The literature is pretty clear on the skills needed at the senior level and there are numerous and valid 360 degree feedback assessments on the market.  They typically include such areas such as:

• Communicating Effectively
• Demonstrating Business Acumen and Customer Focus
• Making Sound Decisions
• Coaching and Empowering Others
• Promoting Innovation and Change
• Setting a Personal Example and Modeling Behaviors
• Creating Solid Working Relationships and Developing Teams
• Developing and Aligning Strategies with Vision
• Achieving Results

The importance of using a 360 degree mechanism versus a self rating profile is self evident. The 360 combines input from supervisors, peers, direct reports and sometimes external groups to provide a broad perspective on individual strengths and developmental needs. It has also been used extensively as part of an organization's performance appraisal system. In addition, the aggregate data (cumulative results for a group) provide an organization with crucial information for effective strategic planning, overall training needs, improved team building and effective customer service.

Our five key competencies stress collaboration and thus we call it The Collaborative Leadership Model. While each of our competencies has its roots in the traditional leadership skills sets and they take the current thinking to the next level. To be a collaborative leader is fundamentally different from past skill sets. The five are:

Model of: 360 Leadership Readiness™
 

Resilient:
Demonstrates optimism, courage and adaptability that inspires others to be authentic.  Internally well grounded in a strong self knowledge and personal value system. 

Strategizes:
Facilitates conceptual, long range, holistic thinking in collaboration.  Collectively creates an aligned and challenging vision.

Engages:
Facilitates open communication that captures the passion and motivation of others.  Empowers others to take clear and focused action.

Collaborates:
Facilitates an inclusive, trusting environment that invites collaboration internally and externally while honouring global responsibilities.  Displays a “generosity of spirit”.

Creates:
Facilitates an action orientation that produces meaningful standards, synergistic results and outcomes that are iterative (repeatable and improved upon).  Brings the shared vision into reality.

Our 360 degree feedback assessment is specifically designed with ten questions for each of these competencies and we are continuing to collect normative data over time.  Others that are “off the shelf” that we have also used include: The Leadership Practices Inventory, The Denison and Situational Leadership.

The difference between the various models centers more on which skills or competencies are most critical for success.  It is generally acknowledged that while technology will ensure that an organization can remain competitive the only truly differentiation aspect of one business from another is the capacity of the talent.  In the past few years with have seen an ever increasing emphasis on the knowledge worker and what talent management really means.  At 1–Focus, we have a strong value set that the future will not only be leveraging the individual human potential but how to collectively harness the power and passion in a collective manner.  We believe it goes beyond unleashing individual human capabilities but involves the synergistic and exponential capacity of the collective whole. 

Examples but not exclusive include:

THE LEADER OF THE FUTURE Hesselbein, F., Goldsmith, M., Beckhard, R. (eds), (1996).
The Drucker Foundation. Jossey-Bass. San Francisco.

THE LEADERHSIP CHALLENGE (Kouzes and Posner) Jossey-Bass. San Francisco (2004)

GOOD TO GREAT: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Other's Don't
(James C. Collins)   

NAKED LEADERSHIP: Confronting the Truth about Leadership (Peter Stephenson)
Prentice Hall (2002)

 “The Five Minds of a Manager” Jonathan Gosling and Henry Mintzberg, 2003 November issue of Harvard Business Review

“Crucibles of Leadership  Warren G. Bennis and Robert J. Thomas 2002 September issue of Harvard Business Review

“What do Leader’s Really Do?”  by John Kotter, 1990 Harvard Business Review