ConceptsNest

  Background By definition, competence is a collection of related abilities, commitments, knowledge, and skills that enable a person to act effectively in a job or situation. Competency is measurable and can be developed through learning & development. The term "competence" first appeared in an article authored by R.W. White in 1959 as a concept for performance motivation . The term gained traction in 1973 when David McClelland wrote a seminal paper entitled, "Testing for Competence Rather Than for Intelligence". The term, created by McClelland, was commissioned by the State Department (USA) to explain characteristics common to high-performing agents of embassy, as well as help them in recruitment and development. It has since been popularized by Richard Boyatzis, and many others who used the concept in performance improvement. Its uses vary widely, which has led to considerable misunderstanding. Some scholars see "competence" as a combination o

  “Company vision” might be the fluffiest business term thrown around by nearly every business book and article, often used vaguely, without nuance or thoughtfulness. Yet despite its watered-down usage, “vision” is the most important information for us to communicate across a team . Research indicates that vision was ranked as the number one information people need to share in a team. Given its significance, how to best share a company vision within a team? Before we can answer that, we must start with what company vision exactly is and why it is important. What is company vision? A vision is a picture of a better place . You see this picture in your head: It is what you want the world to look like because your product or team exists. In many ways, your team’s vision is your opinion on how you think the world ought to be. A vision answers the question, “What world do you want to create?” Vision is often misconstrued with other business terms, like “mission,” “purpose,” and “valu

A Short Story- Jonas Salk and the Polio Vaccine: In 1952, polio killed more children than any other communicable disease. Nearly 58,000 people were infected. The situation was on the verge of becoming an epidemic and the country desperately needed a vaccine. In a small laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh, a young researcher named Jonas Salk was working tirelessly to find a cure. (Years later, author Dennis Denenberg would write, “Salk worked sixteen hours a day, seven days a week, for years.”). Despite all his effort, Salk was stuck. His quest for a polio vaccine was meeting a dead end at every turn. Eventually, he decided that he needed a break. Salk left the laboratory and retreated to the quiet hills of central Italy where he stayed at a 13th-century Franciscan monastery known as the Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi. The basilica could not have been more different than the lab. The architecture was a beautiful combination of Romanesque and Gothic styles. White-was

During my time, I have played a variety of sports and games in my life. In that time, I had many different coaches (both professional and seniors) and I began to notice repeating patterns among them. Coaches tend to come up through a certain system. New coaches will often land their first job as an assistant coach with their alma mater or a team they played with previously. Or the coach is a senior who has been on top of the game for a while. After a few years, the coach will tend to replicate the same drills, follow similar practice schedules, and even yell at their players in a similar fashion as the coaches (or seniors) they learned from. People tend to emulate their mentors. This phenomenon— our tendencies to repeat the behaviour we are exposed to —extend to nearly everything we learn in life. Our political or religious beliefs are mostly the result of the system we were raised in. Although we may not agree on every issue, our parents political attitudes tend to shape our pol

We are a nation of cricket lovers. The feature that we hit upon straightaway when visiting a cricket stadium for the first time is the grass. Pruned to perfection, it exhibits stripes, diamonds, a checkerboard, or even arches. Over the years I have gathered many theories about how they’re created: the grass is colored, has different lengths, and so on., but the real reason is a lot naiver. It’s the direction of the blades that tints the grass in various shades. When the sun hits an upright blade, its whole frame reflects the light – rendering it brighter than a blade that points directly towards the sun. Most professionals create the patterns by mowing in different directions. But the astute among them have another trick up their sleeve: they use a simple roller behind their mower to direct the blades with even more force. And the same way the mowing and rolling directs the grass, our values and beliefs direct our behavior as humans . What influences our beha