Proficiency Levels for Leadership Competencies 
                              
                        Table of Contents 
        
        
       Leading Change 
          Creativity and Innovation.................................................................................................1 
          External Awareness..........................................................................................................2 
          Flexibility..........................................................................................................................3 
          Resilience..........................................................................................................................4 
          Strategic Thinking.............................................................................................................5 
          Vision................................................................................................................................6 
        
       Leading People 
          Conflict Management........................................................................................................7 
          Leveraging Diversity.........................................................................................................8 
          Developing Others............................................................................................................9 
          Team Building...................................................................................................................10 
        
       Results Driven 
          Accountability...................................................................................................................11 
          Customer Service..............................................................................................................13 
          Decisiveness......................................................................................................................14 
          Entrepreneurship..............................................................................................................15 
          Problem Solving................................................................................................................16 
          Technical Credibility ........................................................................................................17 
        
       Business Acumen 
          Financial Management.....................................................................................................18 
          Human Capital Management............................................................................................19 
          Technology Management..................................................................................................20 
        
       Building Coalitions 
          Partnering.........................................................................................................................21 
          Political Savvy ..................................................................................................................22 
          Influencing/Negotiating....................................................................................................23 
        
       Fundamental Competencies 
          Interpersonal Skills...........................................................................................................24 
          Oral Communication........................................................................................................25 
          Integrity/Honesty...............................................................................................................26 
          Written Communication....................................................................................................27 
          Continual Learning...........................................................................................................28 
          Public Service Motivation.................................................................................................29
           
                  Proficiency Levels for Leadership Competencies 
                   
                  LEADING CHANGE: This core qualification involves the ability to bring about strategic change, both 
                  within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals.  Inherent to this ECQ is the ability to 
                  establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment. 
                   
                  Creativity and Innovation - Develops new insights into situations; questions conventional approaches; 
                  encourages new ideas and innovations; designs and implements new or cutting edge programs/processes. 
                    Proficiency       Proficiency Level Definition                   Proficiency Level Illustrations 
                       Level 
                                     •  Applies the competency in         •  Devises new methods, procedures, and approaches 
                                       exceptionally difficult               having agency-wide impact 
                                       situations                         •  Develops new performance management system  
                     Level 5 -       •  Serves as a key resource and         aligned with agency vision to measure staff 
                      Expert           advises others                        performance  
                                                                          •  Develops, introduces, defends, and gains support 
                                                                             for a new approach impacting the budget process 
                                                                             agency-wide 
                                     •  Applies the competency in         •  Creates new methods for planning, designing, and 
                                        considerably difficult               carrying out program objectives 
                     Level 4 -          situations                        •  Organizes and leads cross-divisional work group 
                     Advanced        •  Generally requires little or no      in developing creative solutions to address 
                                        guidance                             problems 
                                                                          •  Creates new units to streamline functions based on 
                                                                             work flow analysis 
                                     •  Applies the competency in         •  Creates a system to redistribute work across units 
                                        difficult situations                 during unexpected situations  
                                     •  Requires occasional guidance  •  Solicits feedback from team members in the 
                     Level 3 -                                               creation of new agency initiatives and services 
                   Intermediate                                           •  Displays creativity by deviating from traditional 
                                                                             methods in developing new procedures 
                                                                          •  Reevaluates current procedures and suggests 
                                                                             improvements to ensure an effective, streamlined 
                                                                             process 
                                     •  Applies the competency in         •  Creates a new quality control system to monitor 
                                        somewhat difficult situations        unit processes 
                     Level 2 -       •  Requires frequent guidance        •  Uses cutting-edge ideas to develop business unit 
                       Basic                                                 services 
                                                                          •  Works with coworkers to coordinate a project 
                                                                             using a creative process 
                                     •  Applies the competency in         •  Recognizes creativity in work unit  
                     Level 1 -          the simplest situations           •  Considers innovative ideas generated by others 
                    Awareness        •  Requires close and extensive 
                                        guidance 
                   
