Leadership

PSYCH 485 blog

How do you become an effective leader?

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How do you become an effective leader?  Are you born with the necessary tools required to be a good leader or are the tools needed simply learned?  There are two existing approaches to leadership that examine both notions–the trait approach and the skills approach.  Both provide good arguments for being an effective leader, but is one better than the other in explaining such effectiveness? 

The trait approach essentially states that traits necessary to being a leader are innate; either you’re born with it or you aren’t.  There is no middle ground.  The skills approach asserts that skills for being an effective leader can be learned, developed, and mastered.  A person doesn’t have to be born a certain way to be a good leader; they can simply learn what it means to be a leader and hone their skills to be such.  Personally, I think it actually requires a little bit of both–inborn traits and those learned–to be a successful, effective leader.

In my position, I am both a manager and a leader.  While many people use these terms interchangeably, I believe there can be a difference.  Managers are typically appointed or hired into their position by other management staff; leaders can be made up of anyone on the team–from the lowest intern to the CEO.  Leaders, while oftentimes managers, aren’t always in positions to make managerial decisions.  Instead, they set the example and in turn, other employees want to follow them. 

I have worked very hard at becoming a good leader and manager.  When I started in my job as a project manager, I faced an uphill battle.  I am a woman working in a “good old boys” club.  I am the only female, the youngest, and the newest project manager (although I have been in my current position for almost two years).  While I like to tell myself that being a woman has no bearing on my job or my ability, I work in a male-dominated workforce and most of them believe my gender has everything to do with my abilities.  In many of my coworkers’ eyes, I am somehow less skilled and less competent than they are.  I actually find this quite humorous considering my projects brought in more revenue last year for the West Desert Testing Center on Dugway than three of the other project managers combined.  I believe the reason for this is because I have proven to be an effective manager and leader.

Many of the skills I use in my everyday life have been learned.  By nature, I am very domineering; I tend to take over and lead conversations.  To become a successful leader, I had to learn how to truly listen to others . . . and this was no easy feat.  It took me years to develop this skill.  Growing up and even into adulthood, when I made up my mind, there was no changing it.  When I was placed into my first management position at the age of 17, no one could tell me anything–I knew it all and it was my way or the highway.  Now, at 33, I have learned that to be an effective leader and a leader that others will respect, it is necessary to be open-minded to ideas, concepts, and opinions that aren’t mine. 

I always tell my crew that I have an open door policy and I actually mean it.  When my guys disagree with a plan or schedule I have laid out, I listen to them and change it accordingly; after all, they are the ones who do most of the work.  Listening to others and their ideas is not always easy for me to do even now, especially when I have it in my mind I want something done a certain way.  However, I have learned to be flexible over the years and this has helped me tremendously.  I find that when you are open to listening to others, they are more open to listening to you.  It is definitely a two-way street.

By nature, I am also self-motivated.  In being such, it makes me wonder if this is a “skill” that can be learned or if this is an inborn “trait.”  I work with many types of people and find that those who are self-starters are more effective workers.  Is this the case for leaders, as well?  While I believe certain behaviors can be learned, I do think certain traits are innate and cannot be taught or learned.  Self-motivation is an internal drive that I think people are born with.  Some people have it; some people don’t.  I don’t necessarily think those who don’t have it are worse workers than those who do; I simply believe that those who do have it are more effective. 

For example, Danny and Gerald are a father/son duo who have worked for me for over a year.  Danny is my field lead and is perhaps one of the hardest working guys in the company.  Gerald, on the other hand, lacks any sort of internal drive and does only what he is told.  He never goes beyond that and is perfectly content with this.  I know it drives Danny crazy that his son is this way because he is completely opposite.  Danny motivates himself and his crew and literally works from the beginning of work until the bell sounds at the end.  Gerald will do only what he is asked to do and will then stand around or play on his phone.  Is one more effective than the other?  Of course.  Gerald works very hard when he is tasked to do something; Danny works very hard all day long.  Is one a better worker than the other in terms of hard work?  Not necessarily.  Is one a more effective worker because of his constant internal drive to work hard?  Definitely.

Overall, I believe a leader must have certain learned skills and inborn traits to be a good leader.  One isn’t necessarily more important than the other, but I think a combination of both is needed to be the best kind of leader. 

Skills vs. Traits

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                In a previous post, I wrote about how I gravitated towards the trait approach to leadership because I thought the majority of desirable leadership qualities were inherent and not teachable.  After reading Northouse’s chapter on the skills approach, I haven’t been swayed much from my original opinion.  There are several reasons for why I believe this.  Some of those reasons are my assumptions based off of personal experiences while others are examples provided by Northouse’s text.  Ultimately, I think the weaknesses of the skills approach far outweigh the positives.

