Leadership Competency Framework: 5 Levels and 6 Domains HR Can Roll Out Without Consultants

A clear leadership competency framework gives Führungskräfte and employees a shared language for expectations, feedback, and promotions. You avoid vague “leadership potential” debates, reduce bias in performance reviews, and create visible development paths from Teamleiter to VP/Head. This template is designed so DACH HR can roll it out without consultants and still align with Betriebsrat and GDPR expectations.

Competency domain	Team Lead	Manager	Senior Manager	Director	VP / Head
People & Team Leadership	Runs regular 1:1s, gives concrete feedback, and resolves simple conflicts within the team quickly.	Builds a stable team, manages performance fairly, and addresses underperformance with structured plans.	Develops Team Leads/Managers, delegates ownership, and builds a bench of ready successors.	Designs the leadership structure for a Bereich, ensuring spans of control and roles are clear.	Defines leadership philosophy company‑wide and holds all Führungskräfte accountable for people results.
Communication & Stakeholder Management	Explains decisions transparently to the team and keeps key stakeholders updated on progress and risks.	Aligns multiple teams and stakeholders, manages expectations, and escalates issues early with options.	Builds trust with senior leaders and Betriebsrat through honest updates and no‑surprises communication.	Shapes clear narratives for major changes and represents the Bereich credibly to the executive team.	Acts as a visible company voice internally and externally, balancing interests of owners, employees, and councils.
Execution & Decision‑Making	Translates goals into clear tasks, tracks progress, and removes daily blockers for the team.	Sets quarterly priorities, makes data‑informed decisions, and says no to work that doesn’t fit.	Designs repeatable execution routines (OKRs, weeklies) across teams and course‑corrects based on outcomes.	Balances capacity across portfolios, stops low‑value initiatives, and reallocates resources transparently.	Commits to a few strategic bets, takes informed risks, and stands by decisions under pressure.
Strategic Thinking & Business Impact	Understands how the team’s work drives key business metrics and flags improvement ideas.	Connects team goals with company strategy and quantifies impact on revenue, cost, or risk.	Spots trends across markets/regions, adjusts plans, and proposes scenarios with clear trade‑offs.	Defines multi‑year roadmaps for the Bereich with measurable business outcomes and investment cases.	Shapes the overall strategy, challenges assumptions, and steers the portfolio based on external signals.
Collaboration & Culture (incl. DEI & psychological safety)	Encourages open discussion, admits own mistakes, and addresses disrespectful behaviour immediately.	Builds cross‑team collaboration, removes “Wir vs. Die” thinking, and models inclusive meeting habits.	Drives culture initiatives across an area, monitors climate data, and acts on early warning signs.	Defines culture expectations for the Bereich, integrates DEI and psychologische Sicherheit into processes.	Champions a consistent culture across locations, role‑models hard decisions aligned with values, not politics.
Self‑Leadership & Learning	Manages own energy, seeks feedback, and creates a simple personal learning plan each year.	Builds habits for reflection, delegates operational tasks, and protects time for strategic work.	Actively works with a coach/mentor, experiments with new leadership approaches, and shares learnings.	Handles high ambiguity calmly, sets boundaries, and maintains resilience through crises.	Continuously adapts leadership style to company phase, and invests visibly in own development.

Key takeaways

Use the matrix as a shared reference in performance and promotion discussions.
Make expectations transparent for each leadership level, from Teamleiter to VP/Head.
Anchor feedback and 1:1s in concrete, observable behaviours and outcomes.
Identify development gaps early and link them to specific learning actions.
Run calibration rounds to reduce bias and align Führungskräfte on standards.

This leadership competency framework defines observable behaviours for six core domains across five leadership levels. You can use it to run more consistent performance reviews, prepare promotion decisions, design career paths, and structure leadership development and coaching. It works best when integrated with your existing OKR, feedback, and talent review processes.

Skill levels & scope

Leadership levels reflect scope of responsibility, not age or tenure. Clear scope descriptions help you avoid title inflation and make promotions defensible towards employees, Betriebsrat, and finance. They also connect neatly into any existing career framework for managers.

Team Lead

Typically leads 4–10 people or a small squad, often part‑time next to an expert role. Owns delivery and team climate, but not the overall strategy. Decision authority: day‑to‑day priorities, task allocation, simple people decisions within given rules (e.g. holidays, home office, first performance conversations).

Manager

Leads one team end‑to‑end or several small squads. Owns team performance, hiring decisions, and implementation of function or Bereich strategy. Decision authority: team goals, role definitions within banding, performance ratings proposals, and input to compensation in line with company policies.

Senior Manager

Leads multiple teams or a sub‑area (e.g. Sales DACH, Product Area A). Owns area strategy within the function and develops other Führungskräfte. Decision authority: structure of the area, budget trade‑offs within frame, promotion recommendations, and escalated people cases.

