This episode of Manager Tools argues that competencies—while commonly used by HR for hiring and evaluations—are fundamentally flawed due to their vagueness, high administrative burden, and inability to keep pace with organizational change. The hosts advise managers to work within the system politically, using competency language without actively updating or championing it, and to focus on actual behaviors rather than abstract traits.
Summarized by Podsumo
Competencies are inherently vague—terms like 'navigate,' 'drive,' and 'champion' lack behavioral specificity, leading to inconsistent interpretation across managers.
Creating and maintaining competency lists for every job is an administrative burden that rarely keeps pace with rapidly changing roles and org structures.
Managers should 'speak the language' of competencies politically to bolster performance reviews, but avoid trying to change the system or update competencies themselves.
"Competencies are well-intentioned, but because they're often not behaviorally specific enough, you end up with this vast inference gap."
— Sarah
"If you can't keep competencies up to date at the speed your organization changes, you're always dealing with an old competency list."
— Mark