Editor's Note: The Global Career Center is proud to share this guest blog highlighting work from our colleague and consultant Amy Amann. We are excited to kick off and continue the conversation related to this evolving model as we remain responsive to the changing world of work.
In today’s competitive, performance-driven world that strives to meet individual needs for learning and development with an organization’s need for growth and efficiency, The Global Career Center connects employability and education through structured and supported experiential learning programs. The programs are designed with university and employer partners to prepare students for the future world of work. One way we are bridging the requirements of the academic world with those of the professional world is via our own competence model. A competence model provides a framework with the language to describe and evaluate performance on the job.
Developing the GCC Model
GCC has developed a competence model that is relevant for our interns who are placed in practical assignments with organizations from a range of industries around the globe. The model provides a frame of reference related to the professional demands of the future. We developed this model in concert with the best HR practices of global companies, with academic research, and the drawing on the requirements of current future employers. We reviewed the competencies considered most important for our partner universities and host organizations, as well as leading organizations such as the WEF and NACE.
We then placed ourselves the challenge to confirm our hypothesis with business leaders, HR professionals, and international educators. We asked for their views of the most important skills that students should exhibit at this critical point in their career. Their voices confirmed our findings, and helped us refine and focus our view. For example, ‘Leadership’ is a commonly quoted competence, but there is not a universal definition. Even when we proposed typical skills around leadership of leading others, influencing, and setting vision, our respondents did not prioritize these as the most important skills for interns and young professionals.
Additionally, given the global orientation of our partner organizations, we determined that a framework highlighting the capabilities necessary for an international career is most relevant to our interns. It fosters their academic development as well as preparedness for a globally-oriented career. Therefore, our model purposefully includes this viewpoint.
The GCC Model
The principles of our model are that it is stakeholder driven, holistic, and interconnected. We identified five main clusters that capture the key drivers for success of early-career professionals. Each cluster is further defined by key skills and demonstrated behaviors.
Managing Complexity is about problem solving at its essence. This is about figuring out the problem, understanding root causes, and generating options for solving it.
The key skills associated with Managing complexity are: Critical thinking, Analytical thinking Creativity, and Judgment & Decision making.
Service Orientation is about getting results. This is about having a view to get things done on time, using your energy and ideas to provide good quality and for the purpose of adding value to the client or stakeholder.
The key skills associated with Service orientation are Action orientation, Results orientation, Perseverance, and Quality orientation.
Forging Alliances is about interpersonal relations. This is about working with others in a variety of settings to perform the work and achieve the goals.
The skills associated with this are Communication, Collaboration, Managing diverse relations, and Motivating others.
Growth Affinity is about personal learning and growth. It is about understanding oneself, one’s talents and strengths and how one interacts with others and the world to contribute in a relevant way.
We have identified Digital Literacy, Learning Agility, and Self Development as the key skills.
Culturally Conscious includes global awareness and inclusion. This is about relating to and incorporating other peoples, societies and ways of life, as equal and viable co-actors.
Cultural Awareness, Social Awareness & Engagement, Ethics & Integrity comprise the Culturally Conscious cluster.
These five clusters are illustrated in the attached resource at the bottom of the post and will be implemented within upcoming GCC programs.
The Competence Model for Performance and Professional Development
Interns and their supervisors will be provided further information about the model and how the competences can be demonstrated during the placement. We will also suggest relevant examples appropriate for experiential learning and professional internships. This might be the first time that students have used a framework for evaluating their work, so we understand the importance of properly introducing the model and setting up student interns and supervisors for success.
Our model will be the basis for internship evaluations as well as for further professional development. Our expectation that the reflection and action planning resulting from the internship assessment will help students shape their continued academic careers, and be an instrumental component of launching their professional careers.
Our Model as a Dynamic Reflection of Needs
We will continue to develop and refine our model to keep pace with developments and requirements in academic and professional contexts. We welcome your voice and contribution to shaping it, and ensuing that we are meeting the needs and providing relevant resources to our interns and partner organizations. A link to the current survey in 2021 can be found here.
Bio
Amy Amann is a specialist in People & Organizational Development who helps companies develop, retain and engage their most valuable asset: their people. She helps individuals navigate their careers in today’s interconnected, changing world to achieve their goals. She provides uncompromising support when they face critical professional, team and leadership challenges; when they are stuck on how to overcome these; and when they want to use their strengths to improve performance and move forward.
Amy has an MBA in International Management from Thunderbird Global School of Management. She is a qualified ICF coach, systemic organization development consultant, and Career Support Specialist. A global citizen by identity and professional expat, she has worked across the US, Europe, and Asia with various organizations at global, regional, and local levels enabling their growth journeys.