Court management is increasingly professionalized and diverse. With court managers taking more responsibilities, facing new demands, and coping with changes in their environment, NACM recognized a need to revise their long-standing original core competencies. Therefore, NACM has launched the CORE® to promote the interests and further the education of court management professionals.
NACM’s intent in promoting these new competencies goes beyond providing competencies for professionals working in court administration but to also promote excellence in the administration of justice and court management.
Public trust and confidence in the courts is integral to the credibility of the judicial branch. To be effective at managing trust and confidence, court leaders must be able to maintain an organizational culture that fosters integrity, transparency and accountability for all court processes and proceedings.
Explore this CompetencyCourt leaders must be able to carry out the fundamental purposes and responsibilities of the courts. To do this, court leaders must ensure that their courts are meeting these purposes and responsibilities and to aspire to meet several specific goals.
Explore this CompetencyCourt leaders play a critical role in caseflow and workflow management for the court, ensuring that court’s work is performed efficiently and to promote the fair and timely resolution of all cases filed. Effective caseflow and workflow management requires that court leaders have a variety of analytic and communication skills.
Explore this CompetencyCourts are complex organizations, which are comprised of an array of departments, units and functions that need to be maintained on an on-going basis to support court operations. Although court leaders may not need to perform all of the various functions, organizational and management competencies should be developed to support whatever functions may be required.
Explore this CompetencyThe court leader’s role is not just limited to working internally within the court; it also includes communicating with a wide variety of audiences about the courts and court processes. To be effective, court leaders need to use a variety of communication methods tailored to the nature of the message being conveyed and audience targeted.
Explore this CompetencyExcellence in court performance starts with a court leader who fosters a culture that embraces education, training, and development and who actively leads judicial branch education.
Explore this CompetencyManaging and motivating the workforce requires court leaders to not only understand the laws, legal rulings, and policies that guide the courts’ operations but also to be skilled in a number of specific human resource tasks.
Explore this CompetencyUltimately effective court leadership requires ethical actions. Court leaders must be ethical in order preserve the public’s trust and confidence for the judiciary and the value of rule of law. At a minimum court leaders must uphold the ethical standards demanded of the citizens, but court leaders must also maintain an even higher standard demanded of them as stewards of the judicial process and the institution of the courts. Ethics is th...
Explore this CompetencyEven the most highly skilled court leader needs access to adequate funding, resources, and facilities for effective and efficient court operations. Not only does the court leader need to be able to develop complex plans to secure the necessary resources, he or she must also be able to effectively manage the court’s budgets and resources.
Explore this CompetencyThinking that the court is performing at its best and knowing it are two different things. Court leaders are accountable to both the judiciary and the public for a well-run court, which means that managers must be able to both effectively measure and manage performance. Skillful collection and analysis of performance information ensures that court managers no longer just think the court is performing well but are able to demonstrate it.
Explore this CompetencyLeadership is an energetic process of creating vision resulting in commitment to a common course and preferred future. Just as there is no one best way to manage courts, there is no best way to be a court leader. Leadership is highly personal – some people are naturally better able than others although everyone can learn good leadership techniques.
Explore this CompetencyA court leader often provides leadership for the court. In doing so, the court leader should develop and promote a strategic vision for the organization by establishing a strategic course for an organization, communicating that direction to internal and external stakeholders and engaging them to work collaboratively toward achieving the organization’s mission.
Explore this CompetencyA court leader needs to be able to manage court operations with consistency and predictability, by providing the guidance and policies for both day-to-day operations and long-term decisions. To do this, the court leader will need to develop and maintain an effective governance structure for the court.
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