The Three-Skill Approach

Once again, I have decided to write a blog post about a leadership theory to cement in my mind what a college professor has failed to teach in a helpful way.  Leadership is simply the role of directing or controlling people or resources, and the three-skill model describes three abilities that all leaders need, to some degree, for maximum competency and effectiveness.  The extent to which one of the three is needed, though, can vary from one situational context to another.  Below I will briefly dissect each of the skills.


Technical skills amount to competencies in particular types of work.  For instance, an expert computer coder has a very specific, strong type of technical skill.  This class of skill is often developed over time, as one needs to cultivate proficiency through repeated experiences.  Although one could be naturally blessed with a significant talent for a type of work, in many cases consistent, enduring practice is required for optimal technical skill.

Human skills pertain to how well one cooperates with, interacts with, and accomplishes things with other people (and this is related to the concept of referent power, which I have addressed elsewhere [1]).  A leader with no human skills might not have a following for long, or at least not a following of inspired subordinates.  Likewise, a leader who relies on human skills more than technical competency or the third skill (conceptual skill) might merely have nothing to offer subordinates except an empty, flawed vision and/or no way of implementing it.

Conceptual skills have to do with grasping concepts and then applying them in a way that pursues a vision.  As such, they deal with abstractions instead of interpersonal relationships or technical expertise, though having great conceptual skills can certainly help one apply or develop one of the other skills.  They are particularly helpful when plotting out an intended future course of action, like when deciding how to respond to an unanticipated problem.  To apply a concept correctly, one must first understand it (or otherwise at best succeed only by accident).


Different situations or levels of authority can call for different skills to be emphasized--not that all three are not always useful or important in some way, but because some scenarios, degrees of authority, and goals do not need one as much as another.  A high-level leader/manager, for example, might need far greater conceptual skills than a lower-level leader would, since he or she would be responsible for navigating far more obstacles and enacting a vision with a far greater scope and precision.  A social movement might have a leader who possesses excellent human skills, which would be useful for rallying others around a cause.  Of course, a person can have all three, regardless of exactly what type of leadership role he or she possesses, but it is still beneficial to know which of the three skills might need to be particularly emphasized.


[1].  https://thechristianrationalist.blogspot.com/2018/02/power-bases-in-leadership.html