November 25, 2008 Vol. 1, Issue 11
Themes, Competencies, and Behaviors
Theme: Leadership |
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|---|---|
Competency |
Example of Actual Behaviors |
| Appreciates/Recognizes Others | Articulates the relevance of the team’s work and its contribution to program success. |
| Builds Team Cohesion | Models open, non-defensive behavior with others. |
| Understands the Human Dynamics of a Team | Respects people and their talents by encouraging and challenging them to do their best. |
| Creates Vision & Direction | Keeps the team on track by holding a big picture view. |
| Ensures System Integrity | Understands that system integrity is a primary role. Makes system planning decisions accordingly and reports unacceptable project risks. |
| Possesses Influencing Skills | Influences actions of personnel not under their direct control by creating synergy among and with people. |
| Sees Situations Objectively | Understands the best ideas can come from a mix of people. Does not assume there is only one right answer. |
| Coaches & Mentors | Challenges individuals to do their best work by giving assignments that build their capabilities. |
| Delegates | Delegates responsibility and authority to lowest possible levels while retaining control of system requirements and integration. |
| Ensures Resources are Available | Ensures team has the right tools, knowledge, and resources in order to get the job done. |
Theme: Attitudes and Attributes |
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|---|---|
Competency |
Example of Actual Behaviors |
| Remains Inquisitive & Curious | Naturally inquisitive and driven by curiosity. Fearless with a persistent desire to understand how everything works and how it relates to everything else. |
| Seeks Information & Uses the Art of Questioning | Asks questions artfully. Uses a series of questions that build upon each other to help identify the root of a problem or solutions. |
| Advances Ideas | Engages the team by explaining how the solution or approach was reached. |
| Gains Respect Credibility, & Trust | Demonstrates understanding and appreciation of the challenges others face. |
| Possesses Self-Confidence | Willing to speak up regardless of who is present to ensure the most technically sound decision is made for the good of the overall system. |
| Has a Comprehensive View | Takes responsibility for the whole life cycle, the whole system and all its parts. Understands the whole job and that it is never done. |
| Possesses a Positive Attitude & Dedication to Mission Success | Encourages a success-oriented environment by displaying passion, excitement and enthusiasm about the work and the challenges faced. |
| Is Aware of Personal Limitations | Knows what he/she knows and doesn’t know and seeks guidance from experts to fill in missing data. |
| Adapts to Change & Uncertainty | Understands that change is inevitable and takes appropriate actions quickly. May brainstorm various avenues and approaches with various experts. |
| Uses Intuition/Sensing | Uses intuition and sensing when evaluating a problem or making a decision. Does not rely solely on data. May use “gut feeling” if data are inconclusive. |
| Deals Effectively with Politics, Financial Issues, & Customer Needs | Shares and uses knowledge and expertise that shapes the political and financial environment in positive ways. |
Theme: Communication |
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|---|---|
Competency |
Example of Actual Behaviors |
| Listens Effectively & Translates Information | Sees the system from various perspectives. Listens and acts as translator between parties, ensuring each gets the necessary information from others. |
| Communicates Effectively Through Personal Interaction | Prefers personal interaction over email. Uses face-to-face interaction as a primary communication channel. |
| Facilitates Environment of Open & Honest Communication | Listens to each of the team members to assure that everyone gets heard and dissenting opinions are considered. Does not shut people down. |
| Uses Visuals to Communicate Complex Interactions | Graphically pulls together ideas, issues, and observations to better understand and explain all systems and interfaces and to solve complex problems. |
| Communicates Through Story Telling & Analogies | Uses personnel experiences to build connections and provide explanations by using engineering and non-engineering stories and analogies. |
| Is Comfortable with Making Decisions | Makes decisions in a confident and timely manner when appropriate–with or without complete or optimal information–maintaining forward progress. |
Theme: Problem Solving and Systems Thinking |
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|---|---|
Competency |
Example of Actual Behaviors |
| Identifies the Real Problem | Identifies the critical problem to be solved by asking questions and identifying the key requirements. |
| Assimilates, Analyzes, & Synthesizes Data | Breaks data into smaller pieces or parameters, prioritizes the parameters, then synthesizes the data to reach an answer or solution. |
| Thinks Systemically | Looks across the entire system and facilitates trades and compromises to get a balanced design. |
| Has the Ability to Find Connections & Patterns | Examines and explores the implications of how technical decisions affect the bigger system architecture. Sees the ripple effect of changing requirements. |
| Sets Priorities | Sets technical and other priorities in order to maintain the balance for the problems at hand while achieving system requirements. |
| Keeps the Focus on Mission Requirements | Studies, understands, and articulates the overall objectives. Knows what the system must do and be in order to accomplish its objectives. |
| Possesses Creativity & Problem Solving Abilities | Does not adhere to rigid rules or formulas for system design. May create new ideas and approaches to deal successfully with system constraints. |
| Validates Facts, Information & Assumptions | Questions all assumptions that go into the design. |
| Remains Open Minded & Objective | Evaluates decisions objectively. Maintains flexibility by avoiding ‘ownership’ of a particular strategy or point of view. |
| Draws on Past Experiences | Uses experience, history, intuition, and sensing in order to assess the situation and develop a solution. |
| Manages Risk | Develops mitigation strategies for addressing the problems, should they arise. |
Theme: Technical Acumen |
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|---|---|
Competency |
Example of Actual Behaviors |
| Possesses Technical Competence & Comprehensive Previous Experience | Demonstrates the depth of technical knowledge and expertise necessary to perform, manage, and coordinate work-related activities. |
| Learns from Successes & Failures | Shares lessons learned with others. Lessons come from a strong base of engineering experiences across the full life cycle. |
