One key element in developing organizations is increasing its competencies, capabilities and capacities. These themes evolve from the discussions of learning organization, then organizational learning, and lastly knowledge management and competence leadership. Developing and leading competencies and capability deals first and foremost with intellectual and social capital, emotional intelligence and human resource management.

Especially in education and in schools we need to develop our human and social capital – we do not have such financial capital as corporations do. Also, perceiving schools as vehicles in nation building and in creating the future, the competencies and capabilities of teachers and school leaders are essential. At the school level it is important to understand the core competencies and the elements level of knowledge needed. Then we need to develop these skills, and in that process the school leader’s capability in developing and leading competencies is a new and demanding quality.

Leading and developing competencies in education is linked with teacher’s professional development and creating communities of learners. This kind of competence can be seen as a wide knowledge-base and flexible ability to apply new knowledge.