                My first issue with the skills approach is with how much Robert Katz’s original 1955 work seems to borrow from the trait approach.  Katz (as cited in Northouse, 2013) built his work on a three skills approach that included technical skill, human skill and conceptual skill.  The only one of these that I feel could truly be taught is technical skills.  Technical skill involves working directly with the processes of the organization (Northouse, 2013).  These skills can of course be taught because they were taught to every individual that works for the company.  The human and conceptual elements on the other hand could be considered traits much easier than could be consider skills.  If being good with people or generating winning ideas could be taught, they wouldn’t be as highly valued as they are.

                The work by Mumford and colleagues suggests that if people learn from their experiences then leadership ability can be learned (Northouse, 2013).  I also take issue with this because once again, the model they propose consists primarily of what I would consider a trait and not a skill.  Mumford and colleague’s model (as cited in Northouse, 2013) is broken down into individual attributes, competencies and leadership outcomes.  For the purpose of making my point I will focus on the competencies portion which is subdivided into problem-solving skills, social judgment skills and knowledge (as cited in Northouse, 2013).  I would argue that problem-solving skills are a direct result of cognitive ability and social judgment skills a direct result of personality traits.  Knowledge can be learned of course but still is tied to cognitive ability.  Much like the work done by Katz, too many of these concepts rely on traits to be considered useful as an independent tool for assessing leadership.

                Another criticism I have of the trait approach was also provided by Northouse.  Similar to the trait approach, the skills model is weak in predictive value (Northouse, 2013).  This is the most important factor for me because now you’ve stripped away the practical use as it pertains to the business world.  This may explain why the skills approach has not been widely used in applied leadership settings (Northouse, 2013).  For example, if you sat a group of people in a room together and asked them what skills a leader should have, I don’t think they’d have much of a problem providing answers.  However, being able to explain which skills will produce which results in which situations would be much more difficult and is something that the skills approach fails to do.

                I will admit that some elements of the skills approach I did find interesting.  Those elements however almost always involved the development of skills within people who already possessed the necessary trait.  My personal takeaway from the skills approach is that leadership skill can be strengthened in those who possess the necessary traits but cannot be taught to those who simply lack the inherent ability.  For example, I don’t think you can teach people skills to somebody who is just not good with people.  If you could, it certainly wouldn’t be to the level that would be considered above average.  Conversely, I do think you could take somebody with good people skills and build them into somebody with great people skills.  That is why I would put my primary focus on assessing the trait instead of assessing the skill.

Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Inc.

 

 

Developing Leadership Behaviors Early

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      While reviewing the skills approach to leadership, I wondered if there is an opportunity to attempt to develop certain skills and behaviors in children to assist them later in life.  Does early development lead to stronger leadership skills? Taking a look at some programs that are being used in elementary schools today may help with answering that question.

     When the skills approach was first developed, they looked at some of the following questions: What accounts for why some leaders are good problem solvers and others are not?  What specific skills do high-performing leaders exhibit?  How do leader’s individual characteristics, impact job performance? Teaching new skills isn’t always easy, but Robert Katz identified the skills needed from leaders, and to what extent they are needed within levels of management. Those skills are: Technical Skills, Human Skills and Conceptual Skills (Northouse 2013). Our question is can these skills be developed earlier to help in measuring success. A child’s performance can be measured using the grades they received or the impact they have within the classroom of peers.

     Katz’ determined that we need the following within each skill type to be effective:

1.     Human Skills – The ability to work with people

2.     Technical Skills – Specialized ability that deals with hands-on tools or knowledge for the role

3.     Conceptual Skills – Ability to work with ideas and concepts

     My daughter was a part of a pilot program in her elementary school that focused on building great leaders and focusing on the leader within, and was called “The Leader In Me” (The Leader in Me).  This program was based on Stephen R. Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. As the skills approach focuses not on how the leader acts in a situation, but instead skills and abilities that can be cultivated (Northouse, 2013), my daughter’s school had the same thought.  The elementary school leadership program was successfully implemented in a school that was low performing in Raleigh, North Carolina, by increasing their productivity and decreasing discipline occurrences (The Leader in Me). The program focused on implementing a three-year model to transform their students into leaders. The children focused on the following habits:

1.      Be Proactive

2.      Begin With the End in Mind

3.      Put First Things First

4.      Think Win-Win

5.      Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood

6.      Synergize

7.      Sharpen the Saw

 

The materials used complimented the following traits:

1. Leadership

2. Accountability

3. Adaptability

4. Initiative and Self-direction

5. Cross-cultural Skills

•    Responsibility

•    Problem Solving

•    Communication

•    Creativity

•    Teamwork

     Although it may have helped schools reduce discipline issues, did we develop those skills within the children?  There was even an offsite meeting where they participated in games related to teamwork and had discussions about each of the habits. There are over 600 schools that have gone through this program, and they had many testimonials (The Leader in Me).  In my own child, she readily recognized those behaviors and how you can exhibit them in a situation. Developing their Human Skills with better cross-cultural skills and teamwork was a benefit seen and an example of Katz research on the skills approach.  Their conceptual ability was also enhanced through problem solving and adaptability. Although there wasn’t a specific set of technology shared, their focus on Sharpen the Saw encouraged continuous learning. We may not have made her a leader in every situation, but it did create an overall awareness of the leadership process (Northouse, 2013).  If you have helped them to develop their communication and problem solving better, you have positively impacted the leadership in that organization.

