Individual Research Paper

Individual Research Paper

Liberty University

Leadership Theory

BUSI 503-B01

Introduction

Due to the myriad of definitions of the term leadership, this has also created numerous skills. Having no true definitive definition of leadership has also caused the line to blur between traits and skills. Northouse (2013) differentiated them by stating that skills are what leaders can accomplish, whereas traits are who leaders are. Even with the problems of differentiation one can still determine the most important skills for success as a leader. Skills are a necessary part of leadership success, but the research shows that traits and skills are both necessary for effective leadership. As many have debated: Is it nature (traits) or nurture (skills)? In How Can We Train Leaders if We Do Not Know What Leadership is?, the research found that fifty-four percent of respondents defined leadership as a skill or ability and not a trait (Barker, 1997, p. 345). Barker (1997) also made a simple observation of the suffix –ship is used to denote a skill, such as the words statesmanship, craftsmanship, partnership, fellowship, discipleship, and relationship (p. 347). Fleishman (1991) listed 499 dimensional skills; this author will not contain them all, just those that are critical. The final question is what are those best skills that can be nurtured from the nature to create effective leadership?

Knowledge Skills

The leader trait that is most important is intelligence, but if one cannot transform intelligence into the skill of knowledge makes one’s intelligence useless (Mumford, Zaccaro, Connelly, & Marks, 2000, p. 12). Hind, Wilson, and Lenssen (2009) claim that business acumen is a critical skill, yet there are many other skills related to knowledge that must be included. Connelly, Gilbert, Zaccaro, Threlfall, Marks, & Mumford’s (2000) research found that managerial success was dependent on a leader’s cognitive skills. Jung & Sosik (2006) found that even...