Northouse, Leadership 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2022
Class Activities
Chapter 3: Skills Approach
Activities
These activities may be used in either small-group or large-group settings, depending on class size and
Skills Inventory
Have students complete the Skills Inventory individually and share their results in small groups. Compile
Skills Application #1
Break students into small groups and ask them to share their career plans with each other. What kinds
of skills are needed for the jobs they hope to have someday (or are currently in)? Using the Katz Three-
Skill approach, what technical skills are necessary? Human skills? Conceptual skills? Using the Mumford
Skills Application #2
Break students into small groups and ask them to share their career plans with each other. Using the
Mumford Skills Model, have them share how each of the four social judgment competencies
(perspective-taking, social perceptiveness, behavioral flexibility, and social performance) would be
Skills Application #3
Break students into small groups and ask them to share their career plans with each other. Using the list
of nine key problem-solving skills, have them share which skills would be especially useful in that career.
Northouse, Leadership 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2022
Current Event Application
Ask students to work in pairs or small groups to choose a current event (e.g., hurricane damage in
Houston and the Caribbean, protests about Confederate monuments) and conceptualize how leaders
Leader Motivation
Show a clip from the film, “Stand and Deliver” that begins in the faculty meeting where Ms. Molina says
she’s sure every teacher is already doing all s/he can to help the underachieving students in their school
in Los Angeles. Mr. Escalante replies, “I’m not,” and in the next scene, we see him aggressively ramping
up expectations of students in his freshman math class. Show several minutes of him conducting the
Case Analysis
Assign each case to one or more small groups for in-class analysis and discussion. Each small group
should then report back to the entire class about the results of its group work.
Create a Skit
Divide the class into groups of 6–10. Have each team create a skit depicting how the Mumford Skills
Model works. Allow about 15 min for planning and rehearsing. Each team should present its skit to the
rest of the class. Debrief: (a) The MSK is a capability model, showing how leadership skills are related to
Group Observation
Ask students to write a 3–4-page analysis of an established group they belong to, that has at least two
levels of authority or hierarchy. Some examples would be a sports team (with coaches, managers,
Northouse, Leadership 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2022
each person have? (Students will be operationalizing skills here.) Are there differences in skills between
lower level and upper level employees? What explanations might students have for this? How well do
Level in org. or
group
Technical skill
Human skill
Conceptual skill
Person 1
Person 2
Writing Assignments
Contemporary Leadership
Have students write a 2–3-page reaction paper about a contemporary leader (someone they know
personally or a public figure) and the leadership skills they think this person demonstrates. Students
Contemporary Leadership #2
Have students select a leader (e.g., mayor, state senator, college president) responsible for addressing
or solving a current issue in their jurisdiction (e.g., hurricane relief, whether to remove a Confederate
monument from their campus, racial profiling by police, gun violence). Have them research the media
coverage of the leader’s statements, decisions, and implementation. In a 3–5 page analysis, students
Northouse, Leadership 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2022
Historic Leadership (F, A, I, H, C, L)
Ask students to research what important national events occurred during the 1950s. What was Katz
(1955) responding to in his environment? Who were some key social leaders during that decade?
Skills Inventory
Have students write a 2–3-page reaction paper that explains their score on the Skills Inventory,
Skills Assessment
Short Dialogue
Have students write a 2–3-page dialogue between a trait approach researcher and a skills approach
One-Minute Paper Topics
How can leadership skills be demonstrated by college students in the classroom?
If you were to teach this class next time, what would you improve?
Internet Activities
Internet #1: Class Blog
In your class blog or chat room, write about some of the discussion questions provided elsewhere in this
resource to explore topics in this chapter. Some additional questions are suggested here:
• How are skills related to age? Which skills might improve with age? Decline?
Northouse, Leadership 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2022
• Both the skills models are based on interpersonal (face-to-face) communication. In a virtual
Internet #2: The Five Ls
Look up “Leadership Skills: Qualities of a Great Leader,” on YouTube. The speaker is a British rock
Internet #3: Grunt Work
In the 1990s, Mumford and his colleagues conducted a study of 1,800 Army officers to identify the
leadership factors that lead to exemplary job performance. This research led to the development of the
Internet #4: Tweeting like a Leader
If you have asked students in Week 1 to follow a thought leader on Twitter throughout the term, have
them report on how the leader’s tweets do or don’t reflect technical skill, human skill, or conceptual
Internet #5: Skyping a Leader
If your classroom has Skyping capability, invite a community leader or a business professional to speak
to your class about leadership. Ask them to share what skills are needed for people working in their
Northouse, Leadership 9e
SAGE Publishing, 2022
Internet #6: Listening like a Leader
Listening is not mentioned specifically in Chapter 3 as a leadership skill. However, it is part of human skill
(Katz Three-Skill Approach) and the social judgment competencies (Mumford Skills Model). Leaders
need to listen in order to understand followers’ needs and perspectives. Who would the students
identify as great listeners? What do these listeners do that’s so effective? Then go online and pull up