RUNNING HEAD: Leadership Through The Lens of Skills Based Approach Theory

M. Martin
The Importance of Skills Based Approach Leadership When Working
With Leaders Within the Church
Dr. Herold
CMST 369- Leadership Communications
Dec. 2nd 2016
RUNNING HEAD: Leadership Through The Lens of Skills Based Approach Theory

There have been times where I have not felt qualified to lead in a

certain position or perform a role due to comparison. I compared

myself to how others performed in that position and deemed myself

incapable of handling that role because my gifts were not the same as

theres. Reggie McNeal, author of best-selling book, A Work of Heart,

says, When a leader loses heart, he loses. I have found this to be so

true in my own leadership journey. When I believe I cant do

something, I am confined to those limitations. Then there are times

when someone reassures me I can. These moments are important to

hold on to because it reminds me that often times we might not see

the value in ourselves but its there. We may have to rub the dirt off

and give it a polish but it is there. That is why I decided to study skills

based approach leadership because there are so many individuals that

have potential that needs to be exploited.

There are situations where it takes a very particular kind of

person to fill a role, but often times its a role that can be filled by

people who are ready to learn how to become a better leader. The

skills based approach believes just that, that many have the leadership

potential and what needs to be refined is their technical, conceptual

and human skills. The skills based leadership emphasizes the skills

and abilities of a candidate that can be learned and developed through

education and experience. The skills model identifies leaders individual

attributes that they are born with and offer, along with their
RUNNING HEAD: Leadership Through The Lens of Skills Based Approach Theory

competencies, and how career experiences and environmental

experiences factor in to produce an effective leader. The leaders

effectiveness is determined by their ability to solve complex

organizational problems.

There can be a wide variety of unique positions within a church;

some paid, volunteer, or support-raising positions. So the level of skill

required when entering a specific position also varies depending on the

need that needs to be filled. I am currently working as the small group

director for the college ministry at my church. I oversee the college

students who are committed volunteer leaders.

My job is to equip them to be better leaders by providing them

with resources, answers, accountability, and encouragement. I have

found, this is a role I strive in and would love to continue to work in a

similar role in a church in my future. For these volunteer leaders, it

requires a high level of commitment and a moderate level of

competence. In terms of situational leadership, I am able to use a

supporting style to aid my leaders in becoming a more reformed leader

and play on the abilities they are already bringing to the table. The

best quality they can bring to the group is their vulnerability to be

teachable and willingness to grow.

Conceptual skills demonstrate the ability to work with ideas and

concepts. This is and will continue to be an important part of my work

field. We will have many leaders come and go year after year and will
RUNNING HEAD: Leadership Through The Lens of Skills Based Approach Theory

be constantly training and bringing up new leaders. What we hope to

see in these individuals is that they can work easily with abstractions,

hypothetical notions, and goals. Often times the work itself within the

church is not consistent. The vision remains the same but new goals

are established, methods of achieving those goals are transformed and

the work is not the same day to day. This is a beautiful thing but can be

challenging for leaders who arent able to see the bigger picture.

Thats why conceptual knowledge is crucial to understanding the vision

of your workplace in order to be an effective leader.

The other main component that will be sought for in a volunteer

or employee in my line of work is there human skills. This is ability to

work with people is probably one of the most crucial parts. There is

such a benefit to making people feel welcomed and heard in a

community, whether in a church, school, sports team, or work

environment, being accepted is something everyone longs for. As a

leader if you can create a place that people experience this

acceptance, youre doing it right. For others to desire to follow your

leadership they often times must first respect your leadership. This

doesnt mean that people wont listen to their superior advisors

authority but when you respect your leadership and their vision for the

team it creates a follower that not only complies willingly but whole

heartedly.
RUNNING HEAD: Leadership Through The Lens of Skills Based Approach Theory

As the leader in this case it is import to establish that

relationship with your future employees; both yourself and for the

leaders youre leading. Within the territory of human skills a leader

should be able to not only create a friendly, family-like environment

but also be capable of making decisions for the good of the group,

addressing conflict, and initiating cooperation and teamwork within the

group. A leader who allows those their leading be entrusted to do the

same and provides critique yet room to grow is what this type of work

needs. Working in a leadership position in a church is a testimony to

how much adaptation is required for a team. Groups transform and so

must we.

