The method, in the open
The Competency Spine
32 behavioural competencies in 6 clusters, version 0.12.0. Every one is anchored to at least one established public framework — European, British, American, Canadian, Australian or OECD — because a competency we invented and cannot trace to a recognised definition is one we cannot defend in a procurement.
Five levels, one scale
Scores live on a single 0–100 axis. The five bands below are how Jobulary reads it; AssessAll reads the same number in four. Neither is a conversion — both are projections of one value, which is what keeps results comparable across instruments and across years.
Understands the idea. Cannot yet apply it reliably, even with help.
Applies it with guidance, in familiar situations.
Applies it reliably and unsupervised in normal conditions. This is the anchor of the scale: most people, in most roles, sit here or a little below.
Applies it in complex or ambiguous conditions, and coaches others through it.
Shapes how the organisation practises this. Recognised well beyond own team.
The competencies
SPN.1
Self
SPN.1.1
Self-awareness
Understands own strengths, limits, values, emotions and impact on others, and uses that understanding to make better choices.
SPN.1.2
Resilience and wellbeing
Sustains performance and judgement under pressure, recovers from setbacks, and manages own energy over the long term.
SPN.1.3
Learning agility
Learns quickly from experience, especially unfamiliar or uncomfortable experience, and applies the learning to new situations.
SPN.1.4
Personal effectiveness
Organises own time, attention and commitments so that the right work gets done reliably without external chasing.
SPN.1.5
Leadership identity
Owns the shift from delivering the work personally to creating results through other people.
SPN.1.6
Adaptability and ambiguity
Operates well amid change and incomplete information, without stalling for certainty that will not arrive.
SPN.2
Thinking
SPN.2.1
Analytical reasoning
Breaks down information, identifies patterns and causes, and reaches conclusions that hold up to scrutiny.
SPN.2.2
Problem solving and decision making
Generates workable options and commits to a decision at the right time, with an appropriate level of evidence.
SPN.2.3
Commercial acumen
Understands how the business actually makes and loses money, and factors that into everyday choices.
SPN.2.4
Innovation and creativity
Generates genuinely new approaches and turns them into something testable rather than leaving them as ideas.
SPN.2.5
Strategic thinking
Connects the dots into a bigger picture and chooses where to play and, just as deliberately, where not to.
SPN.2.6
Systems thinking
Sees second-order effects, feedback loops, and how the parts of an organisation interact.
SPN.3
Communication
SPN.3.1
Written communication
Writes so that the intended reader understands, remembers and can act — in the format the situation calls for.
SPN.3.2
Spoken and presentation
Speaks so that the point lands — one to one, in meetings, and in front of a room.
SPN.3.3
Listening and empathy
Understands what another person actually means and actually feels, and demonstrably takes it into account.
SPN.3.4
Influence and negotiation
Moves people towards a position or an agreement without relying on authority.
SPN.4
Working with others
SPN.4.1
Collaboration
Works effectively with people who do not report to them, including across functions and organisations.
SPN.4.2
Conflict management
Surfaces and resolves disagreement so that the issue is settled and the relationship survives.
SPN.4.3
Stakeholder and network management
Identifies who matters, builds durable relationships with them, and keeps them appropriately engaged.
SPN.4.4
Inclusion and cultural agility
Works effectively across difference, and creates conditions in which a wider range of people can contribute.
SPN.4.5
Difficult conversations
Holds candid, respectful conversations that actually change behaviour, rather than conversations that relieve the speaker.
SPN.5
Leading
SPN.5.1
Coaching and developing others
Grows other people's capability deliberately, through feedback, questions and well-chosen stretch.
SPN.5.2
Delegation and accountability
Assigns work with clear ownership and outcome, then holds the line on it without doing it themselves.
SPN.5.3
Direction setting
Creates a clear, compelling and achievable picture of where a team or organisation is going, and why.
SPN.5.4
Leading change
Takes people through change that they did not ask for, and makes the new way stick.
SPN.5.5
Motivation and engagement
Creates the conditions in which people choose to give discretionary effort.
SPN.5.6
Talent attraction and deployment
Attracts capable people and places them where they contribute most, rather than where the vacancy happens to be.
SPN.6
Delivering
SPN.6.1
Planning and prioritisation
Turns intent into a realistic sequence of work, and keeps the most important things first when reality intervenes.
SPN.6.2
Execution and quality
Finishes work to a standard that does not need rework, reliably and without being chased.
SPN.6.3
Customer orientation
Understands what the customer — internal or external — actually needs, and organises work around it.
SPN.6.4
Digital and data fluency
Uses digital tools and data confidently and critically to do the work better — including knowing when not to.
SPN.6.5
Consultative selling
Diagnoses the real need before prescribing a solution, in commercial and internal-service contexts alike.
Using it
Cite it freely. If you run a competency framework of your own, it maps into the Spine rather than being replaced by it — that is how results stay comparable when different clients measure different things.
Where a competency aligns to a proprietary framework we name and cite it, and never reproduce its wording.