Director

Leads a whole Bereich or large function (e.g. Engineering, Marketing, Operations Region). Accountable for multi‑year roadmap, P&L or major budget, and succession pipelines. Decision authority: organisation design, investment choices, senior hiring, and high‑impact policy proposals.

VP / Head

Company‑wide or multi‑country responsibility. Owns strategy, culture, and results for a major business or corporate function. Decision authority: long‑term bets, portfolio choices, leadership standards, and top talent and succession decisions, often together with the CEO and CHRO.

Leadership competency framework: core skill areas

These six domains structure your leadership expectations across all levels. They align well with modern performance management approaches and 360‑degree feedback. Each domain focuses on outcomes and observable behaviour, not personal style.

People & Team Leadership

Goal: teams deliver sustainable performance and stay engaged over time. Typical outcomes: regular, high‑quality 1:1s, low regretted attrition, clear goals and roles, timely handling of underperformance, and visible development opportunities for each team member.

Communication & Stakeholder Management

Goal: fewer surprises and faster alignment across teams, customers, Betriebsrat, and leadership. Typical outcomes: stakeholders know status and risks, conflicts are surfaced early, and decisions are explained in simple language even on complex topics.

Execution & Decision‑Making

Goal: plans turn into results without burning people out. Typical outcomes: clear priorities, realistic plans, visible progress, fast escalation routes, and decisions made at the right level with transparent reasoning and data.

Strategic Thinking & Business Impact

Goal: leaders understand how their area creates value and make choices accordingly. Typical outcomes: focused roadmaps, stopped low‑impact initiatives, clear contribution to revenue, cost, risk or customer outcomes, and practical scenarios for different futures.

Collaboration & Culture (incl. Diversity, Inclusion & psychological safety)

Goal: a culture where people speak up, learn, and feel respected, independent of background. Typical outcomes: few “Silo” decisions, constructive cross‑team work, diverse slates for roles, and high scores on psychologische Sicherheit in employee surveys.

Self‑Leadership & Learning

Goal: Führungskräfte manage their own state and growth so they stay effective under pressure. Typical outcomes: visible learning habits, constructive response to feedback, healthy boundaries, and resilience through change and crises.

Keep the six domains stable across all levels; adjust only behaviours, not labels.
Translate each domain into 3–5 concrete examples per role in your organisation.
Use the domains as sections in review forms, 360 feedback, and promotion templates.
Align leadership training modules directly with these domains to avoid confusion.
Share a one‑pager with all domains during onboarding of new managers.

Rating & evidence

To make ratings fair and auditable, combine this leadership competency framework with a simple scale and clear evidence types. A behaviourally anchored rating scale (BARS) works well and connects easily to your overall skill framework.

Rating	Label	Description (for each behaviour)
1	Below expectation	Behaviour is rarely shown or only with strong support; risks or damage are visible.
2	Partially meets	Behaviour appears in simple situations but is inconsistent or needs frequent guidance.
3	Fully meets	Behaviour is consistently shown in typical scope and complexity for the level.
4	Clearly exceeds	Behaviour is strong across complex situations and acts as role‑model for others.

Evidence sources

Combine multiple sources instead of relying on gut feeling or one loud stakeholder. Examples of valid evidence:

Goal/OKR results and project outcomes with clear contribution of the leader.
Documented feedback from 1:1s, 360‑degree surveys, and employee engagement results.
Talent review notes, promotion discussions, and succession plans for their area.
Concrete cases: conflict escalations, customer situations, Betriebsrat negotiations.
Observable routines: agendas and notes for team meetings, retros, and check‑ins.

Mini‑example: same result, different levels

Case A: A Team Lead resolves a conflict between two developers after a colleague escalates to HR. They follow guidance step‑by‑step and document the outcome. Rating: “Meets” for Team Lead on People Leadership.

Case B: A Senior Manager sees recurring tension between Product and Sales. They initiate a joint workshop, redesign the decision process, and conflict volume drops for months. Rating: “Clearly exceeds” on People Leadership at Senior Manager level, because scope and systemic impact are larger.

Require at least two concrete examples per domain before finalising any rating.
Train managers to write short STAR stories (Situation, Task, Action, Result) as evidence.
Use a shared calibration sheet for leaders at the same level to compare evidence.
Store ratings and rationales in a GDPR‑compliant system with clear retention rules.
Involve Betriebsrat early if you use ratings for pay or promotion decisions.

Growth signals & warning signs

Promotion readiness is more than “does a good job”. You need consistent growth signals over time and honest warning signs that block a move. Linking these signals to this leadership competency framework makes talent reviews and promotion committees far more concrete.