One way I have seen this demonstrated is through leading

people who are older than you, wiser than you, or that you started the

job after. In a line of ministry there will always be people who seem like

a better candidate than yourself but sometimes you need to humble

yourself and accept the call to the job at hand. There is so much

humility that a leader must also learn. I have been personally able to

experience this through support raising. As an intern I am not a

volunteer nor paid by the church. Since the church doesnt have a

large profit to be just paying anyone, interns and some staff are

required to come up with their own pay through the process of support

raising. This entails asking family, friends, neighbors, church members,

companies, and other resources to financially support you through the

RUNNING HEAD: Leadership Through The Lens of Skills Based Approach Theory

giving of their money. This task is anything but easy. It requires a

complete stripping of your own pride to be able to be apart of this

mission that is bigger than yourself. It has been an incredibly

challenging and humbling experience and something I know I would

not have learned without the process that is support raising. It is likely

that working in a church or non-profit organization will require this of

me in the future as well. I can apply the skills I learned in my internship

and apply them to my future but also utilize them to benefit others

who will go through the same thing. I know as someone who will be

constantly being lead by people more experienced while at the same

time leading others, these human skills are important to develop within

others as well as yourself.

One of the most significant factors of the human skill

section is trust and understanding. In a church, as well as any group, it

is important that everyone is collectively moving in the same direction.

For this to truly work we need to have a meaningful level of trust for

our co-workers, followers, and leaders that they are doing what is

expected of them. We also need to be understanding. This includes

being sensitive to others feelings, ideas, and different perspectives.

Most individuals working at the church will have come from a different

home church with slightly different views and ways of doing things.

No one team will ever be on the same page but as long as we are able

to be sympathetic to letting other be heard and it concludes in striving

RUNNING HEAD: Leadership Through The Lens of Skills Based Approach Theory

towards the goal or direction the whole group should be moving, then

sacrifices can be made of ourselves when it comes to compromise. A

company called, Next Jump established this level of trust with their

employees through creating a policy that made it essentially

impossible to get fired. They dont want their employees to be driven

out of fear of losing their jobs or being punished for mistakes. Instead

when issues arise they support and coach their employees through a

process that enables them to better deal with the problems. In result,

engineers that work for Next Jump are being offered higher pays from

different companies and the engineers turn it down due to the level of

relation and safety they feel with Next Jump (Deliberate Development).

This is an example of how important it is to establish this environment.

One way human skills can be practically lived out in church

leadership is through the practice of discipleship. To make someone

your disciple essential means to invite them into your life and teach

them how you live and lead. Author of Leaders Eat Last, Simon Sinek

says, If youre going to do something incredible in your life, bring

someone with you. In times when I felt incompetent or out of place, I

always remember the leaders in my life who believed in me. One

person in specific comes to mind. This person invited me not only to be

apart of her work and taught me the ins and outs of the job but invited

me into her life. She asked me to spend time with her, study with her,

adventure with her, and eat with her. These things may all seem
RUNNING HEAD: Leadership Through The Lens of Skills Based Approach Theory

simple but there were huge for me at the time. This is something we

can all keep in mind today as we have followers looking up to us, that

the best way to teach them is to bring them along side us.

Skills based approach leadership when working with leaders

within the church is so beneficial to comprehend and utilize. It can

assist me in my future as I lead leaders to become better version of the

potential they offer. The human, conceptual and technical skills learned

in a work place can be learned and developed over time and through

experience so it is important to understand that to inquire the

character of the leader you are working with.

Bibliography
RUNNING HEAD: Leadership Through The Lens of Skills Based Approach Theory

DeliberateDevelopment. (n.d.). Retrieved December 01, 2016,

from https://www.nextjump.com/culture/

McNeal, R. (2000). A work of heart: Understanding how God

shapes spiritual leaders. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Sinek, S. (2014). Leaders eat last: Why some teams pull together

and others don't. NY, NY: Portfolio/Penguin.