A study into leadership and management competencies predicting superior performance in the British Royal Navy

Abstract

Purpose -This paper aims to present a summary of a study to identify the competencies of effective leadership and management in the British Royal Navy (RN). Design/methodology/approach -The sample consisted of 261 Officers and Ratings. Performance was determined through the organisation's own extensive appraisal process, whilst personality and competency data were gathered through the use of the well-established occupational personality questionnaire (OPQ) and the then relatively new leadership dimensions questionnaire (LDQ). Findings -The results provide support for an integrated approach to leadership and management selection and development by identifying four "supra-competency" clusters associated with high performance in both activities. They also provide an illuminating insight into the important academic debate over the differences between the constructs of leadership and management. Additional findings highlight the importance of motivation as a competency, and deliver the first empirical support for a relationship between congruent/public and emotional/private self-awareness and performance. Practical implications -The findings have been endorsed by the RN and are being actively implemented as the basis for all leadership and management selection, training and development. Originality/value -This is a rare example of a study of leadership and management validated against formal performance appraisal data. The fact that conclusions are drawn from an appraisal system which conforms with best practice and from a highly representative sample, with a 97 per cent response rate, reinforces their value.

Emotional and Social Intelligence and Behavior

“…Using a 360 from their own competency model of EI and SI, Young and Dulewicz ( 2009 ) showed the same pattern found earlier with the US Navy in that EI and SI as seen by others predicted leader effectiveness for British Naval offi cers. Ryan et al ( 2012 ) showed that EI and SI with a 360 from a customized competency assessment in a large Swiss company predicted executive effectiveness.…”

A behavioral framework for highly effective technical executives

“…Indeed a set of articles included with his in the Journal of Management Development special issue (Volume 28, No. 9, 2009) provided very similar perspectives on managerial and executive competencies of A behavioral framework for executives British naval offices, European managers and executives and Italian managers and leaders (Young and Dulewicz, 2009;Ryan et al, 2009;Boyatzis and Ratti, 2009). Perhaps most pertinent to this study were findings on competencies of 61 executives in a large multinational firm's Italian division (Boyatzis and Ratti, 2009).…”

Developing Transferable Management Skills through Action Learning

“…Boyatzis (1982), who is usually credited with generating the debate about competencies, defines competency as 'the underlying characteristic of a person', which focuses on desirable inputs rather than required outputs. This definition is reflected in the work of other writers such as Sudsakorn and Swierczek, 2009;Young and Dulewicz, 2009;Bucker and Poutsma, 2010. These competencies focus on characteristics like 'efficiency orientation', 'proactivity' and 'use of socialised power' (Boyatzis, 1982).…”