New Page 1

 
Other Solutions:
Contact Us
  Dallas Headquarters
  Address: 5050 Quorum Dr.
Suite 625
Dallas, TX 75254
  Phone: 972.481.1950     
800.899.1669
  Fax: 972.481.1951
 Regional Offices in:
 Seattle,WA - Cleveland,OH - Austin,TX

 

Professional Development

Advancement and growth is critical toward success and satisfaction in your career, yet the process is competitive and void of any guaranties. Persistence and drive, tempered with periodic reflection and evaluation are keys to such progress. Ken Blanchard, along with coauthors Drea Zigarmi, Carl Edeburn, and Michael O'Connor, note in their book, The Leader Within: Learning Enough about Yourself to Lead Others, the best place to begin is to take a close look at your individual personality and character.

The Waters Consulting Group now offers a powerful tool, CareerNavigator™, a rigorously substantiated personality assessment survey* designed to help current and aspiring leaders in the public sector to know themselves, and on those factors that matter most. CareerNavigator™ is based on competencies selected by management-level professionals from various-sized local governments. These competencies serve as the basis for what is measured through this assessment process. It includes abilities and traits such as:

• Visioning
• In-Depth Problem Solving & Analysis
• Decisive Judgment
• Championing Change
• Business Acumen
• Planning & Organizing
• Driving for Results
• Quality Focus
• Customer Service
• Integrity
• Resilience
 		 • Continuous Learning
• Teamwork & Collaboration
• Influencing & Persuading
• Managing Others
• Coaching & Developing Others
• Organizational Savvy
• Relationship Management
• Conflict Management
• Interpersonal Communication
• Meeting Leadership
• Respecting Diversity
 

In Competence at Work: Models for Superior Performance, Spencer and Spencer define a competency as “an underlying characteristic of an individual that is causally related to criterion-referenced effective and/or superior performance in a job or situation.” WCG has developed several competency models for public-sector professionals (from large, medium and small-sized organizations) Police Chiefs, Department Directors, Public Works, Community Development, and others. Regardless of which model is selected, the participant will receive feedback on each competency with scores on various personal traits. Listed below is an example of the results and feedback provided by CareerNavigator™ :


 
Competency & Definition

Visioning: Effectively organizing and planning work according to organizational needs by defining objectives and anticipating needs and priorities.
 
Comments

Helps:
• You appear to be willing to apply a certain amount of logical and systematic thought to the planning process. This should help you to conceptualize and plan work activities.
• Strongly pragmatic by nature, you should emphasize realistic goals and the development of workable plans.

Potential Concerns:
• Your preference for routine and working on a limited number of tasks at one time may interfere with your ability to manage the planning and organizational aspects of your job, especially when faced with multiple demands.
• Without proper self-discipline, you will not be as organized in your personal work as is needed for this competency.
 

Along with the profile of individual ratings on 11-14 of these competencies, detailed development suggestions for improving specific behaviors and skills are provided. These include recommendations regarding work habits, as well books, audio-tapes, and seminars that offered as tips for becoming more effective city leaders. Here are a few examples:
 

Development Suggestions – Planning & Organizing Competency
Activities Suggested Books Suggested Seminars
As you approach projects, make sure you take the time to think through the important steps. Are there things you need to do before you can proceed from one step to another? Are there tasks that can happen at the same time? What should be done during each step?

Take ten minutes at the beginning of each workday to prioritize what you will be doing that day. Keep a short list
of things that are necessary to accomplish and work the list.

Once every few weeks clean your office area. File away unnecessary clutter or any finished projects. Keep in reach only the information or paperwork that you will need in the near future.
 		 The Organized Executive: A Program for Productivity: New Ways to Manage Time, Paper, People, and the
Electronic Office by Stephanie Winston, Warner Books, 1994.

Shortcuts for Smart Managers: Checklist, Worksheets, and Action Plans for Managers with No Time to Waste by
Lisa Davis, AMACOM, 1998.

Project Skills (New Skills Portfolio) by Sam Elbeik & Mark Thomas, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1999.

Organize Your Office!: Simple Routines for Managing Your Workspace by Ronni Eisenberg, Hyperion, 1999.
 		 How To Get More Organized provided by Padgett Thompson Seminars. http://www.pttrain.com/ptPGMO.cfm?
Mode=D&Ecode=1218240

Improving Your Managerial Effectiveness provided by American Management Association.
http://www.amanet.org/seminars/
cmd2/2508.htm

Managing Multiple Projects, Objectives and Deadlines provided by Skillpath Seminars.

Fundamentals of Successful Project Management provided by Skillpath Seminars.
 
 Copyright (C) The Waters Consulting Group, Inc.