According to the three-skill approach of Katz, the individual's leadership abilities vary depending on where leaders are in a management hierarchy. The practical implication of skills approach to leadership is that leaders can improve their capabilities in leadership skills through training and experience.
The skills approach to leadership describes leadership from a skills standpoint and provides a structure for understanding the nature of effective leadership. According to three-skill approach of Katz the importance of certain leadership skills varies depending on where leaders are in a management hierarchy. In Mumford’s skill model theory he proposes that leadership effectiveness is directly correlated to a leader’s competencies in problem-solving skills, social judgment skills, and knowledge. The biggest takeaway from these studies was the outcome that these skills can be learned and developed. The practical implication of skills approach to leadership is that leaders can improve their capabilities in leadership skills through training and experience. Hence they assist in defining a structured approach to leadership education and development and help to frame the curricula of organizational training and leadership development programs.
The learner can use the characteristics of the skills defined in this approach to do a comparative self –evaluation of oneself to identify one’s strengths and weaknesses with regard to these three skills; technical, human, and conceptual. This assessment provides insight into one’s own leadership competencies and based on the development areas identified, learners can take specific trainings to enhance their leadership effectiveness.
There are many questionnaires available based on these studies to assess individual's skills. They provide a useful self-help, but a word of caution here is that they cannot be used in research because they have not been tested for reliability and validity. A typical questionnaire is the "Skills Inventory" and you can also take the quiz designed by TechnoFunc called TechnoFunc’s Skill Inventory to assess your skills and development areas.
Given below are the steps to define a leadership development plan for yourself using the key concepts from this approach:
1. Do a self-assessment – Use TechoFunc’s Quiz
2. Identify your strengths and weaknesses
3. Identify your training needs.
4. Explore the relevant area on TechnoFunc’s website to learn more about the skillset you need to develop and explore the tools provided here to increase your effectiveness.
The Fiedler Model of leadership is a contingency theory and states that a leader's effectiveness is based on the situation. There is no one best style of leadership and the effectiveness of a leader in an organization depends on matching the leader to the situation. Leaders should determine the natural leadership style and assess the situation to flex the style.
Blake and Mouton Managerial Grid is a style leadership model that identified five manager styles based on two dimensions viz concern for people and the concern for production. Managerial Grid uses concern for production style which is largely based on McGregor's Theory X.
Neo-Emergent Leadership theory supports that leadership is created through the emergence of information. Leaders can only be recognized after a goal is met. Follower’s perception of leaders is influenced by the ways these goals were accomplished.
The development of teams is an ongoing process because the composition of the team may keep on changing. The new members may join and the old members may leave the team. The team members pass through several stages for the development of the team and there has been a lot of research to identify these stages. In this article, we discuss the common theories of team development.
Participative Leadership Theories
Participative leadership theories rely on the involvement of different participants and suggest that the ideal leadership style is one that takes the inputs of others into account. Participative leaders encourage participation and contributions from group members and involve them in the decision-making process. Participative leadership tries to achieve through people, teamwork and collaboration.
Humanistic theories of Leadership
Humanistic leadership is an ethical philosophic approach that recognizes the dignity and worth of each and every group or team member. This approach is based on building a leadership culture of trust, ethics, and empathy. Humanistic leadership is a set of principles founded on humanism with vision, mission, values, and expected behaviors. It is value-driven leadership based on principles such as humility, accountability, positivity, and love.
Situational Leadership - Application
Situational Leadership Theories are well known and frequently used for training leaders within organizations. Practical application is how to choose the right leadership approach for the situation. The theory emphasizes leader flexibility and advises leaders to flex their style based on the followers' needs. Leaders must adapt their leadership style to fit the prescribed task, understanding given situation/maturity of followers.
University of Iowa Studies was the first leadership study to analyze leadership using scientific methodology. The study was conducted by Lewin, Lippitt, and White and worked on different styles of leadership. The studies explored three leadership styles - authoritarian, democratic, and laissez-fair leaders. This early study was very influential and established three major leadership styles.
Have you ever resonated that there seem to be as many different ways to lead people as there have been great leaders? When we recall the success of Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon Bonaparte to Steve Jobs and Jack Welch, we also notice that they all used different approaches that were suitable to their specific situations and circumstances. Over the last century, researchers and psychologists have developed simple ways to describe the “Styles of leadership” and in this section, we will explore these commonly known leadership styles.
Contingency Theories in Action
Contingency theory suggests matching the best leader to a specific situation based on situational factors and the leadership style. The practical application of theory can be done in various ways. The workplace example is to determine the best candidate for a given set of requirements using the LPC score. Applying the model to determine a leader's ability to adapt in the scenario of a new project etc..
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