current tools that have been developed, because they are all based on a different system of classification, so we will also have to custom-build anything needed to actually make this new periodic table useful.”
The argument above is so absurd that it is unlikely that anyone would dare to use it, especially not as the basis for requesting funding for a project. Yet substitute “Competency Model” for “periodic table” and “competencies” for elements, and these projects have been approved time and time again within organizations looking to implement a competency approach. Maybe it is the exclusion of the second paragraph in the project proposal that leads to the decision to re-invent what already exists. Maybe it is because the area of Human Resources is seen as an art (for “art” read “fluffy intangible soft issues”) rather than a science, that we don’t apply the same principles of proof, rigor and research. Either view, art or science, on its own, will lead to an erroneous view of how people work, what makes them successful and how we can build effectiveness. This is why the concept of cooking has been added to the title of the article.
Cooking is not only about the individual ingredients. If you consumed flour, sugar, cocoa and butter, then washed it down with a glass of milk, you would not feel that you had eaten a chocolate cake. The ingredients need to be blended in the right proportions and baked using a variety of possible processes, each one leading to a result. But some will produce a better output than others. The properties of taste, aroma and texture are “emergent properties” of the individual ingredients, i.e. they are produced only when the individual ingredients, with their own properties, are combined in a certain proportion. So what is the similarity between chocolate cake and project managers?
When a line manager specifies what type of person they need, they are referring to the “emergent properties” level, e.g. a project manager who can deliver on time, on budget and within specifications. (They specify “chocolate cake”, not the ingredients). The role of an HR practitioner is to “decode” the ingredients, and then find them (inside or outside the organization), build them or retain them. This is the practice of talent management and it cannot be done without first establishing a “periodic table of elements” or competency framework.
In future posts we'll discuss the components of a competency framework, criteria for selection of a model, considerations for collecting and managing this information and how to integrate the information into the business decision making processes of an organization and create “People Intelligence” (the equivalent of market or business intelligence).
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