Competence goes beyond words. It’s the leader’s ability to say it, plan it, and do it in such a way that others know that you know how – and know that they want to follow you.
Welcome to quality five.
The dictionary defines competence as ‘the ability to do something successfully or efficiently’.
In biological and medical terms it also means ‘effective performance of the normal function.’
We all admire people who display high competence, whether they are precision craftspeople, world-class sports people or successful business leaders. Each of us has the ability to move from ordinary to extraordinary by developing our competency. Here are some of the ways:
- Show up every day – Responsible people show up when they are expected. Highly competent people take it a step further, they don’t show up in body every day – they come ready to play, every day. No matter how they feel, what kind of circumstance they face or how difficult they expect the game to be.
- Keep improving – Look for ways to continually learn, grow and improve. Keep asking "why?", just like that young child you know.
- Follow through with excellence – Quality is never an accident; it’s always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skilful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.
- Accomplish more than expected – Highly competent people go the extra mile. For them good enough is never good enough.
- Inspire others – Highly competent leaders do more than perform at a high level. They inspire and motivate people around them to do the same. Effective leaders combine their relational skills with high competence to take their organisations to new levels of excellence and influence.
Where do you stand when it comes to achieving something? Do you approach things with fervour and perform at the highest level possible? Or is good enough sometimes good enough for you?
When you think about people who are competent; you’re really considering these three types of people:
- those who can see what needs to happen
- those who can make it happen
- those who can make thing happen when it really counts
Take a moment of self-reflection – where do you consistently perform?
Are you a thinker, a doer or a performer-under-pressure? The better you are at all three, the greater potential for influence you will have with your people.
To improve your competence, do the following:
- Get your head in the game – If you’ve mentally or emotionally disengaged, it’s time to re-engage. Reflect on why you’ve disengaged. Do you need new challenges? Or are you in conflict with yourself, your values or people around you? Get to the source of the problem, and create a plan to resolve it. Rededicate yourself; give it an appropriate amount of your undivided attention.
- Redefine the standard – If you’re not performing at a consistently high standard, re-examine your standards; are you shooting too low, do you cut corners, is there a limiting belief in place? Hit a mental reset button, or get support to do so and outline a new level of performance.
- Find three ways to improve – Nobody keeps improving without being intentional about it. Research three ways you can improve your skills and then dedicate the time and money to follow through on them.
Where you focus, energy flows. Where energy flows, things grow.
What kind of leader do you want to be? What are you passionate about? What legacy do you want to leave? This inner work creates the foundation upon which your growth in competency will flourish.
Part 5 of our Leadership Series: Leadership is an Inside Job, The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader
Share this post