An analysis of the perceived competencies of CEOs in public park and recreation agencies

Abstract

This study identified the competencies that CEOs in public parks and recreation agencies in the United States perceived they needed in order to perform their duties. Two simultaneous Delphi techniques were used with two different cohorts of CEOs. Thirty jurors were selected from each group with 22 per group agreeing to participate. During the four step process, the jurors were asked to: (a) list competencies they perceived as important for the CEO position; (b) rank the importance of the competency in relation to their job; (c) determine if the categories derived from the results in the previous rounds were accurate; and (d) determine the perceived importance of the competency category to the CEO. Based on the results of the Delphi process, the CEO Competency Framework was developed consisting of three levels of specificity including six general competency categories 20 primary competencies and 72 specific competencies.

Developing a competency model for private club managers

“…The CMAA members are required to have an array of competencies, even if not needed in the present club, because clubs may merge (e.g., golf and city) or managers may move to a different type of club. Numerous studies have documented the advantages of industry specific competency models for managers in a specific business environment (Koustelios, 2003;Chung-Herrera et al, 2003;Hurd and McLean, 2004). An advantage to the club manager competency model created in this study is that it can be adopted by the club managers and club boards of directors as a foundation for creating an organization-specific competency model in which human resource functions of hiring, training, and developing can be required (Dalton, 1997).…”

Using Q-methodology in competency development for CEOs in public parks and recreation

“…A better understanding of what managers do provides a more lucid picture of what skills, knowledge, and abilities are needed to do the job successfully. Parks and recreation has lagged in the identification of competencies for managers, but such work has recently begun to emerge in the literature (Hurd and McLean, 2004;Hurd, 2004;Barcelona and Ross, 2004). The work represents a strong emphasis towards understanding what skills and attributes managers desirably possess.…”

“…The purpose of the current study was to explore the subjectivity of the established public park and recreation CEO competencies (Hurd, 2001;Hurd and McLean, 2004). The complimentary study used the list of competencies from the Framework and asked respondents to rank order them.…”

“…Competencies have been used for such things as benchmarking skills, setting hiring criteria, guiding professional development, and establishing personnel evaluation standards. Preliminary research on Chief Executive Officer (CEO) competencies in public parks and recreation established the CEO Competency Framework that consists of three levels of specificity including general competency categories, primary competencies, and specific competencies (Hurd and McLean, 2004).…”

Learning in the Geoscience Classroom: Q-Methodology, Learning Styles, and Individual Preferences

“…For example, McLean et al (2005), studied competencies of public recreation and park chief executive officers (CEOs). In their study, they derived 82 competencies from Hurd and McLean's (2004) research on CEO competencies. These 82 competencies constituted the study's Q-sample.…”