Identifying Collaborative Competencies

• Author: Heather Getha-Taylor
• Published date: 01 June 2008
• Date: 01 June 2008
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0734371X08315434
• Subject Matter: Articles

103

Review of Public Personnel

Administration

Volume 28 Number 2

June 2008 103-119

© 2008 Sage Publications

10.1177/0734371X08315434

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Identifying Collaborative

Competencies

Heather Getha-Taylor

University of South Carolina

Increasingly, federal organizations must work together with other organizations to jointly

produce public value. Thus, it is important for public employees to develop critical col-

laborative skills. The National Academy of Public Administration affirmed this by calling

for a focus on collaborative competencies, but the question remained: What are collabora-

tive competencies? Many skills are theoretically connected to collaboration, but these links

have not been tested empirically. Following the methodology developed by McClelland

and furthered by Spencer and Spencer, this article presents the results of a collaborative

competency study. This investigation involved the use of matched criterion samples (supe-

rior versus average collaborators) from the federal government. Individuals in the criterion

samples were interviewed using the behavioral event interview design to identify differen-

tiating competencies and create a competency model for future validation.

Keywords: collaboration; competencies; behavioral event interview

The National Academy of Public Administration’s (2002) report on the evolving

role of federal managers illustrated several trends changing the nature of public

sector work, including increased technical complexity, a shrinking managerial work-

force, flatter organizational structures, and demands for improved performance.

Scholars such as Kamarck (2003) and Kettl (2005) discussed additional trends that

are transforming the nature of governance, including the “blurring of the sectors.”

This “blurring” was discussed as part of the National Performance Review’s efforts

to integrate business practices into the public sector, but today reflects the need for

governmental agencies (and, thus, the people within them) to collaborate with other

public, nonprofit, and for-profit organizations to solve “wicked problems,” or those

problems where no single organization has all the necessary resources or answers

and the cost of failure is enormous. Similarly, the growth in the “hollow state” as

described by such scholars as Milward & Provan (2000) and Light (2006) further

illustrates the need for public sector managers to span boundaries to ensure that an

ever-growing number of third-party contractors are held accountable for results.

Together,these complex trends speak to a changing public sector environment where

collaborative action is replacing traditional hierarchical authority for achieving

public sector goals and creating public value.

Author’s Note: The author wishes to thank the anonymous reviewers whose comments were used to

improve this manuscript.

104 Review of Public Personnel Administration

Boundary-spanning, or collaborative, public management is now formally recognized

in the President’s Management Agenda. One section of the President’s Management

Agenda, the Human Capital Scorecard, focuses on the need for public managers to span

organizational boundaries to “share best practices and learn about new developments”

(U.S. Office of Personnel Management [OPM], n.d.). According to a related report by

the Government Accountability Office (GAO), organizations can encourage collabora-

tion by creating Performance Management Systems that identify and reward the compe-

tencies related to collaboration (U.S. GAO, 2005). However, a very basic, yet crucial,

question remains: What are collaborative competencies? Although the OPM indicates

that the set of Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) captures essential collaborative

skills, this research suggests that disagreement exists between human resource experts

and experienced collaborators when it comes to identifying which skills, attributes, and

attitudes are collaborative in nature. This disconnect has serious implications. If such a

gap persists in an environment where collaboration is critical for performance, the fed-

eral government risks recognizing and rewarding behaviors that do not necessarily con-

tribute to the creation of a more collaborative federal workforce.

Given the centrality of collaboration to this study, a review of the literature

revealed that a number of authors have already attempted to identify collaborative

competencies. According to Goldsmith and Eggers (2004), managing across bound-

aries can take time and “requires attitudes and behaviors not commonly developed

as part of the typical public manager’s experience,” (p. 165). The authors provide a

list of skills necessary for working across boundaries, including big-picture thinking,

coaching, mediation, negotiation, risk analysis, contract management, strategic

thinking, interpersonal communications, and teambuilding (p. 158).

Besides the list of skills identified by Goldsmith and Eggers (2004), Foster-

Fishman, Berkowitz, Lounsbury, Jacobson, and Allen (2001) identify a number of

core competencies that members need to bring to a collaborative effort, including

ability to resolve conflict, communication skills, ability to understand other per-

spectives, and expertise in the problem area(s). According to Chrislip and Larson

(1994), excellent collaborators are those who convene others to solve joint problems,

energize around a problem, facilitate the work of others, create vision, and solve

problems. Bardach (1998) adds listening skills to the list of competencies needed for

effective collaboration (p. 44).

Similarly, the U.S. OPM has identified a list of competencies as part of the

ECQs described as critical to “building coalitions” across organizational boundaries.

These competencies include partnering, political savvy, and influencing/negotiating.

Although these lists are insightful, most are anecdotal and some are contradictory.

Regardless of the lack of consensus on what constitutes collaborative competencies,

one thing is certain: “People with network skills—collaborative skills not currently

highly sought nor valued by government—need to be recruited, rewarded, and pro-

moted,” (Goldsmith & Eggers, 2004, p. 159).

Following the qualitative methodology developed by McClelland (1973, 1975,

1976) and further illuminated by Spencer and Spencer (1993), this research presents