rtant to direct leaders). The conceptual skills required of an executive leader are needed in order to gather information from both external and internal sources, make sense of this information, and provide interpretations of this information to subordinates. One of the important conceptual skills in this model is environmental scanning: purposefully searching for information by knowing what may be important, where to look, and what to ask to obtain the needed information. Another conceptual skill is decision making in situations where cause-and-effect outcomes are not clear; in these situations, many executives see decisions not as discrete events but as situations managed over time to achieve successful outcomes. A third conceptual skill is reducing the complexity of the total context and purpose when formulating guidelines for subordinates (Pamphlet 600-80, 1987, pp. 12-16).
Another model, which is applied chiefly to executive leaders in the business world, stresses five practices which are common to successful leaders: challenging the process, inspiring a shared vision, enabling others to act, modeling the way, and encouraging the heart. Challenging the process is a reflection of the view that leaders are pioneers and risk-takers. Good leaders recognize good ideas, from wherever they may come, and challenge the existing process in order to implement these ideas. Good leaders are also visionaries who share their visions with others and
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