Practicing Organization Development, 5th Edition

CHAPTER SIXHuman-Centric Competencies: A Unified Framework for Organization Development & Change Professionals

Steven H. Cady, Zachary D. Shoup, David S. Bright and Shawn Otto

In the early 1970s, David McClelland (1973) challenged the dominant reliance on intelligence testing as a predictor of job performance. He argued that competencies—integrated combinations of knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs)—offer a more accurate measure of workplace effectiveness. Unlike static attributes, competencies manifest as observable and measurable behaviors that add tangible value to organizations. This perspective laid the foundation for competency models, which have since become essential tools for aligning individual capabilities with organizational objectives.

Over the past few decades, efforts to professionalize the field of Organization Development and Change (ODC) have resulted in various competency models. While these models are rooted in practice, they often lack direct empirical validation. Assuming they accurately reflect the competencies valued by their practice communities, this chapter introduces an overarching competency framework for human-centered professions before presenting a specialized framework for ODC. This allowed us to synthesize competencies that differentiate ODC, propose an integrated approach to competency development, and explore the implications of adopting a distinctive framework to advance the ODC profession.

BUILDING AND DEFINING COMPETENCIES

Competency ...