Developing a Leadership Philosophy
It is very telling that one of our last activities focuses on reflection and communication. It is telling because these are the two characteristics emphasized throughout each of my leadership classes. Reflection deals with a leader’s ability to internalize learning. Communication incorporates a leader’s ability to develop relationships and influence them effectively. I firmly believe both characteristics are the keys to effective leadership. A number of experts concur believing that a leader must start with knowledge of oneself and develop that into an ability to communicate, share ideas, visions, and listen to others.
KNOWING ONESELF
Bolman and Deal (1994) summarize management and leadership as follows, “management provides consistency, control, and efficiency. But leadership is needed to foster purpose, passion, and imagination” (p.77). Fullan (2001) points to the Bolman and Deal description of leadership and focuses on the fostering of purpose. Fullan (2001) agrees with Sergiovanni’s thoughts that, “authentic leaders anchor their practice in ideas, values, and commitments, exhibit distinctive qualities of style and substance, and can be trusted to be morally diligent in advancing the enterprises lead” (p.14). Fullan (2001) posits that the moral purpose of a leader and the success of an organization are synonymous.
FINDING A MORAL COMPASS
Where does a leader find his/her moral purpose? Bolman and Deal (2001) write that a leader must “lead from something deep in [his/her] heart” (p.23). For me, my moral purpose/compass is deeply rooted in my Christian faith. I have a firm belief in what is right and wrong, ethical and unethical. These concepts are not ambiguous for me. I have resour...
... middle of paper ...
...pose to elevate others, to give what one has to help others realize their potential, grow, and achieve their goals.
Works Cited
Bolman, L.G. & Deal, T.E. (1994). Looking for leadership: Another search party’s report.
Educational Administration Quarterly, 30(1), 77-96.
Fullan, Michael. (2001). Leading in a culture of change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Guiney, E. (2001). Coaching isn’t just for athletes: The role of teacher leaders. Phi Delta Kappan, 82(10), 740-743.
Maxwell, John C. (1998). The 21 irrefutable laws of leadership: Follow them and people
will follow you. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
Warren, Rick. (2002). A purpose driven life. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
*John Maxwell’s principles are adapted from “The Influential Leader: Unleashing the Power in People” nationwide satellite simulcast from Atlanta, Georgia, 29 April 2005.
The most valuable commodity of any great organization is the quality of good people. Almost everyone has good intentions but leaders acknowledge what needs to be done and has the ability to inspire others to respond. Nonetheless the author conveys the differences between leadership of past generation versus this generation. As society loses confidence in leadership techniques of the past, it begins to look for management wit...
Leadership training programs allow for teachers to use their professional experience as an educator and combine it with the academic and hands on experience of being a leader by providing a comprehensive program. Leadership “…is learnable by providing real world leadership training” (Ramsey, 2006, p.xx). The training program prepares educators to be leaders and equips them with the tools necessary to be an effective leader. There is a need for an “,,,infusion ...
Transformational leadership also integrates well with a biblical worldview because both advocate valuing followers as well as leaders, the importance of ethical behavior, the need to forgive and learn from mistakes, and the value of a high moral example. Kouzes and Posner advocate leaders having a “moral authority to lead” (2007, p. 41), practicing personal accountability and working to improve all aspects of their follower’s lives. This others-centered leadership approach fits well in the Christ centered atmosphere of a Christian school.
Flaherty, J. (2011). Coaching: Evoking excellence in others (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
Leaders do not just appear out of thin air and automatically start making great things happen in the world. A leader must learn from prior leaders or role models that they are surrounded by that they look up to. Not everyone can be a leader, only some people have the correct characteristics it takes to lead others in the right direction. Those who do great things, for example volunteering at a homeless shelter, are not leaders. Many people mistake a “great person” as being a leader, which is completely incorrect (Kouzes and Posner, p. 3). While playing an active role in your community is a positive thing it does not make someone a leader of that community. All leaders have a group of people they have inspiration too and that is a good way of determining who your personal leaders are. My mother, brother, and grandfather are my leaders because I have always looked up to them and tried to mimic some of the great things that I have seen them do. My mother has always been an independent women with goals and an action plan to accomplish those set goals. Stephen, my elder brother, is outgoing and tends to have a leveled head when it comes to evaluating stressful situations. My grandfather is the most caring person I know and he is amazing at keeping situations under control in order to please everyone. These are all the qualities I want to combine into my own leadership style. I know I am not a efficient leader of these actions yet, but I plan on growing into this as I more on into my career, fulfill my set goals, and adjust to the curve-balls that life throws at me.
