session6 ld skill approch

7/29/2019 Session6 LD Skill Approch

1/22

Leadership

Northouse, 5th edition

Session6- Skills Approach


2/22

Overview

Skills Approach Perspective

Three-Skill Approach (Katz, 1955)

Skills-Based Model (Mumford, et al, 2000)

How Does the Skills Approach Work?


3/22

Skills Approach Description

Leader-centered

perspective

Emphasis on skills

and abilities that

can be learnedand developed

Leadership skills -

The ability to use

ones knowledge

and competencies to

accomplish a set ofgoals and objectives

Perspective Definition


4/22

Three-Skill Approach(Katz, 1955)

Technical Skill

Human Skill

Conceptual Skill


5/22

Basic Administrative Skills Katz (1955)Management Skills Necessary at VariousLevels of an Organization

Leaders

need all threeskills but,

skill

importance

changes

based on

level of

management


6/22

Technical Skill

Technical skill - having knowledge about andbeing proficient in a specific type of work or

activity.

Specialized competencies

Analytical ability

Use of appropriate tools and techniques

Technical skills involve hands-onability with aproduct or process

Most important at lowerlevels of management


7/22

Human Skill

Human skillhaving knowledge about andbeing able to work with people.

Being aware of ones own perspective and othersperspectives at the same time

Assisting group members in working cooperatively to

achieve common goals

Creating an atmosphere of trust and empowerment of

members

Important at alllevels of the organization


8/22

Conceptual Skill

Conceptual skill - the ability to do the mentalwork of shaping meaning of organizational policyor issues (what company stands for and where itsgoing)

Works easily with abstractionandhypothetical notions

Central to creating and articulating a visionandstrategic planfor an organization

Most important at topmanagement levels


9/22

Skills-Based Model

Skills Model Perspective

Skills-Based Model Competencies

Individual Attributes

Leadership Outcomes Career Experiences

Environmental Influences


10/22

Skills Model Description(Mumford, Zaccaro, Harding, Jacobs, & Fleishman, 2000)

Research studies (1990s)

goal: to identify theleadership factors thatcreate exemplary jobperformance in anorganization

Emphasizes thecapabilitiesthat makeeffective leadershippossible rather than whatleaders do

Perspective Skills-Based Modelof Leadership

Capability model-Examines relationship

between a leaders

knowledge & skills & the

leaders performanceSuggests many people

have the potential for

leadership


11/22

Skills Model

Three Components of the Skills Model


12/22

Competency Skills

Competencies

Problem Solving Social Judgment Knowledge

Creative ability tosolve new/unusual,

ill-definedorganizationalproblems

Capacity tounderstand people

and social systems- Perspective taking

- Social perceptiveness

- Behavioral flexibility

- Social performance

The accumulationof information & the

mental structures toorganize theinformation


13/22

Individual Attributes

IndividualAttributes

General CognitiveAbility

Persons intelligence- Perceptual processing

- Information processing

- General reasoning

- Creative & divergent

thinking

- Memory

Intellectualability learnedor acquired

over time

CrystallizedCognitive Ability

Motivation Personality

Three aspects ofmotivation

- Willingness

- Dominance

- Social good

Anycharacteristicthat helps people

cope withcomplexorganizationalsituations isprobably relatedto leader

performance


14/22

Leadership Outcomes

LeadershipOutcomes

Problem Solving Performance

Criteria = originality & quality ofsolutions to problem situations goodproblem solving involves creating

solutions that are:- Logical

- Effective

- Unique

- Go beyond given information

Degree to which aleader has successfullyperformed his/her

assigned duties


15/22

Skills Model

Skills Model of Leadership


16/22

Career Experiences

CareerExperiences

ChallengingAssignments

Mentoring AppropriateTraining

Hands-onExperience with

Novelty

Experience gained during career influencesleaders knowledge & skills to solve complex

problems Leaders learn and develop higher levels of

conceptual capacity if they progressively confrontmore complex and long-term problems as theyascend the organizational hierarchy


17/22

Environmental Influences

EnvironmentalInfluences

FactorsOutside of Leaders

Control

Factors in a leaders situation that lie outside of

the leaders competencies, characteristics, andexperiences

Outdated technology

Subordinates skill levels


18/22

How Does the SkillsApproach Work?

Focus of Skills Approach

Strengths

Criticisms Application


19/22

Skills Approach

Focus is primarily

descriptive it

describesleadership from

skills perspective

Provides structure

for understanding

the nature of

effective leadership

Katz (1955)suggestsimportance of particularleadership skills varies

depending where leadersreside in managementhierarchy

Mumford et al. (2000)

suggest leadershipoutcomes are direct resultof leaders skilledcompetency in problemsolving, social judgment &

knowledge

Focus Principal ResearchPerspectives


20/22

Strengths

First approach to conceptualize and create a

structureof the process of leadership aroundskills

Describing leadership in terms of skills makes

leadership available to everyone

Provides an expansive viewof leadership that

incorporates wide variety of components (i.e.,problem-solving skills, social judgment skills)

Provides a structure consistentwith leadershipeducation programs


21/22

Criticisms

Breadth of the skills approach appearsto extendbeyond the boundaries ofleadership, making it more general,lessprecise

Weak in predictive value; does notexplain howskills lead to effective

leadership performanceSkills model includes individual

attributes that are trait-like


22/22

Application

The Skills Approach provides a way todelineate the skills of a leader

It is applicable to leaders at all levels withinthe organization

The skills inventory can provide insights intothe individuals leadership competencies

Test scores allow leaders to learn aboutareas in which they may wish to seek furthertraining

session6 ld skill approch

Documents