Typical growth signals

Delivers strong results in current scope for at least 12–18 months, not one cycle.
Takes ownership beyond formal team, drives cross‑team initiatives without being asked.
Develops others: mentees grow, successors are ready, team can run without them.
Stakeholders seek their input for decisions, not only for operational questions.
Demonstrates company values under pressure, not just in “good weather”.

Typical warning signs

Relies on heroics and long hours instead of building stable systems and routines.
Blames “the business”, HR or HQ when decisions are unpopular, eroding trust.
Protects own team at the cost of others, visible Silo behaviour and politics.
Avoids difficult conversations; performance issues linger despite clear feedback.
Documented complaints, low psychological safety scores, or repeated HR escalations.

Hypothetical example: A Manager runs a strong team but often badmouths decisions from Geschäftsführung. Engagement scores are fine inside the team but low collaboration scores with other departments. Growth signal: team performance. Warning sign: culture impact beyond the team. You would likely hold promotion to Senior Manager until they change these patterns.

Define 3–5 growth signals per level and review them in every talent round.
Ask managers to document both signals and warning signs in promotion proposals.
Use a simple “ready now / 1–2 years / later” field with short justification.
Address warning signs with concrete development plans instead of vague feedback.
Check for bias: compare signals across gender, age, and background, not only gut feel.

Check‑ins & review sessions

Regular, structured check‑ins make this leadership competency framework live in daily work instead of sitting in a PDF. According to a Gallup study, employees who receive meaningful feedback weekly are far more engaged than those with rare reviews.

Suggested formats

Monthly 1:1s where each leader discusses one domain in depth with their manager.
Quarterly team talent reviews to look at growth signals and development needs.
Bi‑annual calibration sessions for all Führungskräfte at the same level.
Annual leadership 360 feedback focused on the six domains, separate from pay.
Short “leadership retro” after major projects or reorganisations.

Hypothetical example: A DACH tech company runs a quarterly calibration for all Team Leads. Each brings two examples per domain. HR facilitates, uses a simple tracker (in Excel or a tool like Sprad Growth), and checks for rating drift between departments. Over two cycles, promotion debates become faster and less emotional.

Calibration and bias checks

Prepare standard evidence packets before calibration so meetings focus on judgement, not data.
Assign a neutral facilitator (often HR) to enforce timeboxes and bias prompts.
Compare ratings for similar roles across departments and adjust when gaps lack evidence.
Document outcomes and rationales for each leader for later audits or appeals.
Align any changes with Betriebsrat if ratings link to variable pay or promotion.

Interview questions by competency area

You can also use this leadership competency framework directly in recruiting. Behavioural questions reveal how candidates have acted in real situations. Always follow up with “What was the outcome?” and “What would you do differently?”

People & Team Leadership

Tell me about a time you had to address underperformance. How did you handle it?
Describe a situation where you developed someone into a new role or level.
How do you structure your 1:1s? Walk me through a typical agenda.
Share a moment where you made a difficult people decision that was unpopular.
When did you last receive tough feedback from your team, and how did you respond?

Communication & Stakeholder Management

Tell me about a time you had to align conflicting stakeholders on a decision.
Describe how you communicate a decision that negatively impacts your team.
Give an example of managing expectations with a demanding Kunde or internal partner.
When have you escalated an issue to your own Führungskraft? What was your prep?
How have you worked with a Betriebsrat or similar body on a sensitive topic?

Execution & Decision‑Making

Describe a project where you had to re‑prioritise mid‑way. What changed and what did you do?
Tell me about a decision you made with incomplete data. How did you de‑risk it?
How do you manage trade‑offs between speed, quality, and cost in your area?
Give an example of stopping an initiative. What signalled that it was time to stop?
When did you last push back on unrealistic expectations from senior leadership?

Strategic Thinking & Business Impact

Tell me about a time you connected your team’s work to a key business metric.
Describe how you build a roadmap or plan for the next 12–24 months.
Share a situation where you anticipated a market or regulatory change and acted early.
How do you evaluate which projects to fund or stop in your Bereich?
Give an example of explaining a complex strategic choice in simple terms.

Collaboration & Culture

Describe a conflict between teams you helped resolve. What did you do differently?
Tell me about a concrete action you took to increase psychological safety in your team.
When have you changed your approach after feedback from someone very different from you?
How do you ensure quieter voices are heard in meetings and decisions?
Give an example of addressing behaviour that went against company values.

Self‑Leadership & Learning

Tell me about a recent failure. How did you handle it and what changed afterwards?
What specific learning goals have you set for yourself in the last 12 months?
Describe your routines for managing stress and workload during peak periods.
When did you last change your leadership style based on feedback or context?
Who challenges your thinking today, and how often do you seek their input?

Train interviewers on 3–4 core questions per domain instead of long scripts.
Score answers on the same 1–4 scale, with brief notes on evidence.
Mix “success” and “failure” questions to see how candidates learn.
Involve diverse interviewers to reduce similarity and affinity bias.
Store notes centrally and GDPR‑compliant; delete within defined retention periods.

