Competency Home Page

Value of the Tool

How to Use This Tool

What is a Competency?

OPM Leadership Competencies

OPM Executive Core Qualifications (ECQ)

Leadership Competencies by ECQ

Four Organizational Leadership Levels in the Service

Process Used to Develop the Model

The Model at a Glance

Downloadable and Printable Version
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What is a Competency? 

A competency is the integration of one’s knowledge, skills, abilities and attributes in order to perform effectively on the job.  Competencies are observable and measurable behaviors, which are critical to successful individual and corporate performance. 

Competencies incorporate knowledge, skills, abilities and attributes, applied through behaviors, which help to ensure organizational/mission critical results and outcomes.

The Department of the Interior, Department Manual 370 DM 312.3  identifies mission critical competencies as being those clusters of knowledge, abilities, skills and attributes that are critical to producing the key outcomes for mission accomplishment.  The USFWS Leadership Competency Development Model identifies and explains the seven mission critical competencies for each organizational leadership levels in the Service.