OPEN MINDS, The Behavioral Health & Social Service Industry Analyst

Industry Analysis

Five Pillars Of Management Competency: Behavioral Health & Social Service Organizations Need Strong Managers In A Challenging Time

OPEN MINDS has identified five critical non-clinical management competencies needed for the success of behavioral health and social service organizations. In this article, we review those key competencies and discuss a structured approach to competency assessment and development.

Five Pillars of Management Competency for Behavioral Health & Social Services

What are competencies? Essentially they are the enduring characteristics or "talents" that determine individual performance. Using competency models in position descriptions, performance evaluations, and staff development is a best practice in human resource management. A focus on competencies helps to accomplish a number of key objectives:

• Communication of the purpose of a position and how it contributes to the overall organization and its objectives
• Identification of specific duties and responsibilities
• Communication of performance standards and expectations
• Description of both the behavioral competencies and technical skills necessary for success

A focus on competencies helps shift the recruiting and development process to the competencies needed for a position - not merely the knowledge, education, training, and experience requirements. Currently, there are a number of different tools in the human resource field to label and identify competencies, but they don't address some of the unique needs in the behavioral health and social service field. In our work, we have identified five core non-clinical management competencies that behavioral health and social service organizations need in their management teams to effectively cope with today's changing environment:

• Leadership & planning competencies: Ability to develop, effectively communicate, and lead organizational strategy

• Financial management competencies: Ability to understand financial processes and metrics - and use that information in improving the organization's efficiency and effectiveness

• Marketing & development competencies: Ability to link the organization to its customer base (consumers, referral sources, payers, and funding sources) in a manner that balances mission with revenue and margin requirements

• Information technology competencies: Ability to understand and use computer technologies and resulting data for management purposes and to effectively plan and deploy technological solutions to help achieve the organizational objectives

• Strategic management competencies: Ability to effectively manage, develop, and deploy the organization's human resources using strategic performance tools to continuously improve organizational process and effectiveness

Leadership & Planning Competencies

Leadership and planning competencies include the ability to develop, effectively communicate, and lead organizational strategy. Three components of the leadership competencies give an organization the high-level direction needed in today's behavioral health and social service marketplace:

• Strategic business vision
• Collaboration & partnerships
• Savvy communication

Strategic Business Vision

This is the ability to recognize threats and take advantage of the opportunities in the market that effect the organization's competitiveness and effectiveness. Individuals with this competency are masters at assessing both the internal and external organizational environment and then developing a vision and the strategic business objectives that align with it.

Collaboration & Partnerships

This is the ability to develop and effectively manage strategic collaborations or partnerships with other organizations. Individuals with this competency see collaborations and partnerships as a potential tool for achieving the organization's mission, and they work with a mindset that, in some instances, partnership with competitors, customers, or other stakeholders, builds competitive advantage.

Savvy Communication

The communication skills of leaders go beyond written and verbal communication skills. Individuals with this competency relate well to all kinds of people - staff, board directors, customers, and other stakeholders. They can build constructive relationships with a wide range of individuals and can adjust their communication style to ensure that messages are clear.

Individuals with leadership competencies are able to both set a course for the organization and to lead stakeholders to new and exciting possibilities. Leadership competencies enhance the effectiveness of the other competencies.

Financial Management Competencies

It is common to think of financial management competencies in terms of accounting, billing, cash management, and other financial functions. But these are particular financial skills, not management competencies. Financial management is the ability to understand financial processes and metrics and to use that information in improving the organization's efficiency and effectiveness.

Three components of financial management competencies are:

• Analytical thinking
• Business acumen
• Project planning & management

Analytical Thinking

This is the ability to use logical, systematic reasoning to understand, analyze, and solve problems. Individuals with this competency are gifted at identifying the component parts of a problem and developing effective solutions based on likely costs and benefits. Managers gifted in analytical thinking can link the financial metrics of a situation with their understanding of the organization's business processes.

Business Acumen

The ability to think with an "enterprise" perspective defines business acumen. This includes both the broad category of "common business sense" (knowing how businesses work) and a mastery of common business tools used to manage an organization (such as business process mapping, reengineering, unit cost analysis, and return-on-investment analysis).

Project Planning & Management

The ability to plan, budget, and manage a complex project from start to finish is another key component of good financial management competencies. Individuals versed in this competency can accurately determine the length and difficulty of the necessary tasks for projects, including developing and managing process steps, schedules, staff and financial resources, and progress milestones.