 

 Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice: Sixth Edition. Sage Publications, Inc.

The Leader in Me (2013), Franklin Covey Education, Retrieved on July 4, 2013 from http://www.theleaderinme.org

 

 

 

 

Maybe She’s Born with It . . .

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You could ask a hundred people to define “leadership,” and you would most likely end up with a hundred different responses as a result.  Many of these responses would define leadership from the point of view that successful leaders tend to have a certain set of qualities or characteristics that others might not have.  Other responses might approach defining leadership from the point of view that leaders behave a certain way.  One important difference between these two types of responses is that one translates to leadership being exclusive to those born with it, while the other translates to leadership being attainable by anyone (Northouse, 2013).

So the question is this: can leadership be taught?  By first identifying traits that are commonly perceived as being characteristic of leadership, we can connect those traits to the behaviors we would expect to see as demonstrating leadership.  From that point, we can analyze the skills required for performing those behaviors, and can further establish training and development geared toward maximizing the identified skills.

Some believe that individuals who become leaders are able to do so because they have a certain set of qualities they were born with – this is known as the trait perspective of leadership (Northouse, 2013).  Some traits generally associated with leadership are intelligence, determination, or charisma (Northouse, 2013).  On the other hand, some believe that leadership occurs as behaviors and interactions between leaders and followers – this is known as the process perspective of leadership, which views leadership as being available to anyone (Northouse, 2013).

A leadership theory that bridges the gap between the trait and process perspectives is the skills approach, which focuses on the technical, human, and conceptual skills and abilities that support leadership and can be learned or developed (Northouse, 2013).

As an example, we will take a look at charisma, which is commonly viewed as a characteristic or quality of leadership, through the eyes of the skills approach.  Antonakis et al. (2012) define charisma as “the ability to communicate a clear, visionary, and inspirational message that captivates and motivates an audience,” and suggest that it is not an innate trait, but instead a set of learnable skills.  These verbal skills have been labeled “charismatic leadership tactics” or “CLTs,” and are useful in establishing credibility, inspiring passion, and persuading followers (Antonakis et al., 2012):

  • Connect, compare, and contrast by using metaphors, similes, analogies, anecdotes, and contrasts
  • Engage and distill by posing rhetorical questions and presenting three-part lists
  • Show integrity, authority, and passion by expressing moral conviction, reflecting group sentiments, setting high goals, and conveying confidence

Antonakis et al. (2012) found that a training program that demonstrated real-life examples of these concepts and allowed managers to practice them in groups, on their own, and on film, the leadership ratings of participating managers nearly doubled.

What does this mean?  Essentially, once leadership “traits” have been identified, we can look at how they are demonstrated by leaders – what actions, behaviors, or skills represent the desired trait?  The best approach must then be determined for developing those behaviors and skills.  This process is not unlike designing training in an organization through needs assessment: the organization will perform a job analysis to determine what the position does, and will then identify the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform well in the position before selecting the best method for developing the knowledge, skills, and abilities in employees.

By focusing on the skills, abilities, and behaviors of leadership rather than on the traits they support or demonstrate, those without innate or natural leadership qualities can be taught to lead.  Using a skills approach toward leadership, much like the process perspective, allows for anyone who wishes to become a leader to do so.

 

References:

Antonakis, J., Fenley, M., & Liechti, S. (2012, June). Learning Charisma. Harvard Business Review, 90(6), pp. 127-130.

Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, Inc.

How the best put leadership theories into practice

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SWA.jpgI often use Southwest Airlines (SWA) as a model company for how things should be done.  Leadership, effectiveness, corporate responsibility, employee motivation, you name it – Southwest Airlines has a program for it.  So, when pondering real-life situations where leadership skills approach has been successful (on a large scale), who else but SWA!

 

Image Source: Southwest Airlines One Report (2011), p31

 

As Northouse (2013) explains, unlike other leadership theories that limit leadership to those possessing certain inherent attributes, the skills approach makes leadership available to any individuals that have the capacity and motivation to learn.  This approach asserts that certain knowledge and abilities (skills) are needed for effective leadership, which can be developed through training and experience.  Technical, human, and conceptual skills constitute the three-skill approach.  As defined by Northouse (2013), technical skill is knowledge and proficiency in specific to a job and associated tasks (i.e. computer skills for data entry), human skill is the “ability to work with people” (p44, pp3), and finally, conceptual skills are “the ability to work with ideas and concepts” (p46, pp2).  The overall concept is that an organization can maximize the effectiveness of leadership by developing these types of skills.

