Below is an interactive Leadership Model. Simply select one of the different Area of Focus tabs on the left to see its associated Competencies within different Leadership Roles. If you prefer to download a PDF version of the Leadership Model, you may click the button below.

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Area of Focus Competencies Leading Self Leading Others Leading Leaders Leading the Business
Personal
 Personal People Thought Results Positive Attitude Collaboration Critical Thinking Change Leadership Positive Realism: Demonstrates an optimistic, confident, and energetic approach to accomplishing objectives. Positive Realism: Demonstrates enthusiasm and energy that instills confidence and makes EBSCO a great place to work. Positive Realism: Demonstrates enthusiasm and energy that instills confidence and makes EBSCO a great place to work. Positive Realism: Communicates optimistically and enthusiastically about business opportunities and our future while acknowledging challeneges and avoiding wishful thinking. Partnering: Builds collaborative relationships with team members and other colleagues to create more value for EBSCO and its customers. Partnering: Ensures team members involve others appropriately and work effectively across boundaries when solving problems and developing solutions. Partnering: Builds and leverages a network of productive work relationships across our businesses. Partnering: Promotes the importance of collaboration within and across our businesses to create, capture, share, and maximize value. Analysis: Is able to gather information and draw logical conclusions that inform decision-making. Analysis: Thoroughly and objectively investigates to understand root causes, benefits, costs, and risks while balancing the need to make timely decisions; helps others do the same. Analysis: Analyzes complex problems fully and objectively before taking action; is able to draw logical conclusions from available data. Gets at the root cause of complex issues and helps others do the same. Analysis: Analyzes complex problems fully and objectively before taking action; able to draw logical conclusions from available data; gets at the root cause of issues. Vision: Is able to communicate the case for change, the benefits to be gained, and the path to follow. Vision: Helps the team understand the need for change, the benefits to be gained, and our part in making it happen. Vision: Makes the business case for change; inspires and drives leaders and teams to make needed changes and implement key initiatives. Vision: Communicates the need for change; paints a compelling picture of where we want to end up and the benefits of getting there.
Solution Focused: Brings forth solutions and ideas when identifying and discussing problems. Solution Focused: Takes a “can do” approach to problems; helps teams not only name issues but also own solutions (“See It, Own It, Solve It, Do It”). Solution Focused: Boldly tackles complex issues; helps others envision what can be; makes tough or unpopular decisions in a timely way and ensures others do as well. Solution Focused: Boldly tackles complex issues; helps others envision what can be; makes tough or unpopular decisions in a timely way and ensures others do as well. Interpersonal Effectivness: Interacts and works well with others; demonstrates self-awareness, professional poise, tact, and maturity. Interpersonal Effectivness: Maintains productive, mutually respectful, and cooperative working relationships with diverse others inside and outside the team. Interpersonal Effectivness: Demonstrates empathy and respect for differences; is approachable and puts others at ease; is attuned to others needs and concerns. Interpersonal Effectivness: Interacts effectively with others; is considerate and approachable; values, respects, and welcomes differences and others’ perspectives; is mindful of own authority and personal impact. Complexity: Recognizes and considers the relevant factors at play before making decisions and taking action. Complexity: Helps the team see the relevant factors to consider when assessing situations and/or taking action. Complexity: Understands and works through complexity; considers competing issues, benefits, and risks; recognizes connections between issues that aren’t obviously related. Complexity: Thinks systemically; understands and works through complexity; considers competing issues, benefits, and risks; recognizes connections between issues that aren’t obviously related. Engagement: Sees opportunities, supports changes, and is ready to adapt to new work situations, processes, technologies, and requirements. Engagement: Involves the team in all aspects of planning and implementing the change; works through obstacles and celebrates progress with the team. Engagement: Follows a sound change process that involves engaging key stakeholders in all aspects of planning and implementing change. Engagement: Involves key stakeholders to gain consensus, broad agreement, and support for needed actions.
