There are a number of success factors for a successful strategy execution: corporate culture, leadership, communication and binding process along so-called disciplines are just a few of them. In connection with a changed or even new business model, the question of core competencies always arises.

The pandemic, which has been preoccupying us for a year, is helping new digital technologies to break through in a short time. Our working environment is changing fundamentally. We know: Many of the currently existing professions will disappear in the course of digitization and automation, roles will change and new professional profiles will emerge. This requires new skills and abilities – at the individual level and at the organizational level.

Development of key competencies

From department to team level, strategy execution is about focusing on what the employees are particularly good at along with strategic goals. To do this, you have to break down silos and the separation between strategic business units and promote collaboration. Current experience shows: The real sources of a strategic advantage lie in the ability of management to bundle technologies and production skills company-wide into competencies. Such key competencies arise from collective learning processes.

They are determined by four features:

  • Customer benefit: Can a sustainable added value be generated for the customer on the basis of this core competence?
  • Protection against imitation: Does the company have exclusive control over the core competence or can it be easily imitated by the competitor?
  • Differentiation: Does the core ability lead to a sustainable advantage over the competition?
  • Diversification: Do the core skills offer potential access to new markets?

Ask yourself three questions:

  • Do our core or key competencies potentially open access to new markets?
  • Do these competencies contribute significantly to the benefits of the end product as perceived by customers?
  • Are these skills difficult to imitate?

Few companies manage to be leaders in more than five or six key competencies!

Strategic competence management and operational action plans

Strategic competence management in connection with strategic workforce planning is on the rise – albeit hesitantly (problem of self-organization!). More or less standardized competency models or inventories with grouped competencies serve as the basis. No more than six to eight behavioral anchors should be used per competency.

The transition from this strategic level to the operational implementation is formed by identified knowledge and competence gaps (so-called skill gaps or talent gaps). Four operational action plans or talent strategies are in the foreground: Recruiting, training and further education, commitment and loyalty.

Digital skill gap

What are the specific key competencies that are essential for the above-mentioned new professional profiles? Basically, the following competencies that will be required in the future should be mentioned:

  • Basic IT skills and media skills,
  • emotional and social competence,
  • willingness and ability to learn and change,
  • ability to handle speed and complexity,
  • self-organized and lifelong learning.

With a view to basic IT skills (digital experts), BCG and The Network have identified eight digital skills in a large-scale study entitled “Decoding Digital Talent”.

  • Data mining, engineering and analytics,
  • Programming and web development, including front- and back-end development,
  • Digital marketing, including influencer marketing and marketing analytics,
  • Digital design, including user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design,
  • Mobile application development,
  • Artificial intelligence, including machine learning,
  • Agile ways of working,
  • Robotics and automation engineering.

What are the skills gaps in your company in this regard? Do you know them? Do you recruit, develop and retain new employees with a view to these skills that will be required in the future?

Of course, managers also need specific core competencies. According to Deloitte “Decoding Digital Leadership“ organisational transformation requires leaders who are willing and able to leverage digital to innovate, fail fast and drive value in an ambiguous context.

According to a Conference-Board-study inspirational leaders are more adept at making emotional connections with their subordinates. They are better at establishing a clear vision. They are more effective in their communication and willing to spend more time communicating. They are ardent champions of change. They are perceived as effective role models within the organization.

Here, too, the question arises: Do you know the skills gaps of your company reg. the 8 universal critical capabilities and the 4 universal potential factors?

Conclusion

The focus on strategically necessary competencies along the entire employee lifecycle still leads a shadowy existence. That should change as quickly as possible if we want to act with innovative strength and grow in competition.