Is leadership more about skills or about attributes?

The debates on whether leaders are born or made and nature vs. nurture have raged on for
decades. Today's technological and scientific advances have offered new insights into the
way we look at ourselves as human beings, our genetic makeup as well as our brain
capacity. Leadership ability and whether it can be learned or whether it is simply just a gift
bestowed upon a few very extraordinary people, will continue to be a very interesting and
important topic of discussion for years to come.
This essay argues that leadership is certainly more about skills than about attributes. It first
seeks to define leadership and illustrate why particular attributes and skills, both necessary
in leadership, should be looked at as multi-layered pieces in the leadership puzzle. The
second section of the essay illustrates the reasons for the main argument through personal
opinion and anecdotes. The third section discusses leadership skills and their relation to the
environment in which the leader operates, the importance of personal and situational
analysis and circumstances under which the leader can thrive, all due to the mastery of
skills.
The Layers of Leadership
There are a multitude of definitions for the term leadership just as there are a multitude of
skills and attributes that contribute to what makes a great leader so significant and adored.
Kouzes and Posner (2012),in almost poetic form, asserts that "the most significant
contribution leaders make is not simply to today's bottom line; it is to the long-term
development of people and institutions so they can adapt, change, prosper and grow." A
pragmatic definition of leadership that seems to give a simple but satisfactory view on the
subject comes from Forbes contributor Kevin Kruse who states that "leadership is a process
of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a
goal."
Leadership at its core, in this case, is about people and achievement and with this
philosophy must come an array of natural characteristics and more importantly learned
abilities in order to fully embrace all that is meant by the word. Human beings are not onedimensional but rather a collection of several thoughts and emotions. My personal
definition of a great leader is 'someone who can bundle up the hopes, dreams, insecurities,
fears and ambitions of his or her people and transform them into inspiration, movement,
tangible results; victory.'
Becoming a leader involves a multi-dimensional approach. One must have the attributes
that are believed to be inherent to the person himself, what we will call in this essay as the
foundational layer, as well as the right amount of skills necessary to lead effectively; the
subsequent but fundamental layer. These two layers make up a leader in my opinion. This
view admittedly is too simplistic to become it's own philosophy or theory however an
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excellent reference would be Scouller's 'Three Levels of Leadership Model' that discusses
the technicalities and psychology of being a leader in three layers; 'Personal' where both the
natural attributes and skills reside,' the 'Private' level concerned with the handling of other
individuals on an one-to-one basis and the 'Public' level regarding the creation of a vision for
a larger group or organization. For the purpose of this essay nonetheless the two basic
dimensions of a leader will be used and referred to. Although the argument is that
leadership is more about skills than attributes, this concept also posits that the two are
equally necessary, with the fundamental layer having a greater role to play in successful
leadership than the other, as opposed to looking at the two as one having dominance over
the other.
What makes a valuable leader? Some key qualities repeatedly credited to great leaders
include honesty, integrity, confidence, inspiration, forward-looking, empathy and optimism.
Leaders who embody these attributes are most likely to be successful in their careers and
personal lives and are also respected by persons around them according to the various
literature on the subject. Some of these traits are however more difficult to acquire and so
the list above is limited in its scope for contributing to great leadership presence; a concept
now viewed as an integral component in the Integrated Physiological theory.
In other more contemporary theories it is agreed that natural characteristics are simply not
enough to mobilize masses of people, achieve innovation and inspire change. If leadership is
more about skills than those attributes, what are those indispensable proficiencies that
make the other dimension; the fundamental layer of a great leader? Good leadership
comprises of the ability to constantly motivate others, strategic planning, change
management, effective problem solving, excellent communication skills, people
development and now self-mastery.
These competencies take time, an increasing effort and devotion to be fully understood,
developed and successfully implemented. They are what activate the leader to achieve the
change and results necessary whether it involves the successful implementation of a new
public policy or the reorganization of a private company. These skills found at the second
layer of the leader, are the columns that provide added stability to the structure, and a
greater sense of accomplishment.