                   
                   
                  U.S. Office of Personnel Management                                                                          1 
                  Proficiency Levels for Leadership Competencies 
                   
                  External Awareness - Understands and keeps up-to-date on local, national, and international policies and 
                  trends that affect the organization and shape stakeholders' views; is aware of the organization's impact on 
                  the external environment.  
                    Proficiency       Proficiency Level Definition                   Proficiency Level Illustrations 
                       Level  
                                     •  Applies the competency in         •  Examines and utilizes best practices to build an 
                     Level 5 -         exceptionally difficult               organizational infrastructure 
                      Expert           situations                         •  Develops programs taking into account multiple, 
                                     •  Serves as a key resource and         diverse views and needs of other agencies or 
                                       advises others                        external organizations 
                                     •  Applies the competency in         •  Provides policy advice to officials which are 
                     Level 4 -          considerably difficult               consistent with local, national, and international 
                     Advanced           situations                           policies and trends  
                                     •  Generally requires little or no   •  Reflects industry best practices in the development 
                                        guidance                             of agency-wide policies and procedures 
                                     •  Applies the competency in         •  Considers the impact of a shift in programmatic 
                                        difficult situations                 direction to meet the needs of local and national 
                     Level 3 -       •  Requires occasional guidance         customers  
                   Intermediate                                           •  Synthesizes complex information gathered from a 
                                                                             variety of external sources and disseminates it to 
                                                                             staff 
                                     •  Applies the competency in         •  Gathers and summarizes information to predict 
                     Level 2 -          somewhat difficult situations        stakeholder views on a new policy  
                       Basic         •  Requires frequent guidance        •  Considers external policies and trends when 
                                                                             reviewing correspondence, reports, and policy 
                                                                             documents 
                                     •  Applies the competency in         •  Keeps up-to-date by attending key meetings 
                     Level 1 -          the simplest situations              hosted by other agencies or organizations 
                    Awareness        •  Requires close and extensive      •  Keeps abreast of developments of other parts of 
                                        guidance                             the organization 
                   
                   
                   
                  U.S. Office of Personnel Management                                                                          2 
                  Proficiency Levels for Leadership Competencies 
                   
                   
                  Flexibility - Is open to change and new information; rapidly adapts to new information, changing 
                  conditions, or unexpected obstacles.  
                    Proficiency       Proficiency Level Definition                   Proficiency Level Illustrations 
                       Level  
                                     •  Applies the competency in         •  Implements a successful action plan after a major 
                     Level 5 -         exceptionally difficult               organizational change 
                      Expert           situations                         •  Prioritizes, considers alternatives, and responds 
                                     •  Serves as a key resource and         quickly and effectively to unexpected and rapidly 
                                       advises others                        changing conditions 
                                     •  Applies the competency in         •  Adjusts organizational priorities quickly as 
                     Level 4 -          considerably difficult               situations change 
                     Advanced           situations                        •  Shifts agency goals and initiatives to align with 
                                     •  Generally requires little or no      administration and Congressional priorities 
                                        guidance 
                                     •  Applies the competency in         •  Realigns resources to meet changing customer 
                     Level 3 -          difficult situations                 needs  
                   Intermediate      •  Requires occasional guidance  •  Takes feedback into consideration while 
                                                                             implementing organizational change 
                                     •  Applies the competency in         •  Uses staff feedback to streamline processes in 
                     Level 2 -          somewhat difficult situations        order to meet deadlines 
                       Basic         •  Requires frequent guidance        •  Adjusts project plan based on input from staff and 
                                                                             stakeholders 
                                     •  Applies the competency in         •  Meets with team to adjust and coordinate 
                     Level 1 -          the simplest situations              schedules to accommodate all team members 
                    Awareness        •  Requires close and extensive      •  Adjusts staff assignments based on feedback and 
                                        guidance                             work load priorities 
                   
                   
                  U.S. Office of Personnel Management                                                                          3