Best Leadership Competency Models

There are more named leadership competency models than most practitioners need to know about, and that abundance creates a specific problem: organisations spend time evaluating and selecting a model when they should be designing one that fits their context. If you are trying to work out which of the established models is worth using, or whether any of them is the right starting point, this article gives you the analysis to make that call.

What Is a Leadership Competency Model?

A leadership competency model is an applied selection of competencies tailored for leadership roles across a defined scope of the organisation. The model specifies which competencies matter for leaders, what each competency means in that context, and how it scales across proficiency levels.

The distinction between a model and a framework matters here. A competency framework is the governing system that defines, groups, and standardises competencies across the whole organisation. A leadership competency model is one instance drawn from it, shaped for a particular population. When a named model like Korn Ferry Leadership Architect is purchased from an external provider, it arrives as a complete system that functions as both the governing structure and the application layer, which is why the terms get conflated when working with proprietary products.

If you want to understand how a competency is defined and why the distinction between a competency and a skill matters in this context, my article on what a competency is covers that precisely.

Why Leadership Competency Models Exist

Leadership behaviour is inconsistent across organisations in ways that create measurable problems: uneven performance management, subjective promotion decisions, development investment that cannot be targeted, and succession planning that depends on intuition rather than evidence.

Leadership competency models exist to give organisations a shared, observable language for describing what good leadership looks like. Once that language is agreed, it can be applied consistently in hiring, assessment, development, and promotion. The model solves the problem of subjectivity by defining expected behaviour at each proficiency level before a decision needs to be made.

The secondary value is comparability. A model makes it possible to assess two leaders against the same standard and draw legitimate conclusions from the comparison. Without a model, every assessment reflects the assessor's personal theory of leadership.

How Leadership Competency Models Work in Practice

A leadership competency model organises competencies into a structure that can be applied across a defined population. In most cases, that means:

• A set of core competencies that every leader at every level is expected to demonstrate
• Additional competencies that become relevant at senior levels, such as enterprise leadership or strategic direction
• Proficiency levels that define how each competency looks at different stages of leadership, typically ranging from emerging leader through to executive
• Behavioural indicators that make each level observable and assessable

The model is then applied as the standard for performance assessment, development planning, succession decisions, and leadership selection. When the model is well constructed, every tool that uses it draws from the same definitions and produces comparable results.

What a Leadership Competency Model Is Not

A leadership competency model is not the same as a competency framework, even though the two are often treated as interchangeable. The framework is the governing structure. The model is an application within it. Buying a named model does not give you a framework.

It is also not a values statement. Core values describe what an organisation believes; a competency model describes observable behaviour. The conflation of values and competencies is common and produces models that are too abstract to assess against.

A leadership competency model is not a list of personality traits. Traits are relatively stable dispositions; competencies are applied behaviours that can be developed, assessed, and evidenced. A model built on traits produces descriptions that are difficult to assess fairly and almost impossible to use for development.

Finally, a leadership model is not the same as a domain-specific competency framework for a technical or functional population. My article on product manager competency frameworks explores how role-specific models differ from the leadership layer, and the same logic applies across other function-specific contexts.

The Best-Known Leadership Competency Models

Several models have been widely adopted and are worth understanding on their own terms, including their strengths and limitations.

Korn Ferry Leadership Architect

Korn Ferry Leadership Architect, formerly Lominger, is one of the most comprehensive proprietary models available. It includes 38 competencies organised into 12 clusters and 4 factors, built on more than 60 years of research across a broad leadership population. It is well validated and extensively used in large enterprise contexts.

The limitation is access. Korn Ferry Leadership Architect is a licensed product, and meaningful use requires the Korn Ferry ecosystem: their assessments, benchmarking data, and development tools. Organisations without the infrastructure to support a licensed platform often find they are purchasing more capability than they can operationalise.

SHRM Competency Model

The SHRM Competency Model is designed specifically for HR professionals, not general leadership. It defines 9 behavioural competencies validated across thousands of HR practitioners globally and is publicly available without a licence fee. The SHRM Body of Competency and Knowledge is documented in full on the SHRM website. The model is a strong reference point for HR competency design but should not be applied to a broader leadership population without substantial modification.

