Consulting for leadership systems
Clear expectations of leadership.
Effective leadership does not begin with standalone training sessions, but with clear descriptions of behaviour and well-designed development architectures. We help you define what good leadership means in your organisation, and align development with it.
Book a free introductory callWhat it is about
Many organisations have not explicitly defined what good leadership looks like for them. Feedback then depends on who happens to be assessing, and development remains a matter of chance. Clear descriptions of behaviour create a shared basis for expectations, feedback and development.
What you have at the end
Depending on the assignment: a documented competency model with concrete descriptions of behaviour, a learning architecture, a concept or a process description, together with an agreed implementation plan. We agree in advance which results will be produced, how they will be reviewed and who will take on implementation.
Typical challenges and how we approach them
Challenge
What good leadership means has not been explicitly described.
Our approach
We describe expectations as concrete, observable descriptions of behaviour and create a shared understanding among everyone who assesses.
What research shows
Two supervisors agree only moderately in their performance ratings. In controlled studies, mostly with students, training on a shared frame of reference made ratings noticeably more accurate immediately afterwards.
Viswesvaran, Ones & Schmidt (1996), Journal of Applied Psychology; Roch, Woehr, Mishra & Kieszczynska (2012), Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, meta-analysis of 36 studies
Challenge
General competency terms remain vague.
Our approach
Instead of catalogue terms, we work with descriptions of behaviour from your everyday work.
What research shows
In a field experiment, job incumbents mostly rated globally worded competency statements higher than the same content broken down into concrete tasks and abilities; the authors interpret this as inflation in job analyses.
Morgeson, Delaney-Klinger, Mayfield, Ferrara & Campion (2004), Journal of Applied Psychology, field experiment
Challenge
Talent and succession decisions rest on gut feeling.
Our approach
We design talent reviews and succession processes with clear criteria agreed in advance and structured procedures.
What research shows
In personnel selection, structured interviews predict later performance considerably better than unstructured ones. This has not been studied specifically for talent reviews and succession; we carry over the principle of clear criteria and structured procedures.
Sackett, Zhang, Berry & Lievens (2022), Journal of Applied Psychology
Fields of work
- Competency models
and their use in staff and leadership development.
- Learning architectures and development programmes
that fit these expectations.
- Transfer into everyday work:
so that development arrives where leadership happens.
- Support for change and culture work:
so that new expectations of leadership and collaboration arrive in everyday work, in roles, routines and decisions.
- Talent management processes:
potential criteria, talent reviews and succession, based on clearly described expectations.
Our approach
The starting point is your organisation's goals, tasks and specific work situations. Existing models and scientific approaches guide our work. Depending on the assignment, we develop an organisation-specific model or review and revise an existing one. We do not adopt a standard model unchanged. We involve employees and relevant stakeholders.
Who is involved on your side
A responsible person on the client side, HR or learning and development, relevant leaders and employees from the areas concerned. We involve further stakeholders, such as the works council, early on, depending on the topic and the intended use.
- Duration
- depending on the assignment.
- Investment
- after a free introductory call with no obligation you receive a proposal matched to goals, scope and format.
Experience
Our team brings experience from leadership development, assessment and succession, gained before UNLEASHING POTENTIAL was founded, including at an international consultancy. We combine work on competency models and their use in staff and leadership development with talent management processes and learning architectures, from the development journey through transfer to rollout. Where questions of aptitude diagnostics arise, we draw on suitable expertise through our network.
Frequently asked questions
What is a competency model?
A competency model describes which observable behaviour makes for good work in a role. It creates a shared basis for expectations, feedback and development.
Do you work with a ready-made model from a catalogue?
No. Existing models and scientific approaches guide our work; depending on the assignment, we develop a model for your organisation or review and revise an existing one.
Do you use 1UP Blueprint for this?
No. 1UP Blueprint is a product of UNLEASHING POTENTIAL that is in development. It is not yet in use with clients.
What does good leadership mean in your organisation?
Let's clarify it together in the free introductory call: 30 minutes, online.
Get in touch: kontakt@unleashing-potential.de