People
 Composure: Stays focused and calm through times of change and challenge. Composure: Shows poise and resilience while helping the team work through changes, shifting priorities, and unexpected events. Composure: Displays poise and resilience while helping other leaders work through changes, shifting priorities, and unexpected events. Composure: Models steadiness, focus, and calm under pressure; strikes a balance between healthy self-confidence and appropriate humility. Conflict Management: Directly addresses and respectfully works through disagreements. Conflict Management: Addresses conflict directly; sees disagreement as an opportunity for robust discussion. Conflict Management: Surfaces and addresses conflict in a direct manner; seeks win-win solutions. Conflict Management: Is not afraid to surface and address conflict directly; acts as a barrier buster where necessary. Sound Judgment: Demonstrates ability to investigate underlying issues when solving problems, considers relevant factors, and makes good, timely decisions. Sound Judgment: Demonstrates ability to investigate underlying issues when solving problems, considers relevant factors, and makes good decisions in a timely manner; enables the team to do the same. Sound Judgment: Balances decisiveness with patience; navigates ambiguity; recognizes personal biases and assumptions; makes well-reasoned decisions. Sound Judgment: Balances decisiveness with patience; navigates ambiguity; recognizes personal biases and assumptions; makes well-reasoned decisions. Alignment: Works to align her or his goals and actions with the requirements of the change. Alignment: Ensures that people see the connections between changes, team goals, and business strategy; provides frequent change communications upward and downward; reprioritizes and realigns the team as needed. Alignment: Works effectively across teams to create clear lines of sight between changes and business goals; informs, updates, reprioritizes, and realigns as needed. Alignment: Aligns organizational structure, systems, and processes to enable, reinforce, and sustain change.
Trust and Respect Open Communication Strategic Thinking Continuous Improvement Ethics and Values: Holds self to high standards of ethical behavior and upholds the EBSCO Way. Ethics and Values: Leads by example and holds others accountable for supporting and demonstrating behavior consistent with the EBSCO Way. Ethics and Values: Demonstrates commitment to EBSCO Way by modeling ethical, transparent behavior; holds leaders accountable for visibly supporting our values. Ethics and Values: Demonstrates, promotes, and reinforces an uncompromising commitment to high standards of ethical behavior and the EBSCO Way. Direction: Sees how her or his work links to broader team, functional, and business goals. Direction: Communicates vision, goals, and priorities with the team to create a shared purpose and context. Direction: Communicates vision, goals, and priorities to create a shared purpose and context; makes course corrections as needed. Direction: Conveys a compelling picture of the organization’s future that engages and energizes employees at all levels. Business Acumen: Understands our business and the key factors that drive our financial success; uses performance data to measure progress toward goals. Business Acumen: Ensures that the team understands the key factors that drive financial success; establishes financial, operational, and other key metrics to measure team progress toward goals. Business Acumen: Considers internal (e.g., cost, people, growth, profitability) and external (e.g., industry, market, customer, and competitor) factors when evaluating decisions and actions. Business Acumen: Understands our business model and the evolving business environment; has a strong P&L perspective; uses data to measure and analyze business performance, manage risk, and make decisions. Challenge: Challenges the status quo and offers new solutions to problems. Challenge: Challenges the team to think beyond what has worked in the past and to embrace new or unconventional approaches; welcomes others’ creative ideas. Challenge: Explores new business opportunities and creates an environment that supports and encourages large and small innovations in how we serve our customers: work, compete, and win. Challenge: Challenges leaders across the organization to question the way things are done and to identify original solutions in the face of changing market, customer, and organizational requirements.
