My Leadership Philosophy

Authenticity is an important character trait that defines an exemplary leader or an effective follower within an organization and it comes with a price. The cost of knowing oneself or self-awareness arises from looking within myself, gleaning from past experiences, learning from my present circumstances, and looking forward to the future will determine the leadership path that I will take. One of my favorite quotes by Booker T. Washington defines what all of us have within us, the power to change ourselves and the world one baby step at a time; "Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome”. Nothing in life worth having comes easy. In a very personal way,

Leadership is about caring about making a difference, sharing a common purpose with others, and leaving a permanent mark in this world.

Leaders show the way by example. One of my weak points in the Student Leadership Practice Inventory was to be able to align principals and standards with others and to support common values. A difficult task to commence but I now understand that by sharing a common purpose, collectively we can reach our goal. The Student Leadership Challenge describes leaders as dreamers, idealists, and possibility thinkers, in other words inspiring a vision.

I have always loved working with children because of their innocence in their faces and their openness. One discussion board that we participated in was to define a problem that needed to be solved. Small towns are wonderful places to live, but they also come with their own struggles when they are located far from major cities. Before dental hygiene school I really didn’t pay too much attention to people’s teeth. Now, my understanding of oral health care has grown and I believe that there is a greater need for dental education within the public school system and the local elementary school is a great place to

Initially starting an oral health program through the schools will take a risk. Are the schools going to allow the program? Is it going to be beneficial for the kids or will it fall on deaf ears? The book describes that achieving the extraordinary requires being willing to do things that you’ve never done before, testing strategies that are unproven, and welcoming others to join in the journey of uncertainty. Of course, testing strategies like promoting a new school program entails generating small wins and learning from the experience by employing pilot