COMPETENCIES OF CHANGE AGENTS
Competency is an
underlying characteristic of a person that results in effective and/or superior
performance (Boyatzis, 1982).
After going through
various roles of Change agents, it would have become clear that they have to be
master of many competencies. It needs to clarify here that it is not possible
for a particular Change agent to be the master of all skills / competencies,
that is why, Change agents also engage other Change agents / Consultants. It is
very difficult to make an exclusive list of Change agent competencies — the
roles themselves indicate many of them. The competencies include knowledge,
skills, attitudes, traits, value, motives and it is difficult to draw a line
between theses. A skill is used for applications or working for performing a
task / satisfying a role, which is a result of a number of visible and invisible
competencies. In general, competencies for Change agents may be broadly
classified into:
–
Cognitive
Competencies;
–
Functional
/ Technical Competencies;
–
Personal
(Effectiveness) Competencies (Self-control, attitudes, traits, values etc.);
and
–
Inter-personal
Competencies.
In addition,
‘Consulting’ / Problem solving competency comprising of all the above mentioned
competencies is also essential for Change agents. Each of these competencies has
been briefly explained as following:
1 Cognitive Competencies:
Cognitive competencies are required for perceiving and thinking
and are again a combination of a number of competencies. For simple
explanation, these can be divided in two types of thinking:
· Analytical thinking; and
· Conceptual thinking.
·
Analytical
Thinking enables a person to
understand a situation by breaking it apart into smaller pieces, or tracing the
implications of a situation in a step-by-step causal way. It also involves
organising the parts of a problem or situation in a systematic way, making
systematic comparisons of different aspects or features, setting priorities on
a rational basis, identifying time sequences, causal relationships or ‘If
.......... then ...........’ relationships.
·
Conceptual
Thinking involves understanding a situation
or problem by putting the pieces together and seeing the large picture. It
includes identifying patterns or connections between situations that are not
obviously related and identifying key or underlying issues in a complex
situation. Conceptual thinking uses creative, conceptual or inductive reasoning
for applying the existing concepts of defining novel concepts. According to
Spencer and Spencer (1993), there are two main dimensions of Conceptual
thinking :
§ The complexity of thought processes and their originality —
ranging from ‘using basic thumb rules’ to ‘creating new theories explaining
complex situations’.
§ The breadth or the size of the problem analysed.
2 Functional/Technical
Competencies
These are the skills
required to perform effectively in a particular discipline, functional or
technical area such as — Heat Treatment, Corrosion, Investment analysis,
Designing a wage and salary administration system, Organization Development,
Structural Design etc.
The Change agent, who
is working for identifying or resolving problems, must have the necessary
knowledge particularly as Problem identifier or/and Solution provider.
Technical / professional competencies include mastery on a body or field of Job
related Knowledge and skills and also the motivation to enhance, use and
disseminate work-related knowledge/skills to others. According to Spencer and
Spencer, there are four main dimensions to Functional / Technical/ Professional
competencies:
i)
Depth of
Knowledge and Skills
ii)
Breadth
of Knowledge and Skills
iii)
Expertise
Acquisition Motive
iv)
Distribution
/ Dissemination of Expertise
Change agents /
Consultants are engaged for solving problems, and all problems apparently will
emerge in one or more of functions/departments/ processes of the organizations.
Functional / technical knowledge provides a perspective to perceive in a
holistic manner and also quite essential for interacting with and convincing
the client. It adds to the confidence and credibility of the Change agent.
1.
Personal
(Effectiveness) / Self Management Competencies
These competencies
help a person to be effective in achieving his goals, actions even amidst
environmental difficulties and pressures. For effectiveness of Change agents /
Consultants, the following personal / self management skills are quite
essential.
§
Self
Control
§
Self
Confidence
§
Flexibility
§
Organizational
Commitment
§
Initiative
2.
Inter-Personal
Competencies
These competencies
are essential for dealing with other people effectively. Inter-personal
competencies are a bunch of different skills largely overlapping with each
other. It is very difficult to clearly enumerate all such slots.
However, some of the
inter-personal skills may be enumerated as :
§ Inter-personal relations;
§ Helping a person; and
§ Developing and maintaining smooth, co-operative working
relationships with colleagues, superiors, customers, clients etc.
3.
Consulting
Competency
Although Change agents
are also considered to be Consultants, however, in this section, this is being
taken as a specific competency of Change agents. These are needed to complete
the various phases of a change project and adapting the consulting role as
needed for a variety of situations.
§ General Skills These
skills are necessary for selecting and expediting different roles as a
consultant.
§ Contracting Skills It
is the skill needed for building a verbal agreement with a client
§
Sensing
and Diagnosing Skills Helping
the client to discover and clearly understand the problem
§ Problem Solving and Decision-Making Skills Involving others in problem solving and goal setting.
§ Implementing Skills These skills are essential for successfully carrying out a
project of planned change.
§ Evaluating Skills For
determining the success or failure of a change initiative / project, evaluating
skills are necessary.
§ Maintenance Skills Creating
a sense of responsibility, passion for the new system, procedures etc., after
change.
§
Educating
§ Diagnosing
§
Consulting
§ Linking
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