Leadership & Navigation is the first of three behavioral competencies in the Leadership cluster, and this unit is about its exact published shape: how many sub-competencies, what the definition says, and what the cluster is worth on the exam.
The four sub-competencies
The BASK lists exactly four: Navigating the Organization, Vision, Managing HR Initiatives, and Influence.
- There is no fifth called "Change Leadership". Leading organizational change sits inside the competency definition, not in a separate sub-competency.
- Ethical Agent belongs to Ethical Practice. If you see it in a Leadership & Navigation list, the option is wrong.
The definition
Leadership & Navigation is the KSAOs needed to create a compelling vision and mission for HR that aligns with the strategic direction and culture of the organization, accomplish HR and organizational goals, lead and promote organizational change, navigate the organization, and manage the implementation and execution of HR initiatives.
- "Maintain high levels of personal and professional integrity" opens the Ethical Practice definition.
- "Equal access to opportunities and resources" comes from Inclusive Mindset.
The 2026 cluster
The Leadership cluster holds three competencies: Leadership & Navigation, Ethical Practice, and Inclusive Mindset. In 2026, Inclusion & Diversity and Global Mindset were combined into Inclusive Mindset, so both of those older names are now distractors.
The numbers
- Leadership cluster: 19% of the exam. 17% was the 2025 weight and is the most common carryover error.
- Business 17.5%, Interpersonal 13.5%, all three behavioral clusters together 50%.
Every BASK key-concept list opens with "Examples include," so the nine leadership theories and six motivation theories are illustrative, not exhaustive. A theory off the list can still be tested.