Define "great": Case in point

Generic leadership competency models vs. defining great leadership at your company

The president of an Asian business unit at a leading Oil and Gas company defined what leadership capabilities would be required for their top 100 leaders to meet the business objectives laid out by their five-to-ten year strategy.The company has operated in the country for more than a century, but the leases for many of the large producing fields were expiring in the next decade. Meanwhile, the national oil company was eager to assume the leases and take over production. However, operating in the country had distinct challenges: the government has no tolerance for harmful incidents, and demanded that 80% of employees and management be native to the country.It’s tempting to see these challenges requiring effective “communication” and “stakeholder management” skills. But this competency-based approach hardly gets close to the complexity and nuances of what was actually demanded from these Oil and Gas leaders in this market. The successful renewal of the leases requires:

• Anticipating and responding to changes in power in the local or federal government
• Building relationships with government officials, parliament members, and local and existing community leaders in power, both today and in the future
• Adapting to changes in regulations and policies

Yes, there are core skills required, like communicating your value proposition to stakeholders and engaging with stakeholders to find win-win solutions. However, these would never sufficiently position the company’s leaders for success. The leadership capabilities needed for success are significantly more complicated and contextual to the challenge and the market. To learn more, read the full piece: Leadership competency models.