Thought
 Trust: Deals with others in an open, honest manner and follows through on commitments; extends trust to others. Trust: Follows through on commitments and acts in ways that are consistent with own words; deals with others in an open, honest manner; extends trust to others. Trust: Follows through on commitments and acts in ways that are consistent with own words; shares information appropriately, deals with others in an open, honest manner; extends trust to others. Trust: Inspires trust by sharing information appropriately, taking a clear stand on important issues, and following through on commitments; deals with others in an open, honest manner; extends trust to others. Influence: Gains agreement and commitment around work issues and actions; values input, is eager to understand, and can be influenced by others. Influence: Gains the agreement and commitment of the team and its customers on a broad range of issues, actions, behaviors, and beliefs. Values input, is eager to understand, and can be influenced by others. Influence: Actively engages and influences others across and beyond formal lines of authority on a broad range of issues, actions, behaviors, and beliefs; values input, is eager to understand, and can be influenced by others. Influence: Consistently seeks to engage, excite, and influence a broad range of stakeholders about EBSCO’s future direction, strategies, and decisions by connecting it to “what’s in it for them;” values input, is eager to understand, and can be influenced by others. Big-Picture Thinking: Considers the broader, and longer-term impact of her or his own decisions and actions. Big-Picture Thinking: Thinks broadly and holistically, considers longer-term consequences and interdependencies, and helps others do the same. Big-Picture Thinking: Identifies the business implications of changing conditions, patterns, and trends; contributes to and/or develops strategies and operational plans to seize new market, customer, and business opportunities. Big-Picture Thinking: Identifies the business implications of changing conditions, patterns, and trends; develops strategies to seize new market, customer, and business opportunities. Improvement: Continually seeks to improve own work efficiency and effectiveness in order to deliver the greatest value to our customers. Improvement: Helps others apply processes, tools, and methods to solve problems, eliminate waste, and increase value to the customer. Improvement: Puts processes, tools, and methods in place to solve problems, eliminate waste, and increase value to the customer. Improvement: Ensures that systems and processes are in place to promote disciplined reflection, learning, and improvement in all aspects of our work.
Respect: Conveys respect for and appreciation of others’ ideas, differences, and contributions. Respect: Treats others fairly and with respect for their talents and differences; assumes positive intent; respectfully works through disagreements. Respect: Treats others fairly and with respect for their talents and differences; assumes positive intent; insists leaders create work environments where all are heard and valued. Respect: Treats others fairly and with respect for their talents and differences; assumes positive intent; puts systems, policies, and procedures in place to ensure fairness in employee relations and business dealings. Empowerment: Makes decisions and takes action independently when appropriate; contributes ideas to improve the team’s value. Empowerment: Works to build individual and team capability for self- management. Empowerment: Seeks input and involves others in decisions that affect them. Effectively delegates and drives decisions downward. Empowerment: Seeks input and involves others in decisions that affect them; effectively delegates and drives decisions downward. Global Mind-set: Demonstrates skill, professionalism, and sensitivity when interacting virtually with various individuals and cultures. Global Mind-set: Demonstrates ability to build trust and coordinate work virtually via sensitivity to cultural norms, work styles, practices, and technologies. Global Mind-set: Considers differences across cultures, geographies, and markets when implementing strategies and plans; builds virtual networks and trusted partnerships across diverse cultures and geographies. Global Mind-set: Thinks and acts, where appropriate, with a global mindset. Considers differences across cultures, geographies, and markets when shaping business strategies, decisions, and practices. Innovation: Offers creative and practical ideas for growth and improvement; tests new approaches to find best practices; learns from mistakes. Innovation: Offers encouragement and support for testing, learning, and sharing best practices that can improve the value we provide; views mistakes as learning opportunities. Innovation: Creates an environment and set of practices that foster and reward creative problem-solving, experimentation, and intelligent risk-taking to improve our competitive advantage. Innovation: Explores new business opportunities and creates an environment that supports and encourages large and small innovations in how we serve our customers and how we work, compete, and win.
Results
 Drive Talent Development Customer-Focused Execution Determination and Resilience: Sets an example of hard work; is willing to put in extra effort to complete tasks; bounces back from setbacks. Determination and Resilience: Persists to achieve objectives; helps team work through difficult challenges; recovers quickly from setbacks. Determination and Resilience: Demonstrates a strong personal drive to accomplish objectives; handles adversity well, recovers quickly, and sustains drive over the long haul. Determination and Resilience: Models a determined focus and will to succeed that is contagious; handles adversity well, recovers quickly, and sustains drive over the long haul. Personal Development: Proactively seeks feedback and opportunities for growth and development. Personal Development: Seeks feedback, takes constructive criticism well, and actively pursues professional growth and improvement. Personal Development: Demonstrates learning agility in acquiring new knowledge, skills, and behaviors; seeks opportunities for growth and development; demonstrates awareness of own strengths, opportunities, and impact on others. Personal Development: Demonstrates keen insight into own strengths, opportunities, and impact on others; leads the way in self-improvement. Customer Insight: Uses market, customer, and/or competitor research to enhance customer focus and performance. Customer Insight: Provides the team access to market, customer, and/or competitor information in order to understand customer value. Customer Insight: Systematically gathers, analyzes, and synthesizes data about customers, their experience, and the business environment. Customer Insight: Anticipates changes in the marketplace and helps others understand customer needs, especially in emerging, vertical, or other growth markets. Prioritizing and Planning: Prioritizes and plans own work to stay focused and productive. Prioritizing and Planning: Establishes clear goals, priorities, and plans aligned to broader business goals with the team. Prioritizing and Planning: Develops cohesive plans with measurable goals, time lines, and deadlines; accurately forecasts and secures needed resources to drive profitable growth. Prioritizing and Planning: Establishes clear goals and priorities for the business; translates strategy into action plans; keeps the business focused on the core drivers of profitable growth.
