ABSTRACT
When asked whether leadership can be taught, leading management educators’ responses vary from “probably not” to “absolutely yes.” There is greater consistency across responses in their belief that leadership could be learned. Most of the educators agreed that some aspects of leadership could be learned, especially leader skills, although the degree of successful learning is likely to vary given individual differences in attributes and motivation (Doh, 2003). Those who advance the perspective that leadership is teachable conceptualize effective leadership as a set of skills or competencies. Skills-based approaches focus on the capabilities that individuals possess to effectively perform organizational leadership roles (Mumford, Zaccaro, Harding, Jacobs, & Fleishman, 2000).
