Using custom competency models to drive innovation

So the CEO says that the next 2 years are all about innovation. Great!  How can you get the organization to change?  You add a skill to every role’s competency model that demonstrates what innovation looks like to them.  That is, you need to identify, specifically, what someone should do to be innovative in their role – whether they are in product development, engineering, marketing, or finance.  You might also update other skills in their competency model with behaviors that demonstrative innovation as one moves from good to great.

Translating strategy to every person at every level of the business so it can be executed is hard when it’s abstract.  But imagine how much more tangible it could be. 

• Develop disruptive technologies that meet unmet/unknown market needs (product development)

• Develop financial models that support disruptive product ideas while minimizing risk (finance)

• Identify new product applications/market opportunities for our existing solutions (marketing)

Remember that for each person, a competency model describes what it looks like to be great in their role.  For the organization, a competency model details what each person in their role needs to do to execute their part of the corporate strategy.  Therefore, to get the employee to embrace innovation as a corporate strategy, show them specifically what it looks like to them.  Let them assess themselves against it (a competency assessment), and develop toward it (with personalized, competency-based experiential learning - see visual). Give managers the ability to easily assess and coach their team members against it.  And the organization will change.