![]() What are your natural competencies as a leader? If you don’t know, how can you find out? And why should you care anyways? We’re helping today’s nonprofit leaders (and tomorrow’s nonprofit leaders in the making) answer these questions! Natural Competencies vs Core Competencies
Someone’s natural competencies are the things they are naturally good at without needing any practice. When we say that someone is “hardwired” a certain way we are talking about their natural competencies. As people grow and mature their natural competencies may slowly change over time, or they may remain fixed. On the other hand, core competencies are the skills and traits that a person needs to succeed in a particular role. The things that make up core competencies can change significantly depending on the organization’s needs at a specific point in time. Remember, just because you had the skills the organization needed when you were hired, doesn’t mean you have the skills they need today. That’s why you should periodically review how you are doing at acquiring new skills as you see you need them. You should also look critically at what skills the organization needs today, as opposed to when you started. Be brave enough to ask, “If I were hiring someone for this role today, what would skills and traits would I be looking for?” Then compare that answer with what your strengths are and what types of things you usually delegate. That can become your professional development agenda for the coming year! Natural competencies and core competencies are not necessarily the same, but when they are, watch out! An alignment between natural competencies and core competencies is an unbeatable combination for an organization. Why Natural Competencies Matter Of course, the discussion around finding a leader whose natural competencies match the needs of a particular role is moot if a candidate doesn’t know what their natural competencies are or how to articulate them. And for nonprofit leaders looking for their next role, not being attuned to what their natural competencies are can hurt their job search because they won’t be able to recognize the right role for them when it becomes available. One of the ways that nonprofit consultants can offer value to nonprofit leadership teams is by helping them to identify their natural competencies. By being in tune with their natural competencies nonprofit leaders can:
How to Identify Your Natural Competencies How can you find out what your natural competencies are? There are three main approaches that we recommend when trying to discover your natural competencies: 1. Do a Self-Assessment Find a personality assessment you like and think you can trust (everyone has their own opinions on which are the best) and take it to find out where you shine. We recommend picking one that your colleagues or peers have taken so you can compare your results to get a sense of what that means for your day-to-day work and future career goals. Make a practice of taking this kind of assessment annually or bi-annually to see how you are growing and developing over time. 2. Ask for Feedback Some people are more self-aware than others, but regardless of how well you can nail down your own personality type, you can’t understand how your personality is perceived by others without getting their perspective. Ask for feedback from external colleagues and internal coworkers that you can trust to give you honest answers. If you don’t feel comfortable asking directly, pay attention to performance review feedback or enlist the help of a career mentor or a leadership coach to help give you the kind of objective information and criticism you need to understand yourself better. These kinds of formal feedback channels can help you to understand where your natural competencies don’t align with the core competencies needed for the role so you can make a strategic plan to close the gap. Set goals for where you want to grow and regularly review your progress in these areas. 3. Reflect on Past Experiences Think back on your previous professional experience to identify times when you felt like you were doing your best work or were happiest in your role. Pay particular attention to how you approached decision-making and responded to challenges in these instances to get a sense of your natural inclinations. Similarly, recall times when you felt like you didn’t measure up or there was friction that you couldn’t overcome. Use those past experiences to help you identify your natural competencies based on when you felt like you were thriving. If you are earlier in your career and don’t have as much professional experience, experiment with taking on new types of projects and assisting with different roles to determine where you feel like you fit best. Every day as nonprofit leadership consultants we work with nonprofit leaders who are going through organizational transitions. These Executive Directors and Board Presidents are giving their roles everything they have during times that can be tumultuous and uncertain. It’s in these times that we see the best leaders lean on their natural competencies to propel their organizations through new challenges as they arise. We have seen what works, and what doesn’t, and we are ready to share that insight with you! When you need interim nonprofit leadership or board advisory services, please reach out to us! We come alongside nonprofit organizations and their leaders so that they can come out stronger on the other side of a shift or pivot. Find out what our past clients have said about the kind of impact we’ve made over the years! Comments are closed.
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