Marketing & Development Competencies

Individuals who bring marketing and development competencies to an organization have the ability to link the organization to its customer base. These competencies are also comprised of three components:

• Customer service orientation
• Innovative service development
• Service portfolio management

Customer Service Orientation

This is the ability to empathize with and attend to the needs, desires, and satisfaction of all of the organization's customers - purchasers, consumers, and other stakeholders. Individuals with this competency have an external focus, and they actively seek feedback and input from customers. They are "in tune" with customers, understanding what they want and how they think.

Innovative Service Development

The ability to identify and analyze creative service opportunities is a key competency component. Individuals with this competency know how to translate knowledge of the market into desired service attributes and acceptable pricing.

Service Portfolio Management

This competency is the ability to analyze and evaluate the organization's entire line of services in terms of market "fit" to determine which services to invest in and which to phase out. Individuals with this competency analyze service lines on a number of parameters - including their relationship to organizational mission, profitability, market share, and market potential. They have the ability to develop service line management strategies to ensure that the organization's financial and human resource investments are used appropriately.

Information Technology Competencies

Information technology competencies are the ability to understand and use computer technologies and resulting data for management purposes, and to effectively plan and deploy technological solutions to achieve the organizational mission. They are comprised of two components:

• Information literacy
• Technology resource planning

Information Literacy

This competency is not about specific software skills or knowledge, rather it is the ability to understand what information and data is available for managing the organization and how to obtain it. Individuals with this competency understand the link between business activity and data. They can "translate" information requests from staff and can teach staff how to use information most effectively.

Technology Resource Planning

Individuals with skills in technology resource planning understand how the organization operates in order to serve its customers - and how to use available technology to improve performance and reduce cost. This competency involves extensive knowledge about what technology is available in the marketplace and the ability to help the management team implement technology solutions necessary to achieve strategic objectives.

Strategic Management Competencies

The last category of critical competencies is strategic management, the ability to effectively manage, develop, and deploy the organization's human resources using strategic performance tools to continuously improve organizational process and effectiveness. Strategic management is comprised of two components:

• Human resource management
• Performance measurement & management

Human Resource Management

The ability to develop, coach, and maximize the performance of current employees and workgroups is a critical skill in a field where the largest expense is people. Competency in this area includes the skills needed to identify human resource needs and to create a work environment that supports change. Individuals with this competency have exemplary supervisory skills and are knowledgeable of best practices in human resources.

Performance Measurement & Management

This is the ability to select and use appropriate performance metrics to manage the progress and effectiveness of individuals, workgroups, and the organization overall. Individuals with this competency use data to measure success or failure, and they are skilled at interpreting performance measures and explaining their meaning to others.

Assessing & Building Core Competencies in Your Management Team

This issue of management competencies brings critical questions to a CEO:

• What specific management competencies does your organization need?
• Does your organization have all of the core competencies within its management team? If not, what is your plan for filling the gaps in competencies?
• What competencies do individual staff members need to develop, and can you develop them?
• Does your team have the knowledge base upon which each of the competencies is built?
• Should you "buy" the competencies by hiring consultants?
• When do you recruit new team members?

The first step in answering these questions is to identify the competencies required in each senior management team position. (If you have competency-based position descriptions, this is relatively painless.) Then, complete a formal assessment of the competencies of your leadership team. This can be done internally through a self-evaluation and a group-evaluation rating system or externally by using a human resource consultant. Once you've determined what competency gaps exist, the key question then becomes whether to buy or develop the necessary competencies.

Since competencies are enduring traits and talents, developing them requires more than simply learning discrete skills or knowledge. Competency development usually occurs in two stages - knowledge development and personal development. Knowledge development is the school work part of competency development. It is likely to include attending educational programs on topics specific to the competency and reading specialized books and articles. Knowledge provides the base on which the competency is built.

However, competencies are not learned by simply reading about them or attending classroom lectures. They must be developed through training, practice, and appropriate feedback. This is the "personal development" part of competency development as opposed to the teaching component. Approaches in this phase of development include coaching and mentoring with individuals who excel in the competency (staff or outside experts if needed) and by taking on new projects or work assignments that require the competency.

In a rapidly changing environment the questions are of time and money. How much will it cost and how long will it take to develop the required competencies in my team? Personal development through training takes a longer period of time and assumes staff will make mistakes as they develop a new competency. Additionally, there is always a risk that the individual will never develop the desired competency sufficiently.

In the meantime, however, any gaps in critical competencies must be filled if your organization is to be successful in today's changing behavioral health and social service environment. This is where you buy the competencies, either through permanent or temporary staff or by using outside experts, to meet these essential competency needs.