chpt 3 skills[1]

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Chapter 3 -Skills ApproachChapter 3 -Skills Approach

© 2003 Jan KriegerSAGESAGE Publications Publications

Skills ApproachSkills ApproachSkills ApproachSkills Approach

LeadershipLeadershipTheory and Practice, Theory and Practice, 3/e3/ePeter G. Northouse, Ph.D.Peter G. Northouse, Ph.D.

William Kritsonis, PhDWilliam Kritsonis, PhDPresenterPresenter

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OverviewOverviewOverviewOverview• Skills Approach Perspective

• Three-Skill Approach

• Skills-Based Model

• How Does the Skills Approach Work?

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Skills Approach DescriptionSkills Approach DescriptionSkills Approach DescriptionSkills Approach Description

• Leader-centered perspective

• Emphasis on skills and abilities that can be acquired and developed

• Leadership Leadership skillsskills - The ability to use one’s knowledge and competencies to accomplish a set of goals and objectives

PerspectivPerspectivee


DefinitionDefinitionDefinitionDefinition

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Three-Skill Three-Skill ApproachApproachThree-Skill Three-Skill ApproachApproach

• Technical Skill

• Human Skill

• Conceptual Skill

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Basic Administrative SkillsBasic Administrative SkillsKatz (1995)Katz (1995)

Basic Administrative SkillsBasic Administrative SkillsKatz (1995)Katz (1995)

Technical Skills Technical Skills (things)(things)

Human Skills Human Skills (people)(people)

(ideas)(ideas) Conceptual Skills Conceptual Skills

ManagerManager DirectorDirector VPVP Exec VPExec VP CEOCEO

Level of Skill Needed

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Technical SkillTechnical SkillTechnical SkillTechnical Skill• Technical skillTechnical skill - is having knowledge about and

being proficient in a specific type of work or activity.– Specialized competencies– Analytical ability– Capability to use appropriate tools and techniques

• Technical skills involve hands-onhands-on ability with a product or process

• Most important at lowerlower levels of management

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Human SkillHuman SkillHuman SkillHuman Skill

• Human skillHuman skill - is having knowledge about and being able to work with people.– Awareness of one’s own perspective and others’ perspectives at

the same time– People skills allow a leader to assist group members in working

cooperatively to achieve common goals– Creates an atmosphere of trust where members feel they can

become involved and impact decisions in the organization– Important at all levels of the organization

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Conceptual SkillConceptual SkillConceptual SkillConceptual Skill• Conceptual skillConceptual skill - the ability to do the mental

work of shaping the meaning of organizational policy or issues (what the company stands for and where it’s going)– Works easily with abstractionabstraction and hypothetical notionshypothetical notions– Central to creating and articulating a visionvision and strategic strategic

planplan for an organization– Most important at top top management levels

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Skills-Based Skills-Based ModelModel

Skills-Based Skills-Based ModelModel

• Skills Model Perspective

• Skills-Based Model– Competencies– Individual Attributes– Leadership Outcomes– Career Experiences– Environmental Influences

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Skills Model DescriptionSkills Model DescriptionMumford, Zaccaro, Harding, Owen Jacobs, & Mumford, Zaccaro, Harding, Owen Jacobs, &

Fleishman (2000)Fleishman (2000)

Skills Model DescriptionSkills Model DescriptionMumford, Zaccaro, Harding, Owen Jacobs, & Mumford, Zaccaro, Harding, Owen Jacobs, &

Fleishman (2000)Fleishman (2000)

• Research studies (1990s) goal: to identify the leadership factors that create exemplary job performance in an organization

• Emphasizes the capabilitiescapabilities that make effective leadership possible rather than what leaders dodo



Skills-Based Skills-Based Model of Model of

LeadershipLeadership

Skills-Based Skills-Based Model of Model of

LeadershipLeadership• Capability modelCapability model - Examines relationship between a leader’s knowledge, skills, & performance

• Suggests many people have the potential for leadership

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Skills Model of LearningSkills Model of LearningSkills Model of LearningSkills Model of Learning

General CognitiveGeneral CognitiveAbilitiesAbilities

CrystallizedCrystallizedCognitive AbilitiesCognitive Abilities

MotivationMotivation

PersonalityPersonality

Problem-Problem-SolvingSolvingSkillsSkills

SocialSocialJudgmentJudgment

SkillsSkills

KnowledgeKnowledge

EffectiveEffectiveProblem SolvingProblem Solving

PerformancePerformance

Career ExperienceCareer Experience

Environmental InfluencesEnvironmental Influences

IndividualIndividualAttributesAttributes CompetenciesCompetencies

LeadershipLeadershipOutcomesOutcomes

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Competency SkillsCompetency SkillsCompetency SkillsCompetency Skills

CompetenciesCompetencies

Problem SolvingProblem Solving Social JudgmentSocial Judgment KnowledgeKnowledge

• Creative ability to solveCreative ability to solve novel, ill-definednovel, ill-defined organizational problemsorganizational problems

