Three – Skill Approach (Katz, 1955)

The skill theory is growing up due to explicit fault in the Trait approach. The two primary theories to develop from a Skill approach were Katz’s three skill theory approach and Mumford’s skill model of leadership.

The skills approach is the idea that a leader possesses certain abilities that enables he or she to serve as a leader (Pennsylvania State University, 2013).

Robert Katz contributed the Three Skills Model: Technical, Human, and Conceptual (Pennsylvania State University, 2013).  Technical skills are the knowledge and proficiency one has in a certain area (Northouse, 2012).  Human skill is the ability to work with and relate to people (Northouse, 2012).  “Conceptual skills are the ability to work with ideas and concepts” (Northouse, 2012).

Effective leadership is the result of three skills, Based on field research in administration and his own firsthand observations of executives in the workplace, Katz (1955, p. 34). Katz explained these skills are much different from traits of qualities of leaders.    

1. Technical Skills - proficiency in a specific activity or type of work or activity

2. Human Skills - being able to work with people or capacity to  get along with others as you go about your work.

3. Conceptual Skills - ability to work with broad concepts and ideas.

The three-skill approach of Katz suggests that the importance of certain leadership skills vary depending on where leaders are in a management hierarchy.

For leaders operating at a lower level of management, Technical and human skills are most important. 

When leaders move into middle-level management, it becomes important that they have all three skills, technical, human, and conceptual. 

At the upper-level management level, it is paramount for leaders to exhibit conceptual and human skills. Human skills are important in all three levels of management.

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

•         Competencies
•         Individual attributes
•         Leadership outcomes
•         Career experiences
•         Environmental influences

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

According to figure 3.2, the competencies are divided into three key factors for leadership outcomes,

•   Problem-solving skills - leader’s creative ability to solve new and unusual, ill-defined organizational problems( Mumford, Zaccaro, Harding, et al. 2000)
•    Social judgment skills - the capacity to understand people and social systems (Zaccaro, Mumford, Connelly, Marks, & Gilbert, 2000, p. 46).
•   Knowledge - inextricably related to the application and implementation of problem-solving skills in organizations. It directly influences a leader’s capacity to define complex organizational problems and to attempt to solve them (Mumford, Zaccaro, Harding, et al., 2000). 

References:-

https://davidburkus.com/2010/02/skills-theory/

https://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/45968_Chapter_3.pdf

https://sites.psu.edu/leadership/2013/01/29/three-skills-approach/