One of the most recent movies I’ve watched is “The Longshot”. The movie is based on a true story of a 11 year old girl (Jasmine Plummer) who had the opportunity to play as the first female in the Pop Warner Football Tournament. Jasmine received many backlash from peers and opponents that she was incapable of playing football and should try other sports for girls. With coaching from her uncle, a former football player, she was able to play on the boys football team as the quarterback and eventually rise to ranks leading the team to the championship.
While there are various definitions to what leadership is, I believe the trait approach does provide a more basic guideline for individuals to possess to become leaders.
According to (Northouse), the skills approach is a process by which individuals use to evaluate potential leaders. This approach requires 3 basic skills: Technical, Conceptual and Human.
- Technical Skill- is the ability to accomplish the task.
- Conceptual Skills- The ability to work with ideas and concepts.
- Human Skills- the ability to work and communicate with others.
Evaluating Jasmine capabilities based on the 3 basic skills listed by Kaz proves she had
- Technical Skills – Uncle recognized that Jasmine was able to throw a football better than the boys that were playing for the team. Even though she didn’t show an interest in playing, her uncle sparked her interest by making the exercises enjoyable. In addition, she proved herself by making game winning strategic plays.
- Conceptual Skills- Jasmine was able to create ideas and plays that were vital to the team’s winning streak. One of the best plays in the movie was when she decided to go for “the longshot” in the championship to win the title. She planned every detail, timing releasing the ball before the clock, and anticipating being tackled.
- Human Skills- Jasmine struggled to positively communicate with others when she first joined the team. A girl was never seen playing in the league, so it created quite a stir. However, Jasmine quickly proved why she was there and eventually she began making tons of friends. Sometimes, her teammates did not quite understand what to expect, but they had faith in her abilities so they followed.While many individuals set out to be leaders, The skills approach organizes the traits which leadership requires. With the help of these guidelines, individuals are able to focus on 3 general requirements which they can later expand upon. Kaz argued that skills were accomplished by leaders who possess the traits, because that is simply who they are.
References
Northouse, P.G. (2023). Leadership: Theory and Practice (9th Ed). SAGE Publications, Inc.
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2023). PSYCH 485 Lesson 4: Skills Approach.