ESDC Competency Dictionary - Competencies

Staying up to date on team goals, work processes and performance objectives.

Translating direction into concrete work activities, and making the most of available time and resources.

Maintaining a constructive attitude in the face of change, setbacks or stressful situations, and remaining open to new solutions or approaches.

Communicating ideas, views and concerns effectively and respectfully. Actively discussing ideas with others.

Identifying early warning signs of potential problems, and alerting the manager/supervisor and others, as needed.

Embracing change and actively looking for opportunities to learn and develop professionally and personally.

Contributing to and participating in process improvements and new approaches.

Planning how to use one’s time to accomplish the task as efficiently as possible.

Pursuing operational efficiencies, demonstrating an appreciation of the importance of value for money, including by willingly adopting new and more efficient ways of working.

Exploring and undertaking innovative approaches to more effectively accomplish work objectives.

Working in isolation without regard for the team’s goals, work processes or performance objective.

Trying to tackle every aspect of a task at once.

Giving up when things do not go as expected, assuming that there are no better ways to approach the situation.

Waiting for someone else to come up with solutions to problems that affect your work.

Disregarding signs of potential problems in the hope that they will resolve themselves.

Using current resources without taking the time to seek out additional resources that would help fulfill the need more quickly and more efficiently.

Behaving consistently in a way that upholds the letter and spirit of the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector.

Discussing ethical concerns with their supervisor or colleagues and, when necessary, seeking out and using appropriate disclosure procedures.

Working in a manner that reflects a commitment to client service excellence, and actively looking for ways to help people.

Actively contributing to workplace well-being and a safe, healthy and respectful workplace.

Supporting and valuing diversity and bilingualism.

Acting with transparency and fairness.

Demonstrating respect for government assets and resources, and using them responsibly, including understanding and applying relevant government policies.

Choosing to look the other way when you have observed inappropriate behaviour.

Doing only the bare minimum, without considering whether clients’ needs are met.

Focusing solely on tasks without concern for the welfare or feelings of colleagues.

Planning and adjusting one’s work based on a thorough understanding of the unit's business priorities and one’s own work objectives, and seeking clarification and direction when uncertain or confused.

Considering multiple sources of information such as texts, people, computerized databases or information systems, including diverse perspectives, before formulating a view or opinion.

Exercising sound judgement and obtaining relevant facts before making decisions.

Analyzing setbacks and seeking feedback to learn from mistakes.

Thinking ahead about the impact a decision will have on all those affected by it.

Prioritizing required information and acting decisively, even where there may be some ambiguity.

Projecting outcomes by estimating the results of an action or a series of actions.

Relying on intuition on how to proceed when uncertain or confused.

Considering only a few sources of information when formulating an opinion, and disregarding sources of information that may go against their own perspective.

Jumping to conclusions without taking the time to gather the relevant information.

Not questioning why things are done a certain way.

Deciding on a course of action that one is comfortable with, regardless of the impact on others.

Trying to use all available information without filtering out that which is irrelevant.

Sharing information with work colleagues.

Actively listening to the views of others, and respecting, considering and incorporating them.

Recognizing the contributions and celebrating the successes of others.

Working collaboratively and relating effectively to others, and embracing and valuing diversity.

Demonstrating an understanding of the roles, responsibilities and workloads of colleagues, and being willing to balance personal needs with those of other team members.

Eliciting trust, particularly by following through on commitments.

Dealing proactively with interpersonal or personal matters that could affect their performance.

Managing one’s own work-life balance and respecting that of others.

Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding, or trying to understand why they react as they do.

Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.

Actively seeking out input from people who think differently to improve the quality of the work.

Downplaying the role colleagues play in accomplishing work objectives.

Working in isolation and being unaware of the difficulties colleagues might be facing.

Hoping conflicts with colleagues or personal situations that negatively impact work will go away on their own.

Continuing to work, and expecting others to work, in ways that negatively affect their health and personal life.

Trying to do everything without reaching out to colleagues whose expertise and experience could improve results.

Building and nurturing effective and collaborative networks and relationships with communities of practice, colleagues and stakeholders.

Seeking and leveraging opportunities to enhance outcomes through partnerships.

Encouraging employees to participate in collaborative initiatives.

Actively listening to understand the impact of issues on others and their perspectives.

Implementing and communicating strategies that enhance collaboration.

Acknowledging the contribution of others in achieving objectives.

Operating independently without reference to the wider system of knowledge and experience.

Failing to explore the different concerns and perspectives of stakeholders and partners.