• Capacity to understandCapacity to understand people and social systemspeople and social systems - - Perspective takingPerspective taking

- Social perceptiveness- Social perceptiveness

- Social performance- Social performance

• The accumulation ofThe accumulation of information & the mentalinformation & the mental structures to organize thestructures to organize the informationinformation

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Individual AttributesIndividual AttributesIndividual AttributesIndividual AttributesIndividual Individual AttributesAttributes

General CognitiveGeneral CognitiveAbilityAbility

• Person’s intelligencePerson’s intelligence - - Perceptual processingPerceptual processing

- Information processing- Information processing

- General reasoning- General reasoning

- Creative & divergent - Creative & divergent

thinkingthinking

- Memory- Memory

• Intellectual abilityIntellectual ability learned or acquiredlearned or acquired over timeover time

CrystallizedCrystallizedCognitive AbilityCognitive Ability

MotivationMotivation PersonalityPersonality

• Three aspects ofThree aspects of motivationmotivation- - WillingnessWillingness

- Dominance- Dominance

- Social good- Social good

• Any characteristicAny characteristic that helps peoplethat helps people cope with complexcope with complex organizationalorganizational situations is situations is probably related to probably related to leader performanceleader performance

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Leadership OutcomesLeadership OutcomesLeadership OutcomesLeadership OutcomesLeadershipLeadershipOutcomesOutcomes

Problem SolvingProblem Solving PerformancePerformance

• Originality & quality ofOriginality & quality of solutions to problemsolutions to problem situationssituations - Logical- Logical

- Effective- Effective

- Unique- Unique

- Go beyond give information- Go beyond give information

• Degree to which a leader hasDegree to which a leader has successfully performed his/hersuccessfully performed his/her assigned dutiesassigned duties

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Career ExperiencesCareer ExperiencesCareer ExperiencesCareer ExperiencesCareerCareer

ExperiencesExperiences

ChallengingChallengingAssignmentsAssignments

• Experience gained during career influences leader’s knowledge & skills toExperience gained during career influences leader’s knowledge & skills to

solve complex problemssolve complex problems

• Leaders learn and develop higher levels of conceptual capacity if theyLeaders learn and develop higher levels of conceptual capacity if they

progressively confront more complex and long-term problems as they ascendprogressively confront more complex and long-term problems as they ascend

the organizational hierarchythe organizational hierarchy

MentoringMentoringAppropriateAppropriate

TrainingTraining

Hands-onHands-on Experience WithExperience With

NoveltyNovelty

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Environmental InfluencesEnvironmental InfluencesEnvironmental InfluencesEnvironmental Influences EnvironmentalEnvironmental

InfluencesInfluences

• Factors in a leader’s situation that lie outsideFactors in a leader’s situation that lie outside

of the leader’s competencies, characteristics, andof the leader’s competencies, characteristics, and

experiencesexperiences

-- Outdated technologyOutdated technology

- Subordinates’ skill inadequacies- Subordinates’ skill inadequacies

FactorsFactorsOutside of Leader’sOutside of Leader’s

ControlControl

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HowHow Does the Does the Skills Skills

Approach Approach Work?Work?

HowHow Does the Does the Skills Skills

Approach Approach Work?Work?• Focus of Skills Approach

• Strengths

• Criticisms

• Application

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Skills ApproachSkills ApproachSkills ApproachSkills Approach

• Focus is primarily descriptivedescriptive - Describes leadership from a skills perspective

• Provides a structure for understanding the nature of effective leadership

• Katz (1995)Katz (1995) suggests importance of particular leadership skills varies depending where leaders reside in a management hierarchy

• Mumford et al. (2000)Mumford et al. (2000) suggest leadership outcomes are a direct result of a leader’s skilled competency in problem solving, social judgment & knowledge

FocusFocusFocusFocus Principal Research Principal Research PerspectivesPerspectives

Principal Research Principal Research PerspectivesPerspectives

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StrengthsStrengthsStrengthsStrengths

• First approach to conceptualize and create a structure structure of the process of leadership around skills

• Describing leadership in terms of skills makes it available to available to everyoneeveryone

• Provides an overarching viewoverarching view of leadership that incorporates a variety of components (i.e., problem-solving skills, social judgment skills)

• Provides a structure consistentconsistent with leadership education programs

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CriticismsCriticismsCriticismsCriticisms

• Breadth of the skills approach appears to extend extend beyond the boundaries of leadership

• Skills model is weak in predictivepredictive value

• Skills model is partially trait-driventrait-driven

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ApplicationApplicationApplicationApplication

• The Skills Approach provides a way to delineate the skills of a leader

• It is applicable to leaders at all levels within the organization

• The skills inventory can provide insights into the individual’s leadership competencies

• Test scores allow leaders to learn about areas in which they may wish to seek further training

chpt 3 skills[1]

Education

skills perspective

developed leadership

skills approach work

skills approach focus

leadership factors

human skill human skill

leaders competencies

effective leadership