CIPD Profession Map

The CIPD Profession Map covers people professionals in HR, learning and development, and organisational development. Like SHRM, it is designed for a professional population rather than general leadership, and it is publicly available. The CIPD model integrates behaviours, values, and knowledge areas in a way that is more holistic than a strict competency model, which makes it harder to operationalise for standardised assessment. The CIPD competence factsheet provides further background on the competence-based approach underpinning the map.

DDI Global Leadership Framework

DDI's framework is research-driven, drawing on the Global Leadership Forecast study conducted across more than 50 countries. It organises leadership behaviour into clusters rather than a fixed competency count, which gives it flexibility but makes independent implementation more difficult. Like Korn Ferry, meaningful use of the DDI framework is tied to DDI's assessment and development ecosystem.

Great Eight (SHL/CEB)

The Great Eight is a factor-analytically derived model identifying 8 universal competency dimensions across a large assessment dataset. It has a strong research base, is documented in peer-reviewed literature, and has been independently validated across populations and industries. The Great Eight is used extensively in selection contexts but is optimised for that purpose rather than ongoing development, and it does not provide the granularity needed for proficiency-level design.

For organisations with function-specific populations, the sales competency framework article examines how a domain-specific model sits alongside rather than replaces the leadership layer. For technical populations using skills-level frameworks, my article on the SFIA framework explains how a skills framework operates differently from a competency model.

Common Failure Modes

Most organisations that run into problems with leadership competency models make one of three errors.

The first is using the model as a list rather than a system. A model works when it connects to assessment, development, and selection decisions. When it is listed in a policy document and not operationalised, it has no effect on behaviour.

The second is selecting a model that is too broad for the population. A model with 38 competencies applied to first-time managers produces overload and confusion. Most emerging leaders need to demonstrate 6 to 10 competencies well. The model should be scoped to the population, not the reverse.

The third is confusing the model with the framework. Organisations that purchase a named model and treat it as their framework end up with no governing structure behind it. When they later need to create role profiles, extend the model to new populations, or build assessment tools, they discover there is nothing to build from.

Trade-offs and Constraints

A named proprietary model gives you validated content, benchmarking access, and tool integration. It costs more and creates dependency on a vendor's ecosystem. A custom model gives you ownership, flexibility, and fit with your organisation's language and strategy. It requires design investment and ongoing governance to maintain.

Neither is categorically better. The decision depends on three factors: the size and diversity of the leadership population, the organisation's capacity to govern a framework internally, and the maturity of the L&D and HR infrastructure available to operationalise the model. The Australian Public Service Commission's leadership and development resources provide a useful reference point for what a large-scale, government-sector leadership framework looks like in practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most widely used leadership competency model?

Korn Ferry Leadership Architect (formerly Lominger) is the most widely deployed proprietary model, particularly in large enterprises with established L&D infrastructure. The Great Eight is widely used in selection-focused contexts. SHRM and CIPD are the reference standards for HR-specific populations.

Can I use a named leadership competency model without buying the licence?

The Great Eight has been published in peer-reviewed literature and can be referenced without a commercial licence. SHRM and CIPD models are publicly available in full. Korn Ferry Leadership Architect and DDI require a commercial relationship to use meaningfully.

How many competencies should a leadership model include?

Most effective leadership models include 8 to 15 competencies for any given leadership level. Models with more than 20 competencies become difficult to assess consistently and produce cognitive overload in development planning. A smaller, well-defined set applied consistently outperforms a comprehensive set used intermittently.

What is the difference between a leadership model and a leadership framework?

A leadership framework is the governing structure that defines, organises, and standardises competencies across the organisation. A leadership model is a specific application drawn from the framework for a defined population. A named external product like Korn Ferry Leadership Architect functions as both.

How often should a leadership competency model be reviewed?

Every three to five years, or when the organisation's strategy shifts significantly. Models that are not reviewed become misaligned with what the organisation actually needs from its leaders and lose credibility with the people they are applied to.

Should the same model be used across all leadership levels?

The same competency set can apply across levels if proficiency descriptors differentiate expectations at each stage. Using separate, unconnected models for different leadership levels produces inconsistency in assessment and makes cross-level succession planning very difficult.