Leadership is contagious throughout the world and most importantly in the Army. It is not just my view, but of all leaders, at all levels, that organizations are responsible for setting conditions that lead to long-term organizational success. As I reflect on my experiences, through experience and observation, I realize how my values, beliefs, and perspectives about leadership continuously evolve over time. Recognizing these changes over time helps me better understand that people in organizations have different perspectives in life. This leadership narrative serve as important guiding principles for how I will lead at the organizational level and represents my thought, values and beliefs.
The qualities that make a good leader are as varied as the people that fill leadership roles. Some leaders aren’t overly dynamic but somehow get the best out of people while others appear to be too carefree to take seriously. What is it then that makes leaders who they are? A personal philosophy of leadership is that distinguishing trait that every leader possesses. What those leadership characteristics and behaviors are will be explored in the following text, along with what I believe is the best route for me to follow as I work on developing my own personal philosophy of leadership.
My leadership style is primarily participative. Consultation contributes to more effective decisions leveraging the collective wisdom of the group, and, by soliciting their input, a greater degree of personal interest and satisfaction from participants (Yukl, 2013, p. 107). No one has all the answers, but together, in an open and trusting environment, all of us can collaborate toward a solution (Bennis, 2009, p. 133). Consultation and delegation within a shared philosophical framework serves to build support, personal investment, and leadership capacity amongst participants (Yukl, 2013, p. 384).
Unfortunately, being inspiring to employees is not enough. These situations occur when employees face challenges in accomplishing goals. In such situations, a leader needs to exercise power and influence to push forth the desired goals. While the course identified five sources of power, I believe only three should be considered for an effective leader. The first is legitimate power (6), which is often considered the first source of power in the organizations I have worked in. The source of power comes...
Good morning Master Chief Marlatt and Senior Enlisted Leadership Class 66. My leadership philosophy has been heavily influenced by my career as a Surfman and some of the people I have served with. First, what is a good leader? Many of my peers would say a person who is a good lifeboat driver. Does that person have the guys to cross a rough bar at night? Those are things that I think a lot of Surfmen would say a good leader is.
Discovering what motivates this leader to lead is the belief that this she was sent to this earth to help others become autonomous and self-reliant; to help groups overcome their fears, to prepare the way for followers to embark upon their own progressive journey to help lead teams to authentic happiness. Therefore the proposed vision for this project oriented organization will be: “to strive to lead, the best way, every day (Crawford, 2013)!” Brilliant leaders comprehend their personal and professional strengths and seek prospects where their unique profici...
The leadership is a privilege and it is such a privilege and an honor which will carry the tremendous responsibility which will inspire others to direct them to accomplish goals and vision of the organization. Leadership is about influencing the people, by producing direction, purpose and motivating in order to accomplish the mission, vision and improving the organization. The leadership philosophy is evolved based on the experiences, both positive and negative, in most of the initiatives and activities that we undertake. It is also one among the collaboration and teamwork within which the team members can utilize each other’s strengths to counter the weaknesses of the individuals. By observing, introspecting and experimenting we can developed a leadership paradigm which is inclusive, collaborative and proactive. We can develop the ability to recognize which will approach in order to reach the productive conclusion. The great leaders know their limitations and are capable at utilize their strengths and also the strengths of others to compensate.
Great leadership is not achieved over night, and it is not something that one achieves and stops. Great leaders spend entire lives building and growing their leadership skills. It is not likely that a leader will one day wake up with all of the vision, influence, knowledge, respect, and momentum necessary to be great; these take time to develop. “It is the capacity to develop and improve their skills that distinguishes leaders from their followers.”
Throughout my life, my experiences and role models have shaped my understanding of leadership. I believe leadership is responsibly guiding and motivating others to use both my strengths and their own to obtain success. My personal leadership philosophy is guided by my core values of my family, relationships, loyalty, harmony, and responsibility. My ever-changing definition of philosophy helps my leadership and decision making routinely. New experience’s and external forces effect my translation of leadership daily which, in turn, helps shape me into a successful leader.
In leadership, the words and actions of leaders are in the spotlight of followers, moral failures often precede the loss of integrity; however, integrity can also be lost by failing to do the simple things such as following through on a promise or dodging a commitment (Stewart, 2003). Jesus requires integrity in leadership even in small matters; thus, when it comes to integrity, small matters can also be huge ones in Christian leadership (Stewart, 2003). Outside the confines of Christian leadership, one challenge to secular leadership is the ego of the leader; hence, the ego of a business executive can be a very destructive force and can prevent a good company from becoming a great company (Kleinman, 2004). Businesses that are termed successful have leaders with ambition but no ego; therefore, those leaders with ambition but no ego, ultimately place the business or institution above themselves (Kleinman, 2004). Ego comes at a great cost to leadership because of pride, in the end, pride leads to blindness in decision making and unavoidable future regret. My own view on the biggest challenge to leadership is developing management effectiveness. Management is frequently defined in terms of being a systematic process that controls people and resources; thus, with an overlap between leadership and management, many leaders greatly need