Competency Framework
The Skill Grid
Timeline
4 months + ongoing
Role
Group director & manager
Collaborators
12-person design team, 3 managers, product strategy partners
01 · Landscape
Shifting
Expectations.
Following organizational restructuring, the design team was shifted into a new business group with significantly expanded expectations. The team, initially composed of specialists - ranging from strong visual designers lacking client management skills to pure UX practitioners missing strategic product insight - was suddenly required to inform and lead all aspects of product experience.
The previous model of a few senior leaders micromanaging output to ensure quality was unscalable and unsustainable. The core challenge was transforming a diverse group of specialists into a resilient team of high-impact generalists capable of autonomous, top-level execution across product management, strategy, and design craft.
A Transition from Specialiststo High-Impact Generalists
02 · Response
Awareness
& Evolution.
To address this capability gap systemically, the architectural response was to externalize expectations. I developed a comprehensive competency framework, The Skill Grid, to explicitly define over 70 critical skills required across the practice.
To mitigate the natural resistance to imposed change, I instituted a transparent, collaborative rollout. The team was involved in identifying the necessary skills, ensuring buy-in and shared understanding of the new operational realities. The framework was structured around the four Stages of Competence, providing clear, observable indicators for each level:
- Unskilled (Unconscious Incompetence):
Characterized by wrong intuition; requires awareness and context-specific instruction. - Semi-skilled (Conscious Incompetence):
Characterized by wrong analysis; requires targeted training and guidance. - Skilled (Conscious Competence):
Characterized by right analysis; translates into predictable professional performance through active practice. - Highly Skilled (Unconscious Competence):
Characterized by right intuition; second-nature mastery allowing for execution in unknown contexts and team-wide thought leadership.
This was supported by an internal portal linking each skill to targeted internal and external training resources.
Enterprise Experience Skills
03 · Playbook
Managing
the Change.
The framework was operationalized by integrating it directly into performance management structures. I mandated baseline development in four core universal capabilities: Communication, Client Management, Problem Solving, and Systems Thinking & Holistic Design. Individuals were given autonomy to select two additional skills for targeted growth.
To bridge the gap between self-perception and actual capability, the framework included a self-grading rubric and encouraged peer feedback. Progress was tracked continuously through 1:1s and formalized in review criteria, ensuring expectations were unambiguous and development gaps were consistently addressed. Principles from Crucial Conversations and Carol Dweck's Growth Mindset were utilized to facilitate the harder conversations surrounding performance and capability gaps.
04 · Outcomes
Elevated
Impact.
The implementation of the Skill Grid catalyzed significant professional growth, expanding the team's field of influence.
The team developed a noticeably higher caliber of systemic thinking and stronger client rapport. This elevated confidence directly drove a 20% increase in revenue; designers effectively differentiated between minor project favors and actionable scope expansion, successfully converting the latter into new, expanded Statements of Work (SOWs).
Ultimately, when the organization restructured again, the established quality and breadth of the team's talent ensured that every member who sought a new internal role successfully secured one.
