What are the 5 key competencies of OD professionals?
If you want to understand a profession, the code of ethics and the competency framework is usually a good place to start.
As Organization Development (OD, OrgDev) is a profession that is often recognized by name, but still poorly understood, we dedicate this post to sharing the key OD competencies.
We imagine a future where all those that are leading organizations become OD practitioners, intentionally developing organizations for a better future and not only managing their current functioning.
If you lead organizations or part of organizations, advise organizational leaders or aspire to lead an organization, we hope this article sparks your curiosity to explore further and develop the competencies that you resonate with.
For our profession, the Organization Development Network has defined the Global OD Competency Framework, with 5 key competencies and 15 specialty areas.
Here’s an outline from Matt Minahan, who was part of the team that created the framework. You can find the source document of the outline here.
“Competency 1: Systems Change Expert
- Systems Change Leader — who can comfortably work within a whole system and advise on strategies for organizational change, transformation, and alignment.
- Culture Builder — who fosters commitment and engagement based on an environment of trust and promotes the health and vitality of the organization.
- Innovator — who sponsors, develops, and can challenge the organization to create strategies for disruption, breakthroughs, transformation, and innovation.
Competency 2: Efficient Designer
- Efficient Designer — who strives for simplicity and designs strategies, interventions, and processes to facilitate a desired business outcome with the client and end-user in mind.
- Process Consultant — who increases leadership and organizational capacity, facilitates group dialogue and decision-making by creating a non-threatening environment.
- Data Synthesizer — who operates as an integrator connecting multi-stakeholder views and translates salient information to create clarity and commitment.
Competency 3: Business Advisor
- Strategic Catalyst — who thinks strategically, takes initiative, and acts to achieve results tied to the organization’s goals.
- Results-Oriented Leader — who understands and applies the principles of customer service, sets challenging goals, and measures impact and project return on investment.
- Trusted Advisor — who effectively develops trusting relationships and partnerships through integrity and authenticity and is clear about the outcomes that are important to key stakeholders.
Competency 4: Credible Strategist
- Credible Influencer — who empathetically relates to clients, understands their needs, and has the knowledge to translate the business reality into terms that can be agreed upon and committed to by the client.
- Collaborative Communicator — who communicates clearly and concisely, and tailors communication in ways that meet the needs and motivations of client groups at all levels.
- Globally Diverse Integrator — who can effectively work within diverse cultures, and creates an inclusive environment for people of all identities to feel valued, respected, and able to contribute.
Competency 5: Informed Consultant
- Exemplary Consultant — who cultivates meaning, working relationships, and commitment with stakeholders to effect change, and demonstrates an understanding of client expectations, effectively contracting for goals, outcomes, and resources.
- Emotionally Intelligent Leader — who effectively reads stakeholders, seeks out different perspectives, and uses emotional intelligence to guide appropriate action, and understands and reflects on one’s own personal values, boundaries, feelings, biases, triggers, and ethics to manage their impact on the work.
- Life-Long Learner and Practitioner — who demonstrates leadership in a specialized area of OD, stays up to date on methodologies and tools, and leverages best practices to drive results in line with the organization’s needs. The website has about a dozen specific theories listed, including appreciative inquiry, culture change, diversity and inclusion, organization design, the science of decision making, systems theory, and team development.”
In our experience, this competency framework brings clarity and, even though there’s lots to learn to develop each competency (mindset and attitudes, skillset and behaviors, toolset and associated knowledge), the best performing leadership teams
- have most of the competencies covered inside the team
- or partner with trusted advisers to complement whats currently missing while continuing to build the competencies internally.
Becoming a member of a professional association is helpful in accelerating learning for you as an individual or for your team. The learning community around the profession, the learning materials, the curated newsletters and mentorship programs are all valuable in the journey of becoming better professionals.
On our part, we’re publishing a pro bono newsletter with ideas and tools for developing organizations in an effort to promote OD and its value. Subscribe here for weekly updates in your inbox.
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