Implementation & updates

Rolling out a leadership competency framework in DACH is a change project, not just an HR document. Involve Führungskräfte and Betriebsrat, link the framework to real decisions, and keep it lightweight. You can use tools like Sprad Growth or similar to integrate it with reviews, OKRs, and development plans.

Rollout steps

Start with a pilot Bereich (e.g. Tech or Sales) for one full review cycle.
Co‑create adaptations with 5–10 respected managers to increase ownership.
Align with Betriebsrat early, including rating scale, data usage, and retention.
Train managers on using behaviours in feedback, not as a checkbox exercise.
Run a retro after the first cycle and adjust wording, not the core domains.

Ongoing maintenance

Assign an owner (usually HR/Talent) responsible for updates and version control.
Review the framework annually with a small group of Führungskräfte and HRBPs.
Use engagement data, 360 feedback themes, and strategy shifts to adjust anchors.
Document changes, inform managers, and keep old versions for auditability.
Integrate updates into your skill management and development plans.

Examples & use cases

Performance reviews and calibration: Use the six domains as sections in review templates and calibration trackers. Combine ratings with evidence, then use a simple 9‑box or talent review format like the one in Sprad’s talent calibration guide to decide on development and promotion actions.

Promotions and career paths: Map typical roles (Teamleiter, Abteilungsleiter, Bereichsleiter) to the five levels. Use growth signals, not just ratings, to support promotion proposals. This connects well with your broader talent management approach and avoids “title jumps” without scope.

Leadership development and coaching: Design modules directly around the six domains. For example: “Leading with psychological safety” for Team Leads, “Strategic decision‑making” for Senior Managers, and “Stakeholdering with Aufsichtsrat and owners” for VP/Head. Tie course completion to concrete behaviour changes, not just attendance.

Conclusion

A practical leadership competency framework gives your organisation three things: clarity on what good leadership looks like, fairer and more transparent decisions on performance and promotions, and a shared language for development instead of personality debates. When behaviours are observable and tied to scope, you replace vague “leadership potential” with concrete examples and outcomes.

To make this real, start small. In the next 4–6 weeks, pick one pilot Bereich, adapt the table and rating scale to your context, and train the local Führungskräfte on using it in 1:1s and reviews. In parallel, plan your first calibration meeting with HR, the Bereichsleiter, and one Betriebsratsvertreter to test evidence standards and bias checks.

After the first cycle (usually 3–6 months), run a short pulse with managers and employees on clarity and fairness, then adjust phrasing and examples. Over 12–18 months, you can extend the framework across functions, connect it to career paths, and integrate it into your talent reviews. The goal is not perfection, but a living, trusted system that guides daily leadership behaviour and long‑term people decisions.

FAQ

How often should we update the leadership competency framework?

Review it once per year, but avoid constant changes. You want stability so Führungskräfte and employees can build habits. Use strategy shifts, recurring feedback themes, and major organisational changes as triggers for updates. Run a small working group with HR, managers, and, where relevant, Betriebsrat to propose changes and communicate them clearly.

How do we use the framework in day‑to‑day leadership, not only in reviews?

Link behaviours directly to weekly and monthly routines. For example, pick one domain per month and discuss it in all 1:1s, team meetings, and leadership circles. Encourage managers to collect two concrete examples per domain for each direct report. Use the same language in feedback, coaching, and project retros, so people hear consistent expectations.

How does the framework support career paths for Führungskräfte?

Each level describes a wider scope and different impact, not just more tasks. You can map internal titles to these levels and show leaders what changes from Team Lead to Manager to Senior Manager. Combine the framework with individual development plans, mentoring, and stretch assignments so people see which behaviours to grow for the next step.

How can we reduce bias when applying the framework?

Bias drops when you rely on behaviours and evidence instead of impressions. Use multiple evidence sources, structured rating scales, and calibration sessions with diverse participants. Train managers on common biases and provide checklists. Separate development feedback from pay discussions where possible, and apply the same process to all Führungskräfte, independent of location or contract type.

What about GDPR and Betriebsrat when using the framework?

Treat ratings and notes as personal data. Define clear purposes (e.g. performance, development, promotions), access rights, and retention periods in line with your HR policies. Involve the Betriebsrat before rollout, especially if data feeds into variable pay or promotion decisions. Document processes, keep audit logs, and be transparent with employees about how their data is used and for how long.

Jürgen Ulbrich

CEO & Co-Founder of Sprad

Jürgen Ulbrich has more than a decade of experience in developing and leading high-performing teams and companies. As an expert in employee referral programs as well as feedback and performance processes, Jürgen has helped over 100 organizations optimize their talent acquisition and development strategies.