Remaining inflexible and committed to a single outcome.

Establishing new approaches and plans without considering the positive impact partnerships could make.

Giving the impression that you are listening to others without really considering their opinions.

Letting collaboration happen by chance; failing to develop strategies that would increase the success and impact of collaboration.

Taking credit for the work of others.

Informing analysis with a thorough understanding of the environment.

Translating implementation strategies, objectives and direction into concrete activities.

Contributing expertise and insight to the development and implementation of organizational strategies.

Communicating with clarity and conviction.

Responding to changes in direction and organizational priorities.

Designing and implementing solutions to operational challenges.

Failing to consider resource constraints when developing strategies and plans.

Allowing day-to-day issues to obstruct critical long-term planning.

Overlooking issues and information that may hinder the implementation of key aspects of the vision.

Instructing employees to “keep their heads down” and focus only on their immediate tasks.

Creating a sense of common purpose and direction in the organization and among colleagues.

Setting clear expectations, and monitoring and evaluating performance.

Establishing learning and development plans and providing opportunities for continuous learning and development.

Giving honest feedback, recognizing performance and addressing non-performance.

Engaging employees to gather ideas and input to build cohesive teams.

Setting challenging goals for oneself and modelling dedication and high performance.

Motivating, developing and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.

Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks and reach organizational goals.

Encouraging and building mutual trust, respect and cooperation among team members.

Limiting access to information beyond the requirements of discretion and policy.

Being unaware of the diverse needs, aspirations and capabilities of team members.

Failing to consider the input of others when inclusiveness and engagement are key to team performance and morale.

Allowing one’s own stress to interfere with team efforts.

Approaching performance management as a “check in the box” exercise, and failing to communicate meaningfully with employees about their performance.

Discouraging employees from presenting ideas on how to improve programs or processes or challenge the status quo.

Aligning people with work in order to achieve organizational objectives and results.

Monitoring and controlling work unit resources.

Setting and revising operational plans to reflect changing priorities or conditions.

Informing decision-making with sound understanding of context, data and evidence.

Demonstrating and promoting stewardship of financial and organizational resources.

Making challenging decisions and taking action at the opportune time.

Taking ownership and acknowledging the impact and outcome of decisions.

Recruiting, retaining and developing talent with the goal of meeting operational needs.

Envisioning a future state and developing strategies, goals, objectives and action plans to achieve it.

Providing direction that is either insufficient or overly prescriptive and controlling.

Arguing against or impeding decisions made by the organization.

Attributing failures to individuals or previous administrations.

Focusing on the process at the expense of results.

Abdicating decision-making responsibilities to other levels.

Avoiding mistakes at all costs.

Not admitting when a decision has turned out differently than expected.

Valuing and providing authentic, evidence-based advice in the interest of Canadians.

Holding oneself and the organization to the highest ethical and professional standards.

Modeling commitment to citizen-focused service and the public interest.

Supporting the use of both official languages in the workplace.

Implementing practices to advance an inclusive and healthy organization that is free from harassment and discrimination.

Promoting and respecting the diversity of people and their skills.

Recognizing and responding to matters related to workplace well-being.

Carrying out decisions in an impartial, transparent and non-partisan manner.

Engaging in self-reflection and acting upon insights.

Placing personal goals ahead of Government of Canada objectives.

Showing favouritism or bias.

Not taking action to address situations of wrongdoing, harassment or discrimination.

Mistreating others and taking advantage of the authority vested in the position.

Disregarding others because of differences in backgrounds, experiences, perspectives or approaches.

Believing employees have sole responsibility for their own well-being at work.

Encouraging and applying sound risk management practices.

Identifying opportunities for and barriers to innovation.

Proposing creative practices, concepts or products.

Encouraging employees to generate new and innovative approaches.

Adjusting practices to address lessons learned following setbacks and mistakes.

Adapting plans in response to changes in direction and priorities.

Understanding the impact of change on employees and taking appropriate action.

Demonstrating resilience, composure and a positive outlook in an environment of uncertainty and ambiguity.

Providing ongoing guidance and support that will maintain the commitment to change.

Articulating the value of new approaches and solutions for decision-making purposes.

Leaving staff to work through changes on their own, or insufficient time to acknowledge concerns.

Implementing change in an unstructured way causing confusion about priorities and timelines.

Resisting change even when existing methods are inadequate.

Dismissing the ideas of others as criticism or complaints of existing approaches.

Viewing setbacks and mistakes as an indication that the whole idea is flawed.

In the face of uncertainty, thinking that, “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.”