The development of these skills, and in particular self-mastery, involves a level of dedication
not easily accomplished by most aspiring leaders and perhaps this is why the debate on
leadership continues on. Each theory builds upon the next in the hopes of becoming closer
to fully grasping this phenomenon. What is certain however is that in current times the
mission to become a great leader has been made almost effortless through books, videos,
seminars and workshops. I can personally attest to the formulas presented by many authors
and the successes of those formulas in my own personal journey to leadership. Only
recently however has the realization dawn on me that only the surface has been scraped in
regards to my knowledge of leadership. The possibilities of subject are itself limitless.
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A Personal Journey
Leadership, the necessary skills and attributes to become a leader, layers and theories, can
not be discussed in this essay, in any further detail, without an illustration of my own
personal leadership development and experience. It has been many years since I embarked
on my own journey to becoming a leader and the lessons I have learned and continue to
learn are essential to the argument presented in this essay.
I do believe I was born with many of the characteristics mentioned, maintained to be
essential in good leadership. I have always been overly optimistic and imaginative. Some of
my most esteemed values include honesty, integrity, honor and humility. In general most
people like me after getting to know me. My foundational layer then seems to have always
been in place. What was certain to me, at the beginning of my journey, was that that
essential set of leadership skills was lacking and the process to attain them would be a long
and arduous one.
"We have today, at best, only faint clues of what the future may hold, but we are confident
that without leadership the possibilities will neither be envisioned nor attained." (Kouzes
and Posner 2011)
It was either the summer or fall of 2007 when I wrote my own personal strategic plan,
deciding firmly that by the time I completed my Bachelor's degree I would be en route to
becoming a great leader. All I had to do was work on obtaining those skills. A few I already
had a decent grip on.
Up until my third year in college I was extremely shy with a massive fear of public speaking. I
barely took initiative as it pertained to project management or group assignments and I
seemed to be unaware of my own strengths and weaknesses. I did however yearn to
become someone of value, one who could make a difference in the world; a leader. This is
when I discovered a number of paths to leadership and I began working on my selfdevelopment.
Malcolm Gladwell in his is 2008 bestseller 'Outliers' popularized the '10,000 hour rule' which
claims that any success is achievable once deliberate practice is fulfilled for at least 10, 000
hours of time. I have not logged that number of hours as yet I do not believe but I engaged
in leadership research and development every day since starting my journey.
Looking at myself in layers, the foundational seemed intact and sufficient but nothing is ever
what it seems. Although some of the core attributes were present in myself my emotional
intelligence needed attention as well. Learning then is all-encompassing and a good leader
knows that even when the abilities are well developed, mastery is the final stage.
My leadership competencies needed to be developed rapidly as graduation came about and
so the first step in my strategic plan involved eliminating my fear of public speaking by
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joining the university's debate team. It opened up an entire new world of communication,
argumentative reasoning and knowledge. It also helped me to realize my passion for politics
and a yearning to go into the public sector after graduation. In particular I stayed abreast
with Caribbean and Latin American politics and public policies allowing my focus on
marketing, which was my major, to shift to government and political science. I also became
obsessed with leaders like JFK and Malcolm X. What could I learn from these almost
mythical and legendary men, who impacted not only their countries but others? What
historical lessons could mean something for my own personal leadership development? I
downloaded audio books by Brian Tracy and John Maxwell on time management and
coaching, change management and in particular leadership for women. These books taught
me yes, up to an extent, about honesty, integrity and empathy however what I was
educated in involved the steps to creating a collective vision, challenging the status quo,
becoming a vessel for change, thinking strategically and critically before acting and
embracing who I was in order to lead successfully.
Over the last seven years I have engulfed myself with leadership training and development
and have excelled in my career for it. My learning curves have allowed me to become a
candidate for Department Head, a new goal in my current career plan, nevertheless I am
certain that as I develop so will, not only my leadership skills, but the quality of my
character. This I expect then to help me to become a candidate for Prime Minister in the
future.
One thing is certain, that the expertise and personality traits necessary to becoming a great
leader will evolve and change as time goes on. I understand also now that I will have to
tailor my development to my goals and environment and this concept reiterates the
importance of the skills of a leader, above all other elements.
