V zadnjem desetletju je koncept kompetenc v Sloveniji dosegel razcvet, s tem pa se je pojavilo tudi več oblik pojmovanja kompetenc. Nekateri menijo, da gre za že obrabljen konstrukt, drugi ga s pridom uporabljajo kot nov okvir za sposobnosti, osebnostne lastnosti, znanje in veščine, ki so potrebne za uspešno delo, tretji ga ignorirajo. Definicij kompetenc je v literaturi veliko. Oseba je kompetentna takrat, ko je zmožna kakovostno opraviti določeno delo. Posamezniki se torej razlikujejo po kompetencah. Vprašanje pa je, ali so kompetence primerne kot kriterij oziroma merilo za določeno organizacijsko vlogo. Uspeh organizacije je v veliki meri odvisen od vodij, zato je pomembno, da so na vodilnih mestih ljudje, ki so za to vlogo kompetentni. Med vodje sodijo tudi ravnatelji šol, ki hkrati opravljajo dve vlogi – so pedagoški vodje in poslovodje (managerji). V slovenskem prostoru do sedaj nismo zasledili, da bi kdo z znanstveno metodo določil ključne kompetence ravnatelja in izdelal kompetenčni profil ravnatelja osnovne šole v Sloveniji, zato smo se odločili raziskati to področje in izpolniti omenjeno vrzel. Na podlagi znanstvenih virov smo najprej definirali ključne kompetence ravnatelja osnovne šole. To je bila osnova za njihovo dopolnitev s pomočjo metode fokusnih skupin izkušenih ravnateljev. Na tej osnovi smo izdelali vprašalnik kompetenc posebej za ravnatelje in za učitelje osnovnih šol. Dobili smo odgovore 151 ravnateljev in 473 učiteljev, ki predstavljajo reprezentativen vzorec. Na podlagi pridobljenih podatkov smo izdelali sociodemografske analize, izračunali povprečja ter range kompetenc po pomembnosti. Za dokazovanje teze in hipotez smo izvedli številne analize, primerjave s statističnimi testi, faktorsko, diskriminantno in klastrsko analizo. Izdelali smo zahtevan in dejanski kompetenčni profil ravnatelja osnovne šole, ki je bil ključen cilj disertacije. Dokazali smo, da obstaja statistično pomembna razlika med zahtevanimi kompetencami, katerih pomen ocenjujejo ravnatelji, in dejanskimi kompetencami, ki jih ocenjujejo njihovi učitelji. Ugotovili smo, da se kompetentnost ravnateljev ne razlikuje glede na spol. Pokazalo se je, da se kompetentnost ravnateljev ne razlikuje glede na velikost šole, ki jo vodijo. Želeli smo izvedeti, ali imajo slovenski ravnatelji kake specifične kompetence v primerjavi z ravnatelji iz drugih kulturnih okolij. Ugotovili smo, da so kompetence slovenskih ravnateljev večinoma podobne kompetencam ravnateljev osnovnih šol na Hrvaškem, v Nemčiji, ZDA in Avstraliji. Na podlagi raziskave smo izdelali univerzalen kompetenčni profil ravnatelja osnovne šole, s katerim lahko pomagamo pri selekciji kandidatov za bodoče ravnatelje, obstoječim ravnateljem svetujemo pri načrtovanju razvoja njihove kompetentnosti in prispevamo k objektivnosti pri ugotavljanju njihove učinkovitost ter uspešnosti pri vodenju šole. Izdelali smo tudi model ključnih kompetenc ravnatelja osnovne šole in nakazali aplikacijo za samooceno ali oceno kompetentnosti ravnatelja za vodenje osnovne šole. Uspešni ravnatelji so torej vizionarji, strategi, vodje pedagoškega procesa, organizatorji, administratorji, sodelovalci v timu, povezovalci z okoljem šole ter realizatorji strokovnih in poslovnih ciljev. Since competencies in Slovenia have reached their peak over the past decade that caused the appearance of multiple forms of competence conception. Some see it as a worn-out construct, while others use it seldom as a new frame for abilities, characteristics, knowledge and skills required for successful work, while the third ignore it. There are multiple definitions of competencies found in the literature. A person is competent when they are able to perform a certain job qualitatively. Individuals are thus separated according to their competencies. The question is whether competencies are a suitable criterion for a certain organizational role. The success of an organization is largely dependent on the leader so it is very important that the leading positions are occupied by people who are competent in their role. Headmasters of elementary schools are also among the leaders since they have two roles to fulfill – being a pedagogical leader and a manager. There has not been any notification in Slovenia that a key scientific definition of key competencies of headmasters had been made so far, so we have decided to explore this field and fill the existing gap. Firstly, we have defined the key competencies of a headmaster of an elementary school based on scientific literature. This provided a basis for further explorative process that included implementation of focus groups of experienced headmasters. With these data we have designed a questionnaire of competences separately for headmasters and teachers of elementary schools. 151 headmasters and 473 teachers have responded to the questionnaire and provided us with the representative model. On the basis of data obtained we have designed socio-demographic analysis, calculated the averages and competence rankings according to their importance. For proving of thesis and hypothesis we have conducted several analysis, comparisons with statistical tests, discriminant and cluster analysis. We have produced a required and actual competence profile of a headmaster in an elementary school that represents the key goal of this dissertation. We have proved that there is a statistically relevant difference between the required competencies, the meaning of which is assessed by the headmasters, and actual competencies, the meaning of which is assessed by their teachers. We have concluded that the competence of headmasters is not dependent on their sex. It turned out that the competence of headmasters is not relevant due to the size of the school they are running. We wanted to find out whether Slovenian headmasters have any specific competencies that separate them from headmasters from other cultural environments. The findings show that the competencies of Slovenian headmasters are generally similar to the ones of foreign headmasters in Croatia, Germany, USA, and Australia. On the basis of the research we were able to design an universal competence profile of competencies of a headmaster of an elementary school, with which we can help headmasters with the selection of candidates for future headmasters, existing headmasters are able to be consulted on the plan of the development of their competencies, and we contribute to the objectivity with determining their efficiency and success with the running of their school. We have also provided a model of key competencies of a headmaster of an elementary school and indicated an application for self-assessment or the assessment of a headmaster for running an elementary school. Successful headmasters are thus visionaries, strategists, leaders of a pedagogical process, organizers, administrators, team workers, connectors to the environment of the school, and performers of professional business goals.