Leading Educational Strategy: A Capability vs Competency Approach

Independent schools and university colleges enjoy similar approaches to their educational intentions. They look to support and enhance their students’ engagement with learning, personal growth and conscientious citizenry. For an organisation to deliver on their core purpose of placing the student at the centre of their work, it requires a high functioning, dedicated leadership team and staff.

The strategic development of a unique value proposition underpinning aspirational goals, positions a school or college for future success, and thereby the success of their students. Strategic achievement is predicated on a strongly aligned organisational culture stewarded by highly engaged leadership teams, who in turn inspire and encourage teachers and staff to achieve their best for the students in their care.

None of this is ground-breaking news. But many school and college leaders know that without the executive teams in place to live and breathe the strategic direction and nurture the organisational culture, inspiring goals are nigh impossible to achieve. A blueprint for the future requires a leadership team with the right combinations of capabilities to deliver above and beyond basic results.

When forming a strong leadership team in the past, relevant qualifications, demonstrated experience and key achievements were the top benchmarks for leadership appointments and indeed middle management advancement to leadership positions. Increasingly more emphasis on professional potential is deemed critical for an organisation to realise a new strategy and succeed in its implementation.

In other words, move the leadership team and organisation from competencies — which are located in the present — to capabilities, which are resoundingly future focussed. Competencies are important for the work of strategic visions. They are based in knowledge, skills, technical abilities and targets. Capabilities are focussed on potential to achieve new, dynamic and innovative outcomes that will move the work of the school or college to exciting future possibilities.

Engaging leadership teams with a visionary Capability Framework could change the way your entire school or college prepares for the future success of its students and leads the professional development in leadership potential of its staff.

To discuss how a workshop in identifying capabilities for your executive team and/or middle managers could significantly improve aspects of your strategic success and leadership culture, contact me at abell@fisherleadership.com to discuss your school’s or college’s staff potential.