Skills Leadership Theory

Skill leadership theory defines a leader based on skills instead of personality attributes. A leader’s performance is assessed on their skills. If anyone is to become a leader tomorrow, they must build a certain set of skills to succeed.

As John Peter Zenger, a renowned German printer and journalist, said,

“Great leaders are not defined by the absence of weakness, but rather by the presence of clear strengths.” 

The Skills Theory of Leadership: An Overview

The skills theory grew from the obvious flaw in the trait approach; traits are relatively fixed. This meant that trait theory was not particularly useful for developing new leaders who laced those traits. Skills theorists sought to discover the skills and abilities that made leaders effective. 

Similar to trait theory, skills theories are leader-centric and focus on what characteristics of leaders make them effective. 

The two primary theories to develop from a skills approach were Katz’s three-skill approach and Mumford’s skills model of leadership.

Katz’s Three-Skill Approach 

Katz’s three-skill approach argues that effective leadership requires the following:

1. Technical skills
2. Human skills
3. Conceptual skills

Technical Skills

Technical skill refers to proficiency in a specific activity or type of work. 

These essential skills empower leaders to use modern tools and technology to perform their jobs better. These skills include computer skills, writing reports, operating industry machinery, and using project management tools.

Human Skills

Human skill refers to being able to work with people. Interaction is a major part of being an organizational leader. 

Human skills include interpersonal skills, such as managing a team or communicating with them. It includes specific skills for effective communication, active listening, compassion, and motivation.

Conceptual Skills 

Conceptual skill refers to the ability to work with broad concepts and ideas. 

These skills help leaders find solutions to problems and measure their ability to collaborate with the team on innovative or creative ideas. These include critical thinking, innovation, creative thinking, and persuasive techniques for effective decision-making.

The three-skill approach asserted that, while all skills were important for leaders, their level of importance varies depending on the organizational level of leaders. As leaders move through the levels of the organization (from lower to upper), skill importance moves from technical to human to conceptual.

Mumford’s Skills Model of Leadership

More complex than the three-skill approach, Mumford’s skills model of leadership outlined five components of effective leadership:

1. Competencies
2. Individual attributes
3. Leadership outcomes
4. Career experiences
5. Environmental influences

Effective leadership is dependent on how leader competencies are affected by the leader’s attributes, experiences, and the environment.

Perhaps the most useful strength of skill theory is that it places effective leadership performance on learned (and learnable) skills rather than on traits. In this way, leadership is available to anyone. While it is not a trait approach outright, certain innate abilities (motivation and cognitive ability, for example) are still included in the model. 

Skills theories are also weak in their predictive ability, failing to explain how a person’s competencies lead to effective leadership. Finally, most data used to construct the skills model was taken from the military, meaning its applicability to general organizations is questionable.

Importance of Skills Leadership 

Skill leadership defines the leader as a person equipped with a particular set of skills that are also beneficial to the organization.

• A leader is judged on their ability to do a job it’s more about their competency than their personality traits.
• The theory gives us learnable skills, which means that anyone with the particular set of skills can be a leader. Thus, learning is no longer exclusive but rather inclusive.
• The theory places leadership on a balance of a variety of leadership skills that are useful and also necessary for the job.

Who Can Benefit from Skills Leadership Theory?

The skill leadership theory is very varied and has several applications in different professions and industries. Some of the key people who would find the theory useful in their profession are:

• Leaders, mentors, and teachers 
• Key decision makers or investors 
• Work peers and colleagues working in a team
• Team leaders and project heads

Implementing the Skills Leadership Theory

Skills leadership theory can significantly boost your position in your workplace and represent you as an authority for your workforce. In fact, it can also uplift you personally, which will reflect in everything you do at work.

To employ the skills leadership theory in the workplace, you must start by paying attention to the skills of each individual employee or team player. That’s how you can help improve their skills and inspire them to excel in their careers.

The bigger part about being a leader is equipping your team with the essential skills so they don’t have to depend on others. Keep encouraging employees to recognize their potential, identify critical improvement areas, and work toward them!

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More Articles in This Series:

• Intro to Leadership Theory
• Why Theory
• A Word on Theory
• Trait Theory
• Skills Theory
• Style Theory
• Contingency Theory
• Situational Leadership Theory
• Path-Goal Theory
• Leader-Member Exchange Theory
• Transformational Leadership Theory
• Servant Leadership Theory
• Strengths-Based Leadership Theory