ABSTRACT

Anyone reading the competency literature could be forgiven for believing that the interpersonal competency cluster is the most important. A UK survey of personal competencies in use across 40 organisations showed that the interpersonal cluster contained the most competencies. Similarly, a US study showed that successful managers used interpersonal competencies to a greater extent than competencies in the other clusters. The small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) study tried to assess the relative value of competency clusters in a different way. It may be helpful to think of that statistic as reflecting the 'contribution' made to predicting or explaining performance ratings. In reality, this is unsurprising; other than social clubs, organisations exist primarily to achieve results. However, it is clear that interpersonal skill is a major factor in achieving such results. Whilst results orientation is the strongest predictor for each of the functions, its weight and margin of lead over the next strongest cluster varies.