How does skills inventory make you a better leader?

       Skills approach, similar to trait approach focuses a leader-centered standpoint on leadership, but it stresses and highlights abilities and skills that can be learned, trained, developed, and acquired (Northouse, 2007). Leadership skills are identified “as the ability to use one’s knowledge and competencies to accomplish a set of goals or objectives” (Northouse, p.40). In other words, companies may utilize a standardized set of measures or principles in evaluating the existing ability stages or training requirements of senior staffs, executives, managers or leaders.      My scores on the Skills Inventory in all three skills and aspects are reasonably balanced. My technical skill score was 28, my human skill score was 29, and my conceptual skill score was 30. As an executive and leader of the company, I spend more time in planning or setting future directions or objectives of the organization. I am a conceptual person and good in ideas or innovations with fewer score in technical skill (e.g., less and limited knowledge or expertise to carry out technical matters of physical operation, such as fixing the machines or making the actual products or goods). On the other hand, I supposed my conceptual skill and human skill aspects to be the best (e.g., they both have always been areas of my strong points).  I need good human skills or people skills (e.g., knowledge or know-how about and capability to work with people, and acclimatize my own plans or ideas to those others) that help me to work effectively with employees, sub-trades, general contractors, store owners and investors or broad members to achieve the firm’s objectives and strategies.

      Northouse (2007) analyzes human skills and proficiency “allow a leader to assist group members in working cooperatively as a group to achieve common goals… [Leaders] create an atmosphere of trust where employees can feel comfortable and secure and where they can feel encouraged to become involved in the planning of things that will affect them” (p.41). As a senior manager and organizer with people skill, I need to consider and understand the inspirations, motivations, or needs of others, especially in main organizational decision making.

     In terms of conceptual skills, they relate to the abilities to perform, succeed, or bring about concepts, innovations, and ideas. Northouse (2007) examines and claims leaders with conceptual skills are “good at putting the company’s goals into words and can understand and express the economic principles that affect the company… [They work] easily with abstractions and hypothetical notions” (p.42). In this case, it is true, I always use my conceptual skills to construct and create a vision (e.g., adding new product lines or customer services, and find out how to get more returns or profits, and improve the value of stakeholders) or business plans to the company. In order to achieve the organizational goals and build an effective and efficient management team and labor force, I do a lot of psychological works or setting of creating organizational policies and company directions. On the whole, conceptual skills are very significant to top executives, leaders, and middle managers (e.g., to lead the organization or the industry, and deal with governments, public, investors and employees), but less noteworthy to lower management ranks.

     In all, as technical skills deal with things or objects, and human skills relate to group, people, or stakeholders (including employees, managers, investors, suppliers, governments, communities, and consumers), and conceptual skills engage the capability to bring about ideas, conceptions, or innovations. I consider this test of skills inventory is reasonably and fairly truthful. From this measure, if I expect to be a high efficient and effective leader, I must improve my technical skill (e.g., read more industrial, mechanical or scientific magazines, books, newsletters, or information sheets). Under the notion of leadership skills inventory, leaders are made or trained, not born (PSA, 2009). Last but not least, skills inventory (e.g., evaluates and assesses leadership path or skills, and improves a leader’s influence, teamwork, and output or efficiency) offers top executives, leaders and managers with the needed and indispensable criteria or competence to advance their leadership skills (PSA, 2009). Skills, education, training and knowledge are all powers. Skills inventory is very significant in the subject matters of leadership. Increasing cost effective and efficient, improving communication, design, change, culture and business ethics, and advancing values of stakeholders, customer services and management excellence are the main objectives of organizational management and leadership.

References

Northouse, P. G. (2007). Leadership (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
       Publications Inc.

Professional sales academy (PSA). (2009). Leadership skills inventory and


       assessment.  Retrieved May 9, 2009, from

 http://www.salesacademy.ca/leadership_skills_assessment.html