Basic competencies - Experts in work

Introduction

The notion of basic competencies' early development and relative stability is based on folk wisdom ("...he/she showed leadership of others early in life...) and extensive longitudinal studies of personality initiated in early 2000. Broad longitudinal samples were used in showing significant, equal to intelligence quotient level stability for personality, ie., individual ways of thinking, emotions and behavior (APA, 2000) ranging from early childhood to old age (Roberts & DelVecchio, 2000). Samples collected after 2005 extending to almost quarter of a million subjects were used in a meta-analysis confirming the main results of the earlier longitudinal studies (Bleidorn et. al, 2022). It is fair to note that the stability is of moderate magnitude and that the meta-analysis also identified personality changes deriving from external events as well as from maturation (eg., lowering of neuroticism).

Current knowledge doesn't have a clear answer to the question whether basic work competencies or their seedlings are manifested already in early childhood or only in early adulthood. The most important thing is that the basic competencies driven by personality factors have been shown to possess significant, moderate level stability in time, in contrast to the currently disrupting educational, occupational and job specific competence requirements.

Basic competencies driven by personality factors are also age old in evolutionary sense. It may be stated that the competence drivers of hunters, gatherers and shamans already in stone age were the same motivations, ways of thinking and attitudes. The same "experts in work" could be found: Quality vs. Results seekers, Advisors, Idea generators, etc. The challenge is to track suitable educational, occupational and job competencies for today's "Experts in work".

Competency pyramid

Individuals can be viewed with three competence elements arranged in a pyramid-like form. At the peak are JOB SPECIFIC competencies developing from work experience. They are built on EDUCATIONAL and OCCUPATIONAL competencies which derive from formal education. At the base are BASIC competencies ie., individuals' characteristic ways of behaving, handling information and viewing the world. They develop earlier and are more stable in time and they give direction to all educational, occupational and job specific competence regardless of the person's age, education, work experience or employment status. They derive from individual motivations, ways of thinking and attitudes. They may be described as personified, easily relatable "Experts in work".

The three competency elements are arranged in the order of learning. It all begins with the development of BASIC competencies which give direction to EDUCATIONAL and OCCUPATIONAL competence, which give direction to JOB SPECIFIC competence. As more stable structures they give constant direction and shape to all educational, occupational and job specific competence. See the pyramid figure below.



The platform feature of basic competencies becomes more important as the disruption of competency requirements at work gains in speed. Occupations and jobs change and the pyramid's upper parts have to be renovated or rebuilt from time to time. However, basic competencies change more slowly. They provide direction both to occupational and job specific competencies throughout one's work career. Their greater stability and transferability makes them a platform for lifelong learning. Deriving from personal motivations, ways of thinking and attitudes, basic competencies generate a sense of ownership necessary for initiating self-directed planning of career and competence.

Basic competencies - Experts in work

Basic competencies are fourteen competent ways of performing independent action, leadership, collaboration, handling of information and viewing the world and oneself. They are driven, ie., fueled and given direction by the individual's motivations, ways of thinking and attitudes. Basic competencies may be described as 20 easily relatable "Experts in work", see the PDF.

The particular strength of Basic competencies is that beside people they describe jobs. Any job can be appraised for its relative emphasis on high quality vs. sizeable results. People in turn are matched to jobs by determining whether eg., he/she is primarily a quality vs. results seeker, etc.

Teams and occupational groups

In addition to individuals and jobs, basic competencies are also used in describing occupational groups and teams. We have collected "prototypical" competency profiles of different occupational groups from used car sales people to classical ballet dancers. Teams in turn can be examined as collective competence units by calculating averages of the team members' competencies. Teams are described by broad competencies such as quality vs. results seeking units or with emphasis on existing processes vs. creation of new processes. Teams can be described with more detailed, narrower competencies such as equipped with poor-strong communication or service provision potentialities.

Competency drivers

Motivations - drivers of action competencies

Achievement, leadership and interaction motivations are the drivers of independent action, leadership and collaboration at work. The picture of the individual becomes more focused with attention to the underlying single motives. Single motives indicate for example whether the person wants to excel in independent activities (achievement motivation) via high quality vs. sizeable results. Whether the person wants to lead (leadership motivation) the behavior vs. thoughts of others and whether the individual wants to collaborate with others (interaction motivation) by communicating, advising or listening to other people.

Ways of thinking - drivers of information handling competencies

Ways of thinking in turn function as drivers of handling information ie., planning and problem solving. The process makes use of either existing, proven processes or creates new processes. Both represent competence, depending on the targeted job. Planning and problem solving is carried out along four consecutive steps from approaching the plan or problem and ending to implementation of solutions. Each step marks a single basic competency -"Expert in work" character.

Attitudes - drivers of viewing competencies

Attitudes serve as drivers of viewing things. Most important is the person's attitude toward the environmental ambiguity and change. This indicates whether the person feels more at home in orderly, stable and consistency providing work environments or in variety and novelty providing, mobile work environments. Individuals' different success expectations are driven by optimism and vary in their competence value. Reflection upon one's own ethical conduct has however less influence on competent behavior at work.

Ownership of competence

Basic competencies, Experts in work are not externally offered empty buzzwords nor are they technical, complex qualities. Instead they are easily relatable and cathchy descriptions of behavior at work, also as descriptors of partners, team members or clients. Describing individuals as relatable "Experts in work" answer the identity question who am I at work. It is quite easy to identify with person characters in contrast to abstract dimensions or general personality traits at distance to work life.

Perhaps most important is that identifying with basic competencies, "Experts in work" creates a sense of ownership necessary for initiating truly self-directed competence development. More on the theoretical background of basic competencies in document WOPI Technical Manual (WOPI, 2010).