Observational Exercise
Leadership Skills
Purpose
1. To develop an understanding of different types of leadership skills
2. To examine how leadership skills affect a leader's performance
Directions
1. Your task in this exercise is to observe a leader and evaluate that person's leadership skills. This leader can bea supervisor, a manager, a coach, a teacher, a fraternity or sorority officer, or anyone who has a position thatinvolves leadership.
2. For each of the groups of skills listed below, write what you observed about this leader.
|
Administrative skills
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
|
Managing people
|
Poor
|
Weak
|
Average
|
Good
|
Very good
|
|
Managing resources
|
Poor
|
Weak
|
Average
|
Good
|
Very good
|
|
Showing technical competence
|
Poor
|
Weak
|
Average
|
Good
|
Very good
|
Comments:
|
Interpersonal skills
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
|
Being socially perceptive
|
Poor
|
Weak
|
Average
|
Good
|
Very good
|
|
Showing emotional intelligence
|
Poor
|
Weak
|
Average
|
Good
|
Very good
|
|
Managing conflict
|
Poor
|
Weak
|
Average
|
Good
|
Very good
|
Comments:
|
Conceptual skills
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
|
Problem solving
|
Poor
|
Weak
|
Average
|
Good
|
Very good
|
|
Strategic planning
|
Poor
|
Weak
|
Average
|
Good
|
Very good
|
|
Creating vision
|
Poor
|
Weak
|
Average
|
Good
|
Very good
|
Comments:
Questions
1. Based on your observations, what were the leader's strengths and weaknesses?
2. In what setting did this leadership example occur? Did the setting influence the kind of skills that the leader used? Discuss.
3. If you were coaching this leader, what specific things would you tell this leader about how he or she could
improve leadership skills? Discuss.
4. In another situation, do you think this leader would exhibit the same strengths and weaknesses? Discuss.
Reflection and Action Worksheet
Leadership Skills
Reflection
1. Based on what you know about yourself and the scores you received on the Leadership Skills Questionnaire in the three areas (administrative, interpersonal, and conceptual), how would you describe your leadership skills? Which specific skills are your strongest, and which are your weakest? What impact do you think your leadership skills could have on your role as a leader? Discuss.
2. This chapter suggests that emotional intelligence is an interpersonal leadership skill. Discuss whether you agree or disagree with this assumption. As you think about your own leadership, how do your emotions help or hinder your role as a leader? Discuss.
3. This chapter divides leadership into three kinds of skills (administrative, interpersonal, and conceptual). Do you think some of these skills are more important than others in some kinds of situations? Do you think lower levels of leadership (e.g., supervisor) require the same skills as upper levels of leadership (e.g., CEO)? Discuss.
Action
1. One unique aspect of leadership skills is that they can be practiced. List and briefly describe three things you could do to improve your administrative skills.
2. Leaders need to be socially perceptive. As you assess yourself in this area, identify two specific actions that would help you become more perceptive of other people and their viewpoints. Discuss.
3. What kind of problem solver are you? Are you slow or quick to address problem situations? Overall, what two things could you change about yourself to be a more effective problem solver?