Skills approach is the basic idea of the skills approach is that leaders must possess certain abilities that allow them to act as a leader. These abilities are not traits, but rather sets of behaviors that allow them react to certain types of situations appropriately (PSU 2015). This approach is not theory based, but rather observationally determined. What this means is that according to skills approach, a leader must not just have qualities of leadership, but must show behaviors that coincide with leadership. This is important because it shows that leadership could be learned instead of being genetically inherited. This approach coincides with the movie After Earth, starring Will Smith and his son. In this futuristic movie, Will smith (Cypher Raige) is a war captain who’s spaceship crashed lands on what is known as futuristic earth. This is problematic because In this time period, earth is not inhabitable by humans, but rather ravenous animals and creatures, that caused humans to flee the planet many years ago. His son Kahita are the only survivors of the space ship crash on earth, and they must learn to survive in this dangerous terrain, or be killed by the beasts. Cypher shows the ideal of skills approach because he learns how to overcome adversity and be a leader when faced with new and troubling situations.
This is a perfect example because it exemplifies that his behaviors during a crisis are what makes him a great leader, not just what his DNA is made of. When the ship crashed, Cypher suffered from two broken legs, and had to stay behind in the ship while his son ventured alone for help. Cypher would communicate with Kahita via radio, and help him survive in the wild while trying to find help. This shows that Cyphers leadership skills are superior because he cant be physically there with his son, but must lead him to safety via radio. This shows that he learns to be an effective leader due to situational changes, which reflect his behaviors, thusly saving his sons life.
Skills Approach Defined. (2015). Retrieved from https://courses.worldcampus.psu.edu/su15/psych485/001/content/04_lesson/03_page.html