Last week, we published a brief article called, “Competencies, Capabilities, and Skills: Every Leader’s Guide to Their Evolving Use.” In it, we said:

It is important for every leader to understand that these three concepts are related and intertwined and you can integrate the best of them to build the kind of talent needed in your organization. If the competency framework you have in place is not working, then improve it. Change the language. Simplify the messages. Reference capabilities and skills more prominently. Make the framework and its components do their job for your organization, which means starting with the business outcomes you need from any framework or taxonomy.

Most companies today have or had a leadership competency framework in place. Popularized in the 1990s, competency frameworks defined the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics (KSAs) that were important to success in various roles and organizations. While there are debates about how “competency” is defined, depending upon which consulting firm might be defining it, there really should not be a debate. The most recognized and technically-sound definition of competencies is, as noted above, the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics important to success in various roles or organizations.