The skills approach to leadership suggests that certain skills are important for effective leadership. Skills are what leaders can learn and develop, whereas traits are innate characteristics. The main skills needed for leadership, according to one such theory, are technical, human, and conceptual.
Another approach in the Leadership studies is the “Leadership Skills Approach”. In the previous articles we focused on the “Traits Approach to Leadership” which was based on the personality of the leader, this approach focuses on knowledge and abilities that the leader has. This theory assumes that a leader can learn and develop certain skills that can transform one into a successful leader. Like the earlier Trait Approach this approach also has leader centered perspective.
Skills suggest what leaders can achieve, learn and develop whereas traits suggest who they are based on their intrinsic characteristics which they gain by the virtue of birth. The skills approach suggests that the skills, knowledge, and abilities that are required for a leader to be successful can be acquired thorough training and development.
A skill is the learned capacity to carry out pre-determined results often with the minimum outlay of time, energy, or both. In other words the abilities that one possesses. The dictionary defines skills as “An ability and capacity acquired through deliberate, systematic, and sustained effort to smoothly and adaptively carryout complex activities or job functions involving ideas (cognitive skills), things (technical skills), and/or people (interpersonal skills).”
Competence (or competency) is the ability of an individual to do a job properly. A competency is a set of defined behaviors that provide a structured guide enabling the identification, evaluation and development of the behaviors in individual employees. Competence indicates sufficiency of knowledge and skills that enable someone to act in a wide variety of situations. Because each level of responsibility has its own requirements, competence can occur in any period of a person's life or at any stage of his or her career.
By leadership skills we refer to the essential skills needed for successful leadership. Skills are graded sequences of actions directed to a purpose. At the center of the development of all skills are acts that are absolutely necessary for the effective practice of that skill. Research over many years has shown that there are several key activities that are essential to effective interactions between managers, their staff and their organizations and these activities are generally referred to as Leadership Skills.
Researchers have studied leadership skills and abilities for a number of years and proposed various theories to understand the process of leadership. However, two models that standout in the skills approach to leadership is:
1. Model proposed by Robert Katz in 1955
2. Model proposed by Michael Mumford and colleagues in the year 2000
These models can be seen as complimentary to each other, since they offer different views on leadership from the skills point of view. We will explore these models in the next articles in this series.
The practical and theoretical implications of regarding leadership as something that is constituted of some human skills that can be learned and developed are considerable. All skills have at their core components that are essential for their performance, and once a manager acquires required competencies in these areas they will become effective leaders too.
The biggest advantage of this approach is the assumption that leadership is not just by birth, that some people born with specific traits can only be effective leaders. This approach implies that many people have leadership potential, and if they get the requisite training, can focus on development of certain skills and can learn from their experiences, they can become more effective leaders.
This means that trainings can be designed involving activities and/or exposure to leadership circumstances and events that can lead to increase in skills, knowledge, and abilities.
Personality certainly plays an important role in leadership; this approach identifies and defines certain knowledge areas and abilities that are essential for effective leadership. Use of this approach has resulted in a comprehensive skill-based model of leadership that is used widely by organizations all over the world for advancement of leadership skills of their employees.
This approach resulted in the concept of “Skills Management” which is the practice of understanding, developing and deploying people and their skills. Well-implemented skills management identifies the skills that job roles require, the skills of individual employees, and any gap between the two. Firstly the skills involved are defined in terms of a skills framework, also known as a competency framework or skills matrix. This consists of a list of skills, and a grading system, with a definition of what it means to be at particular level for a given skill. Then individuals assess and update their recorded skill sets regularly which provides a structured approach to developing individual and collective skills, and gives a common vocabulary for discussing skills.
Robert Katz identified three leadership skills called - technical skills, human skills, and conceptual skills as the basic personal skills essential for leadership. Leaders must possess these three skills that assist them in optimizing a leader's performance. Technical skills are related to the field, human skills are related to communicating with people and conceptual skills related to setting the vision.
Burns Transformational Leadership Theory
Transformational leadership theory has been defined by James MacGregor Burns as a process where both leaders and followers mutually raise one another to higher levels of morality and motivation. The concept of transforming leader works with teams to garner trust, respect, and admiration while reaching to higher moral positions. The transformational theory of leadership was developed while studying political leaders and how they use charismatic methods to attract people to the values.
The multiple linkage model states that leadership effectiveness is based on six variables. Multiple variables of a leader's behavior and situation have a linkage to the performance of the individual follower and work unit performance. The theory is based on the notion of the link between the organization process and managerial influence.
Jung first introduced his personality theory and explained that all humans have a natural impulse to relate meaningfully to the world through productive work and people through significant relationships. He used four psychological functions - thinking and feeling (rational functions) and sensation and intuition (irrational functions). He also used introversion and extraversion and its impact on appropriate leader behaviors.
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.
Power is the ability to exercise influence or control over others. Leadership involves authority and it is very important for leaders to understand what type of power they're using. The 5 Types of Power in Leadership are Coercive power, expert power, legitimate power, referent power, and reward power. Authority is the right to command and extract obedience from others. It comes from the organization and it allows the leader to use power.
McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y
McGregor created Theory X and Theory Y of human work motivation and explained two styles of management known as authoritarian (Theory X) and participative (Theory Y). Theory X management assumes most people will attempt to avoid work whereas Theory Y managers trust their people to take ownership of their work.
Trait theories of leadership identify the specific personality traits that distinguish leaders from non-leaders. The trait model of leadership is based on the traits or characteristics of leaders that make them successful in their leading role. These theories use heritable attributes to predict leadership effectiveness.
Authentic leadership is a new approach to leadership in which leaders are genuine, self-aware, transparent, build honest relationships, and work on an ethical foundation. Authenticity is one of the core values of leadership. Authentic leaders have truthful self-concepts and they inspire by promoting openness by acting in a real, genuine, and sincere way. Authenticity requires self-awareness and the ability to act in accordance with one's true self.
Management theories are the recommended management strategies that enable us to better understand and approach management. Many management frameworks and guidelines were developed during the last four decades.
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