The Competency Map
Show people the levels, skills, and pay for each rung — so they can climb without leaving.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 84%
A competency map lays out the levels in an organization along with the skills and traits needed for each level, plus the pay raise, opportunity, and management relationship attached to each rung. Because people hop from job to job to level up, giving them a visible way to hop from title to title inside your company drives retention. Hormozi builds them for the whole organization and per department, such as media and sales teams. For a small company it's easier to make because there are fewer people — you can even start with just three levels (individual contributor, manager, leader). Even an imperfect map shows employees you care about their future.
Origin
As acquisition.com built out its teams, Hormozi implemented competency maps for departments like media and sales to make advancement paths explicit and improve retention.
Core principles
- 01People hop jobs to level up, so let them hop inside your company.
- 02Map the levels of the organization with skills and traits for each.
- 03Attach pay, opportunity, and management relationship to each level.
- 04Even an imperfect map proves you care about people's futures.
How to run it
- 1
Define the levels
Lay out the core levels in the organization or department; if unsure, start with three — individual contributor, manager, leader.
Pro tip Small companies find this easier because there are fewer people to map.
- 2
Specify skills and traits per level
For each level, list the skills and traits required to reach it, so people know exactly what to develop to advance.
- 3
Attach pay, opportunity, and relationship
Show what the pay raise, opportunity, and relationship with management look like at each level.
Pro tip Look up published competency maps from other companies as templates.
- 4
Show it to your people
Share the map with employees so they see their upward trajectory and that you're thinking about their future.
Pro tip It doesn't have to be perfect — showing you give a shit is the point.
Watch out Most bosses never think about an employee's future; a rough map still beats nothing.
In the wild
Hormozi's team built competency maps for the media team showing the levels needed and the upward trajectory available, and for the sales team showing close rates, levels, and earnings at each stage.
→ Employees could see exactly how to advance and how much they could earn, improving clarity and retention.
Common mistakes
Waiting for the map to be perfect
Refusing to share a map until it's flawless means employees never see any path; a rough three-level version still signals you care.
Is it for you?
Best for
Companies of any size wanting to retain talent by showing clear advancement paths.
Not ideal for
Tiny teams where roles are too fluid to formalize into levels.
From the transcript
“here's the levels in our organization... here's the skills and the traits needed for each level. And so if you wanna get from one level…”
“if you can just start by showing people, it shows them that you give a shit.”
From the episode
Leila Hormozi: $100,000,000 Leadership, How to Build High-Performance Teams People Never Want to Leave
Leila Hormozi