The findings by Katz that the three skills possessed by effective leaders are interpersonal skills, technical skills and conceptual skills, hold true for the most part. Looking at them as a whole presents a formidable formula for effective leadership. However, when taken apart one by one, some deficiencies creep in. In my view, interpersonal skills hold the most sway in an individual’s leadership capacity.
All leadership is about people rallying around a person to pursue a vision. The ability to win and sustain the support of people speaks volumes of the leadership capacity of any person. This is the bare minimum in as far as leadership development goes. On this count, Katz was right.
We cannot say the same for the second quality identified by Katz. Technical skills play an important role in the development of a leader, but they are not essential in making the leader effective. The argument here is that it is not humanly possible to possess all the technical skills that accomplishing a particular vision will require.
The prominence of technical skills diminishes as a person climbs through the ranks until they do not matter anymore. For instance, a general in an army will have foot soldiers and cavalry, and in a modern army setting, an air force. While military prowess will influence promotion along the ranks, it ceases to be significant when he is in charge of the whole army.
It is impossible to have been a first rate foot soldier, an accomplished member of the cavalry and a decorated fighter pilot at the same time. In fact, a general does not think as an individual soldier, but thinks strategically. His technical skills as a soldier only inform his thinking and decision making as much as his advisors do.
We conclude that the demands of top-level leadership hinge more on interpersonal relationships and conceptual abilities, than on technical skill, unless it is in the lower ranks of leadership.
Conceptual skills are indeed crucial for a leader. What attracts people to follow someone is the vision that person present to them. The ability to define direction and to present it to others in a manner that they find it compelling speaks of a great beginning of a leader.
While conceptual skills are very crucial at the beginning, a leader must keep on motivating people and keeping them on course towards the attainment of the vision. Leaders constantly analyze their environment to determine the impact of changes in it in order to find ways of meeting emerging challenges and taking advantage of unforeseen opportunities.
In conclusion, I agree with Katz on the most part about the necessity of the three skills but they require qualification. The possession of these skills on their own predisposes someone to effective leadership, but is not a guarantee of ending up as an effective leader. There are other skills necessary to be an effective leader.
Future leaders will deal with global issues on a more regular basis that the current crop of leaders. The process of globalization has blurred the distinction between local issues and international ones. More uncertainty attends to the conduct of business because things happening in one country produce unforeseen effects such as losses and opportunities in other countries.
For future leaders, two skills will stand out. One of them is effective risk management and the other is global thinking. Risk taking is the order of the day in all manner of leadership undertakings. However, as the world opens up, there are many opportunities that will show up for leaders to take advantage of, but they will have to take significant risks to get them.
This one ability will separate great leaders from great losers. Plans will change too rapidly to allow them to hold on to a long-term operational plan. The need for rapid change will accost every leader.
As global thinkers, new leaders will have to integrate the consequences of events taking place across the world into their day-to-day operations. Cross-cultural interaction will be a normal part of business.
This is already becoming a significant element of business and organizational thinking but the full extent of this situation is still ahead. In conclusion, in addition to Katz qualities, leaders will require greater capacity for risk. This calls for leaders with improved risk management abilities, and a greater degree of appreciation of cross-cultural issues in an increasingly globalized world.
There are several possible ways of including these two aspects of leadership into the Ed. D program. The key one is a requirement that the thesis includes a section dealing with the global trends in leadership and an evaluation of future risks and their possible management strategies.
This will make it necessary for the students to develop a global thinking mindset in the practice of leadership and will equip students with the capacity to evaluate risks as they move into practice. Other ways of including the areas in the program will be encouraging the students to take courses on risk management and to attend conferences dealing with various aspects of globalization.