Leadership, Skills and the Environment
Because of the expansive nature of leadership, it is imperative to understand the type of
leader one needs to become in order to thrive in a particular environment. For theories like
Situational and Functional, where the leader must and has the ability to change their
behaviour in order to adapt to the particular circumstances in question, much attention is
placed on those underlying and sometimes unknown habits and traits that are beyond the
leader's control. For the purpose of this argument we refer again to the Integrated
Psychology theory and Scouller's idea that the greatest leaders typically possess something
special beyond their behaviour that garners the attention and trust of those they must
lead while allowing them to be successful; a sort of leadership presence.
At any junction in leadership it is clear that the skills involved are more central and relevant
when seen in comparison to those natural attributes a leader already possesses. Cognitive
development is introduced at this stage because of the significance in the fact that leaders
need to understand how to navigate through uncertain internal and external environmental
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factors while maintaining the confidence, ability and power to achieve results. Certainly
both the foundational and fundamental layers are intact as the leader dives deeper into
their mental capacity in order to ultimately, direct people and achieve goals.
When we look at leadership and how it changes in different environments or circumstances,
we have to wonder whether a great leader would perform highly anywhere? How does a
leader adapt to a circumstance when he has already been trained and prepared for
another? Why is it important to continuously work toward the development of new skills?
Innovation, inspiration and the ability to mobilize persons translate into any situation. These
are competencies that all great leaders will possess. Another element of leadership is
passion and the ability to articulate one's leadership philosophy into a way of life. Leaders
are also bold and daring and confident. Mastering these components will allow the leader to
thrive in any environment once they continue to work as hard as they did when first
becoming a leader. And so this means that a continuous effort must be placed on
development of skills and understanding as it regards people, success, the world and life in
general.
A first step however for the leader transitioning from one environment to the next is selfevaluation and critique in comparison with the goals and change needed in the new setting.
Leaders must also be able to evaluate their current abilities, strengths, weaknesses and
possibilities for growth and improvement.
In studying leadership and situations one cannot deny the importance of gender as well. The
psychology behind leadership training for women differs greatly for that of men as it
concerns centuries of particular views and behaviours. The skill set necessary for the
successful female leader will be a slightly different to that of her male counterpart. This idea
of differences in approach based on gender is an excellent topic to be developed further. It
has become also very popular in the mainstream media as more women continue to break
the barriers to entry to a number of industries.
What about public sector vs. private sector leadership? Due to the complexity of politics and
bureaucracy it is hard not to believe that the political leader must be more adept at diverse
particulars within change management and people development and strategic planning as
opposed to a leader in a private company. Here it is clear that the attributes will assist
greatly yes in the leader garnering respect and inspiration perhaps from the followers
however the necessary expertise will make the difference in succeeding or failing at
whatever the mission or task.
The scopes of the environment and required transformation are considerably different
whether due to financial or national implications. This is why the adaption of the leader and
his or her skills are so important. The followers themselves have different make-ups,
aspirations and motivations but any good leader will have the ability to navigate through a
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specific environment and if necessary develop any additional skills needed in order to
succeed.
Conclusion
Have we seen all the leadership theories that can be developed in the information age? The
answer to this question is like leadership itself; the future is unknown however the
possibilities exist and are knocking.
This essay has attempted to argue the position that leadership is more about skills than
attributes. Through a multi-layered approach and highlighting a personal journey the
reasoning presented reinforces that competencies and pursuit of such are essential in
leadership development however that the existence of the two elements is important.
Leaders will continue to grow and adapt and change with the times but what is certain is
that they will continue to possess some of the time-honoured values and traits mentioned
in this essay and will require a myriad of skills, in addition to what they already possess, in
order to achieve the lofty goals they usually set out for themselves.
Abilities like strategic planning, self-mastery and time management will continue to be the
subjects of literature, seminars and workshops throughout the world as millions of people
decipher for themselves, the question on how to become a leader in their own right and
ponder the numerous steps needed to get there.

References
Kruse, K. (2013) What Is Leadership? Forbes Magazine (online)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkruse/2013/04/09/what-is-leadership/
Kouzes, J. and Posner B. (2012) The Leadership Challenge. Jossey-Bass.
Scouller, J. (2011) The Three Levels of Leadership: How to Develop Your Leadership Presence,
Knowhow and Skill. Management Books 2000.
Gladwell, M. (2011) Outliers: The Story of Success. Back Bay Books.