Identifying Leadership Competencies at your Academic Institution with Kathy Forbush, MBA and MS

·1 hr 3 min·5 clips

Kathy Forbush reveals how Johns Hopkins is overhauling its 12 leadership competencies into a more streamlined model for all employees.

Host Kim Skorupski welcomes back Kathy Forbush to discuss identifying leadership competencies at academic institutions. Kathy leads HR Talent Management at Johns Hopkins University and has been updating the older competency model of 12 attributes. She describes an inclusive process involving an external consultant, benchmarking with peer institutions, and gathering feedback from leaders and subject matter experts across Hopkins. The new model includes six competencies: flexibility and readiness, creativity and initiative, collaboration, decision-making and reasoning, inclusion and belonging, and continuous learning. A seventh competency, 'pursues excellence,' was added after stakeholders emphasized its cultural importance. The model defines behaviors for five levels of contribution, from operational contributors to organizational leaders. Kathy explains how the competencies will be integrated into competency-based interviewing, performance evaluations, and development resources. The discussion expands to leadership practices, with Kathy advising faculty to show genuine interest in their teams by asking about their work and challenges. She addresses common faculty pushback about time constraints, arguing that basic human engagement reduces turnover and increases discretionary effort. Kathy also previews a future episode on navigating change, referencing models like Kotter's and emphasizing communication and celebrating interim wins. The episode concludes with Kathy encouraging faculty to set leadership growth goals for the new year.

As heard by us

A clear look at how leadership competencies get revised inside a large academic institution.

This piece finds its center in a reunion conversation that gets specific about leadership at Johns Hopkins University. It follows Kathy Forbush, Executive Director for HR Talent Management, as she talks through learning and organization development, the older competency model…

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If you want a grounded look at faculty leadership at Johns Hopkins, this one keeps its shoes on.

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