Presenting a Model for Meta- Competencies of Public Administrators: Qualitative Approac

Abstract
According to scholars, in the era of change and transformation, managers themselves should take responsibility for identifying the type of needing competencies and its developing. However, there is still not much consensus about what these meta-competencies are. Considering this shortage and the necessity of these meta-competencies for the transformation of the administrative system, the present research was aimed to identify the meta-competencies of public administrators by using the qualitative approach and grounded theory approach. For this purpose, an in-depth semi-structured interview was conducted with management competence experts in universities, public administrators and assessment centers. According to the rule of theoretical saturation, was obtained adequacy of the sample after 11 interviews, and their findings were the basis of the analysis. Through of the analysis of the findings, 61 primary codes were identified, which were classified into 9 open codes. In the selective coding stage, was proposed a research model consisting of 3 categories of meta-competencies. Cognitive meta-competencies include: mental agility, openness to experience, critical thinking, curiosity and self-confidence; Emotional meta- competencies include: personal drive and multiple communication intelligence; Moral meta-competencies consist of: moral courage and personal mastery.
Introduction
In the era of change and transformation, will not be effective relying on models of leadership competencies. In competence thinking, leaders are assumed to be passive, people who must acquire the competencies prescribed in the models. This thinking not pay attention to person self-awareness to recognize what competencies he needs in this context and how strong and or is weak. Whereas, it is the managers who should take responsibility for developing their own competencies. This requires the identification and development of competencies that enable the acquisition of other competencies and enable managers to adapt themselves to the dynamics of the era of change and transformation. These competencies are referred to as "meta-competencies". That, what are these meta-competencies and what model is there for it, was the aim of the present research.
Materials and Methods
The present research is in the category of applied research in terms of research orientation. In addition, according to the general purpose of the research, the research method is of qualitative type and with emphasis on grounded theory strategy. The data collection tool was semi-structured interviews. The interviewees included experts in public organizations, universities, and assessment centers who have knowledge about the area of managerial competencies. Considering the rule of theoretical saturation, after 11 interviews, sample adequacy was achieved. Although, in order to ensure certainty, 3 additional interviews were also conducted. The data obtained from these interviews were analyzed based on based on an systematic process adopting a coding strategy containing 3 stages: open coding, axial coding, and selective coding.
Findings
From the first interview, was implemented the coding process. The text of the interviews was read several times and divided into paragraphs. At open condign stage, 61 initial codes were gradually identified, which were grouped into 9 open codes. At axial coding stage, by grouping open codes, 3 core codes were identified, which were: cognitive, emotional and moral super-competences. Finally, in the selective coding stage, the research model was proposed.
Discussion and Results
The process of coding related concepts led to the identification of three groups of meta-competencies: cognitive, emotional and ethical. The first pillar of the proposed model includes cognitive super-competences. Kurchuska et al. (2017) considered metacognition to be related to the development of the level of knowledge and awareness, which consists of knowledge and experiences. In the field of cognitive meta-competencies, five meta-competencies were identified, which are: critical thinking, curiosity, mental agility, openness to experience and self-confidence. Meanwhile, openness to experience and self-confidence are among the innovations of this research, but three other meta-competences have also been identified in previous researches. The second pillar of the model is emotional or emotional meta-competencies. According to Kurchoska et al. (2017), meta-emotions refer to recognizing, monitoring, regulating and evaluating emotional activities intra and inter individuals. The current research in the field of emotion achieved two super-competencies of personal drive and multiple communication intelligence. The third pillar of the model is moral and spiritual meta-competencies, which, based on the findings of the current research, include: moral courage and personal mastery (meaningfulness in life).