DEVELOP YOUR LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES

If you were to list your top skills and core competency clusters, what would you put?

Research conducted this spring by Leibham & Company confirmed that there are a number of core competencies that contribute to the success of Leading Women here in Calgary.  Participants in the study were given 5 sets of core competencies. For each set, participants ranked the core competencies within that set from most important to least important according to how important the core competency was to performing their leadership role:

Top 2 Rankings for Each Core Competency Set

For each of the 5 core competency sets, the top two competencies are listed below:

 "The knowledge pieces come earlier, the soft skills come later."
Research Participant, Spring 2006

Developing strong interpersonal skills was one of the themes that came through loud and clear irrespective of the questions that were asked because relationships in business for both men and women are essential for success. Women who are successful as leaders clearly make interpersonal skill development a priority. In addition to the focus on relationships and one self, all of the women who participated in the research were technically very competent – enhancing technical skills with education, and ensuring that their career path included experiences that further complimented a strong foundation of technical skill. The data shows that the type of work experiences the women had rounded out their foundation of technical knowledge & skill with relationship management skills.

All too often, organizations promote individuals with a strong technical track record, without the necessary development time on the softer skills. This will continue to become more evident as organizations struggle to manage their successful growth during these boom economic times. Truly successful leaders however, acknowledge this skill gap, and take the initiative to turn this into a development opportunity. They do this by seeking out feedback from staff and opportunities that will stretch their people management and relationship skills. Examples include project management in the workplace, and volunteer board or committee work outside of the workplace.

The next newsletters will be dedicated to sharing more of the data that came out of the research. Thank you to the following sponsors for making this research possible:

Clout Level: EnCana

Executive Pipeline Level:
SUNCOR ENERGY – TRANSALTA – CANADIAN NATURAL – TRANSCANADA  –  PARAMOUNT ENERGY TRUST

CONGRATULATIONS TO THESE LEADING WOMEN

Debbie Corah was promoted to the position of Vice President, Glenbow Enterprises. I first met Debbie Corah as a result of sponsoring the Bella fundraiser two years ago through the Calgary Health Trust.  This is one outstanding woman who knows how to organize a successful fundraiser.

Gail Urquhart will be relocating to Red Deer as a result of her promotion to the position of Executive Director of the David Thomson Health Region.  It was my pleasure to work with Gail when I was the chair of the Grace Foundation several years ago. In addition to a strong background in fund development, Gail is one of those leaders with high integrity.

I know our communities will benefit from having these leaders at the helm – congratulations!

If you know of someone who has moved or been promoted, let us know so we can celebrate this achievement.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

CWF: An Evening with Margo Franssen

November 9, 2006 - 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Knox United Church
506-4th Street SW

Margo Franssen is the President & CEO of Accessorize Canada and will be speaking on: “Business Unusual – Profits & Principles”. Cost is $65.00 and tickets can be purchased by clicking on the link below. I hope to see you there!
http://dev.cdnwomen.org/franssen/index.html

Leading From Within Wine & Cheese Reception

Stay tuned for information on the next Wine & Cheese Reception. The purpose of this program is to provide an opportunity for women to learn more about leadership as women in a more intimate environment that is conducive to discussions that answer your questions and promotes building relationships. This program is intended to include women in leadership roles at all levels in our community.

The next event will involve a panel of several of the successful women who participated in the research project this past spring.  Planning for this event is still underway and information will be forthcoming at the end of October, 2006.

Leading From Within Coaching

The Leading from Within Workshop has been successfully modified to individual coaching sessions to offer more flexibility for women who are interested in managing their careers. If you are interested in finding out more about this program, contact me at Leibham.and.company@shaw.ca