Henrico’s New Capability Model: The Leading the Organization Capability

by Nancy Outlaw, Organizational Learning and Talent Development Division, Department of Human Resources

The constantly accelerating changes in the workplace have demanded we find innovative ways to get work done. Henrico County has answered the call by developing the Capability Model to help our employees meet this challenge. You can learn more about the capabilities on our resource page or by viewing our Henrico Capability Model videos.

To provide more explanation about the capabilities, the County Connection features a series of articles, each focusing on a specific capability. This article is about Leading the Organization.

Effective organizational leadership is critical to ensuring the County meets our increasingly diverse community’s current and future needs. It can be accomplished at every level by examining current practices and considering how the methods can be improved to accommodate increased and changing service demands. 

The capability model describes Leading the Organization in four ways:

Organizational Awareness: Understands the components and culture of the organization and predicts how events and situations will affect individuals or groups within it.

Innovation: Implements creative ideas and processes to add value to the organization.

Agility: Quickly adapts to changes impacting the County in ways that benefit organizational goals and objectives.

Cultural Awareness: Recognizes, understands, and appreciates similarities and differences among various cultural groups.

Here are some examples of ways to effectively lead the organization:

  • Reviewing the “State of the County” address to learn more about the organization’s goals and priorities
  • Discussing the organization’s mission and leadership philosophy as a team and identifying specific goals you want to achieve on your work team, division, or department; Communicating the plans you come up with to everyone affected.
  • Placing the welfare of others and the organization over your interests
  • Making decisions based on the organization’s goals and priorities- When making decisions regarding work issues, ask yourself, “What’s best for the organization?”
  • Asking for and being open to ideas from colleagues and customers regarding changes to services and working with your team to implement those changes
  • Finding ways to streamline current processes to get work done more efficiently
  • Staying open, alert, and up to date on events that could impact the organization and/or your work team (such as the COVID pandemic) and working with your colleagues to develop innovative ways to provide services and get work done.
  • Participating in strategic planning meetings with your team to clarify future goals and priorities and develop an action plan to meet those goals
  • Communicating upcoming changes as much and as often as possible to help your team through the change
  • Proactively educating yourself on diverse cultures through:
  • Attending classes on diversity, equity, and inclusion
  • Interacting with fellow employees and/or County residents to learn more about their cultures
  • Watching DEI videos on the OLTD YouTube channeland reviewing cultural resources on the DEI Resource page 
  • Getting involved in events that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion

Skilled organizational leadership inspires people to use their talents to fulfill the organization’s mission and goals through encouraging ideas, problem-solving, and innovation; promoting inclusion; overcoming setbacks; and creating an environment where everyone can grow. 

To find more examples of the Leading the Organization capability, view these videos on our OLTD YouTube channel:

How To Be an Agile Leader

Dealing with Change and Transitions

Managing Workplace Change

How to Lead Your Team Through Change

Vision to Performance: The Work of Leadership

Who We Are: Leadership Lessons from COVID-19 video series

Voices of the Heart video series

 

For more information on the Capabilities, view our Henrico Capability Model videos on our OLTD YouTube page or visit our resource page