Shape our behavior and performance at work. One only has to think of a few examples. The domineering and bad tempered manager (extreme dominance and poor emotional control) who wreaks havoc on the morale of an entire department due to his bombastic and emotionally abusive behavior. Or the junior manager who is over – promoted into a middle management role because he does not have the intellectual capability (cognitive – IQ) to deal with the much more advanced problem solving challenges of his new role.
There are also some critically important things to remember about capability..
One. Not everybody has the same capability – it varies from person to person
That is why a “nerdy” individual like Bill Gates created Microsoft while none of his peers did.
Two. Capabilities are the foundation for Competencies
Cognitive Capabilities will play a pivotal role in determining:
a) The type and level of competencies/job skills a person can acquire
b) The effectiveness and level at which they are able to utilise and apply their competencies/job skills
Three. Capability can be Actualized but not Increased
While Competencies can be developed up to the level of a person’s capability (we refer to this as being actualised), a person’s capability cannot be increased.
Four. Crystalized Capability produces predictable patterns of behaviours
Our brains are hardwired to potentially make us behave in certain ways. Through life experiences, while growing up, our genetic programming actualises into behaviors which are reinforced. These behaviors are repeated countless times until by early adulthood they populate a huge part of our neurocircuitry and become the default ways in which when we pretty much deal with all aspects of life including work.
When there are Capability issues in an organisation, they are often the driver of…
⦁ wasted salary payments
⦁ resources wasted on performance management, disciplinary processes, CCMA disputes
⦁ decreased productivity
⦁ reputational damage
⦁ decreased teamwork
⦁ decreased morale
⦁ increased turnover
When individuals lack capability, then organisations lack capability. This invariably gives rise to what we call Drag, Drain and Drift. Instead of the organisation’s hard assets – finance, resources, plant, systems etc. – and soft assets – its people – being utilised to take the organisation forward towards it’s stated objectives, it becomes mired in problems such as conflict, underperformance, managers compensating for the lack of capability reporting into them by doing a substantial part of their jobs, or spending inordinate amounts of time coaching subordinates, engaged in disciplinary hearings, performance management and a host of other problems.
When individual capability in an organisation is good and correctly matched to jobs and career paths, , then organisations have wind in their sails. For an organisation to perform, it needs a critical mass of the right capability at each level, with some spare capacity – some who exceed the capability required by a particular level of work so that you have a healthy talent or capability pipeline.
Having a sufficient critical mass of capability – sufficient EQ and IQ at all levels – is like a ship with wind in its sails. Energy is spent on figuring out how to perform better, not on how to fix what is broken.
If an organisation's capability is sound, then shortfalls in competencies won’t be that critical. People’s capabilities will enable them to close the gaps when training and development interventions are implemented.
While there are many tools available to understand a person’s competencies such as:
· CV checks
· Qualification Reviews
· Interviews
· Work Sample Tests
· Assessment Centre tools like role plays, case studies, in – baskets,
the only way to legally, accurately and objectively assess capability is by means of psychometric tests.
