Competence requirements vs Horizons Of Focus

[Maurice]

Recently I started with a new job, and for now I'm in the proces of drafting my business Horizons Of Focus.

From my job description I'm destilling mainly areas of focus. But in the job description are also required competencies stated.
Where do those fit? How do you deal with competence requirements and make sure they're reviewed with the necessary frequency to investige new projects related to competencies?

 

[Jamie Elis]

use examples from the job description?

Maybe look at job description or even the description for the next level and translate these into behavioral objectives as they would fit into that work place.

Also, look at the requirements of the profession in general and see if they are described.

Without knowing your field, I would guess that there will be a balance between being able to describe and apply key principles across a range of situations (these would would be particular to your company and your role) and mastery of certain technologies, ethical guidelines for application, communication and documentation requirements, and some interpersonal skills.

You might also look at who in the company has the job you want in the future and figure out what he or she can do that you cannot.

You might try creating a rubric, meaning qualitative descriptions of the continuum of skills and behaviors that apply to your roles.

Good luck, you sound like a positive and proactive person, and a good communicator, so you will probably be able to tell us about your success with this.

 

[lizwithhat]

I would add Someday/Maybe projects along the lines of "Improve my skills at [competency]", then review on the same schedule as my other Someday/Maybe projects. If on the review I decide that it's time to work on that competency - probably if I'm noticing areas at work where I could improve - then I'll refine it into a more measurable goal, move it to my active projects and define the NAs.

 

[Maurice]

Thank you for your replies.

I think I will add them to a monthly review which I will setup. There I will make a check whether there is any evidence I demonstrate the required competencies. Depending on this check, I'll decide projects and/or NA's.
Perhaps it would be appropriate to add the competencies as areas of focus (which I also review monthly).

At first i was charmed by making them S/m's, but I have the habit to mark the s/m's which have made it to projects, so my focus would possibly deminish after time, or I should keep them permanently as s/m's, which would imho be the same as areas of focus.

I can already create a project to study competencies in general

 

[lizwithhat]

I like the idea of looking for evidence that you display the competencies - that seems very logical, and it should be really helpful when it comes to annual evaluation time!

 

[Maurice]

I like the idea of looking for evidence that you display the competencies - that seems very logical, and it should be really helpful when it comes to annual evaluation time!

On a monthly level, I already do this little exercise (actually, I use a preformatted mindmap per month for this):

What will I try to improve on next month?
What was I most proud of this month?
What was my biggest accomplishment this month?
What have I done to get closer to my life goals this month?
What was hard for me this month, and why?
What was my biggest waste of time this month?
What did I do this month that made me ashamed?

I found this list somewhere on the internet (source unknown).
During my monthly personal meeting with my manager I use this (completed) list to discuss my progress (he's now introducing this for his personal use and progress reviews with other colleagues ).

I could create something similair for the required competencies.

And indeed, it could be very helpful for the annual evaluation!