High Expectations: Takes on and works toward clear and challenging personal performance goals. High Expectations: Establishes high performance standards for the team; generates pride in the value we deliver to our customers. High Expectations: Sets the bar high for self and others; delegates and challenges the team to exceed expectations. High Expectations: Establishes stretch goals for the business; creates a dynamic culture of high expectations, high performance standard, and achievement. Talent Development: Contributes to team development by willingly sharing knowledge, skills, and experience. Talent Development: Provides timely feedback, coaching, and development support for team members; recognizes others; responds proactively to performance issues. Talent Development: Builds a high performing leadership team; identifies and invests in high-potential talent; acts as a mentor, coach, and career advisor to top talent. Talent Development: Identifies current and future talent needs, assesses strengths and gaps, and puts development strategies in place across the business to accelerate readiness and build bench strength. Customer Value: Takes initiative to gain a deeper understanding of what creates unique value for our customers. Customer Value: Helps the team reflect on ways to identify new dimensions of customer value and how to deliver them. Customer Value: Implements systems and practices to amplify the voice of the customer; identifies unmet needs and new ways to strengthen products, services, and customer satisfaction. Customer Value: Focuses all aspects of the business on delivering increased value to customers as a competitive advantage; ensures strategic plans include addressing unmet customer needs. Accountability: Holds self accountable for performance goals and delivers quality work. Accountability: Helps team establish and reinforce mutual accountability for performance goals; surfaces problems so the team can resolve things together. Accountability: Holds self and others accountable for performance goals. Does what’s needed to ensure his/her part of the business consistently delivers with excellence. Accountability: Holds self and others accountable for performance goals; does what is needed to ensure the business consistently delivers with excellence.
Urgency: Picks up the pace to complete key time-sensitive work. Urgency: Demonstrates a strong action orientation and helps the team accelerate toward the finish line. Urgency: Helps direct attention and increased energy to priority issues and opportunities. Urgency: Sets the expectation that leaders will act swiftly to address issues and opportunities facing our employees and customers. Diversity: Shows appreciation for differences in perspective and upholds practices that respect and leverage diversity. Diversity: Shares, listens to, seeks out, and respectfully considers diverse ideas, perspectives, experiences, and approaches. Diversity: Establishes plans for hiring, developing, and retaining diverse talent. Diversity: Sets and reinforces organizational norms and practices that respect, value, and leverage differences to achieve better results. Responsiveness: Develops trust and confidence with customers while responding to their needs. Responsiveness: Engages customers and helps the team respond in a timely and personalized manner that distinguishes the EBSCO customer experience. Responsiveness: Leverages business information, enterprise resources, and expertise to respond to customers in the most efficient and effective way. Responsiveness: Encourages others to find new ways to leverage enterprise resources and expertise to drive improvements and otherwise distinguish the EBSCO customer experience. Follow-Through: Does what it takes to deliver on commitments; monitors own progress and elevates issues early to ensure work is accomplished on time. Follow-Through: Puts disciplined practices in place to ensure follow-through; provides ongoing support and encouragement to individuals and the team to ensure commitment to goals. Follow-Through: Monitors progress using both leading and lagging indicators, and provides support as needed to ensure results are accomplished. Follow-Through: Secures the needed external support and resources; monitors progress and provides support as needed to ensure that results are accomplished.