 

The Southwest Airlines Example 

 

            “Hire for attitude, train for skill” is a cornerstone of SWA’s training and development programs (Bryant, 2007, p36, pp4).  Indeed they are so dedicated to their employee development that they created University for People (U4P).  A training facility focused offering college style, company specific training and development courses.  Some courses are self-help type training, some are mandatory for all employees and others are dedicated to professional and leadership development using a skills-based approach (Bryant, 2007)

 

 technical.jpgTechnical Skill

 

In addition to on the job training, each employee has mandatory training for their job family (i.e. ground operations or pilots) and fulfill training requirements for the many regulatory directives involved in their work (i.e. Federal Aviation Administration or Department of Homeland Security requirements) (Southwest Airlines, 2011).  From there, employees can take advantage of additional training opportunities offered at the University for People where they gain other technical skills needed for leadership, such as business finance and organizational goal setting (Bryant, 2007).   

 

 human.jpgHuman Skill

 

Employee behaviors and attitudes are a large part of SWA’s mission and success (Southwest Airlines, 2011).  Each employee is indoctrinated in SWA culture, history, and spirit.  Their first day is dedicated to educating them on expectations and behaviors consistent with the “Southwest Way” which is “…the warrior spirit… everything that is required to achieve excellence; a servant’s heart… putting others before yourself; and a fun-luving attitude… not taking yourself too seriously, enjoying work, and maintaining balance in your life.” (Bryant, 2007, p36, pp4).  As SWA has many programs that foster community involvement (charities), caring for fellow employees (job sharing, leave donation), and excellent customer service (star of the month awards, SWA blog), it allows them to provide tangible references to teach human skills in their company (Southwest Airlines, 2011). Training becomes more focused on teamwork, and collective problem solving as leaders progress within the company, further refining human skills in line with SWA’s values (Bryant, 2007).  

 

 conceptual.jpgConceptual skill

 

The most relevant example of SWA approach to developing their leaders conceptual skills is their Manager in Training program.  The first part of this training is designed as survival program where future leaders are dropped in the forest and must establish teams, set up camps, and compete for supplies (etc.).  During all of this, instructors are reinforcing teamwork, critical thinking and behaviors consistent with their leadership expectations.  The participants progress to the business aspects of SWA where they are educated on every department within the company.  Finally, training is focused on developing strategic thinking skills.  The entire program entices leaders to be creative, to hone their abilities to develop and implement ideas, all while keeping the company interests at heart (Bryant, 2007).

 

Closing

 

Northouse (2013) criticizes that the skills-approach has not been widely adopted in organizational training packages and furthermore that it does not explain how these skills lead to effective leadership.  However, based on the SWA model, I would beg to differ.  They managed to create and adopt a skills-based approach.  Evaluating the history and development SWA’s training program it’s clear just how they did it.  Bryant (2007) describes that initially SWA had “26 leadership characteristics and competencies” (p36, pp8), but they realized that this was unrealistic and impossible to develop and simplified their approach to leadership expectations.  Once they identified their leadership expectations, they evaluated the gaps in skills needed to meet those expectations, and developed programs around those that would also be adaptable to change (Bryant, 2007).  By focusing on leadership skills (technical, human and conceptual) specific to their company values and needs they facilitate leadership effectiveness and maximize benefit to the company and the employees (Bryant, 2007).  Developing skills creates loyalty, dissolves questions about how a company expects its leaders to act and therefore they become more effective.  This is the overall intent of the skills-approach and SWA’s demonstrates a successful application of it.  As a testament to their effective leadership, I close with a few statistics. 

 

·      The latest performance report reveals their 40th consecutive year of profits (not an easy feat when you consider the economy over the last few years, especially in the airline industry), ranked Customer Service Champions by JD Powers, and named one of Americas Top companies by Barron (Southwest Airlines Co, 2013).

 

 

 

References:

 

Bryant, E. (2007). LEADERSHIP SOUTH WEST STYLE. T+D, 61(12), 36-39. http://web.ebscohost.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=587ecfc9-a8b8-424f-bc41-03c37149f5e6%40sessionmgr12&vid=7&hid=108

 

Southwest Airlines Co. (2013).  Southwest Airlines Reports Increase in Annual Profits; 40th Consecutive Year Of Profitability. Retrieved 06 February 2013 from http://www.swamedia.com/releases/southwest-airlines-reports-increase-in-annual-profits-40th-consecutive-year-of-profitability

 

Southwest Airlines. (2011). 2011 Southwest Airlines One Report. Retrieved 04 Febrary from http://www.southwestonereport.com/2011/#!/people/overview

 

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