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.
Every leader must be able to accept the fact that they are not perfect and each person has things that they exceed at and things that come with a bit of difficulty. I do not see myself as being outstanding in a certain area but I do think that one of my talents is adjusting to change. When I came off to college I did miss my family a lot, but I kept myself busy by being more outgoing and finding new/different things to do. One of the reasons why I am probably so good at adapting to change is because I want change; I love switching things around and doing stuff another way.
To be a great leader there are many qualities you must have. The hard part is actually knowing what qualities you need, because their are different types of leaders. For example you might be a business leader. These leaders do everything they can to motivate their co-workers, make sure the business stays firm, and also are well prepared for any crises that may occur. Anne Mulcahy the CEO of Xerox surely didn’t know her business was going to undertake many financial barriers, but instead of letting it get her and filing for bankruptcy, she took full responsibility and lead the business towards success by reducing the company’s workforce and eliminating the entire desktop portion of Xeron. According to U.S. News &
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.
I am also a role model to them by not giving up on my goals and teaching them about the importance of family and how you should spend quality time with the people you love. The third and last reason I exemplify the traits of leadership is because I lead by example in the community. I show good manners like please and thank you along with opening doors and helping other people. If I see someone that is struggling to carry something or if they drop an item and need help picking it up, I do not hesitate to step in and help the person in need. I have observed that a simple smile and a friendly gesture of hello can go a long way when being nice to someone to make their day better in anyway I know how to.
Becoming a leader is never an easy task. It is complex with rational decision making and accepting responsibility for those decisions. Being the leader, does not mean that you always make the best choice, but it does mean you learn and grow from all you experiences. Sometimes becoming a leader is not a choice, but a responsibility that you inherit. Leaders are not born, but are created through trial and error. A true leader cares for his subordinate and will always respect, listen, and mentor them, but a true leader will also discipline correct subordinates when needed. Sometimes a leader needs to depend on his faith and look to a higher power, so that he can make choices with guidance.
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.
In order for a leader to be a leader, he/she must begin with the assumption that you are the one who matters most. As a leader you have to possess that level of confidence in yourself that you are capable of leading yourself “before you can lead others”. And when you develop this belief then you are better able to affirmatively influence “on others”. A leader needs to “believe” in himself and have the confidence that whatever you say will excite and what you do can motivate others. You must be optimistic about what you do, to have some relevance to being in existence.
When people think of leadership so many things rush through their heads. For example am I a leader, am I apart of a group that has a leader, and what does being a leader mean? A common definition of being a leader is a person who leads or guides a group of people. So now knowing the definition of a leader who pops into your head; Phil Jackson, Mike Krzyzewski, Martin Luther King Jr.? All of these people are great leaders, but the real question is why are they so great? One very important thing that all these men have in common is they have a philosophy of leadership. This philosophy is going to help guide these men during turbulent times, or when they need guidance themselves. Nobody is perfect and everyone needs direction no matter how wise or gifted you are. I am no different, which is why writing this philosophy of leadership is going to be a fruitful experience for years to come.
Everyone has their own ideas of what a leader is, what they might look like, act like or maybe what their accomplishments were. They, who are the leaders are the ones who have made a changed in the world and have shown people how true leaders are recognized as. They may have made mistakes in life, but they each take leadership and they each are unique, having their own personalities and an individual quality that makes them a true leader. A leader can portray attributes like courage: having bravery and overcoming fears, confidence: to believe in oneself, and action: to be able to accomplish amazing deeds for the benefit of family, friends and others.
Leadership is being able to direct or guide other people by either your own actions or by actually guiding them into the right direction (Acumen). Inspiration to be a leader might come from many different areas like your family, friends, peers, or even teachers. My inspiration didn’t really occur to me until I started attending college in August 2013. In all actuality I never even thought of how to be a leader until I was in Mrs. Moore’s Perspectives class. I now have a desire to be a great leader, and the inspiration has come from Mrs. Moore, and my family. I am the first to attend college out of my family, so in a away I have already started leading my siblings in the right direction. Being a leader means inspiring others to pursue their dreams, and aspirations and helping throughout the journey to success. Being a leader has nothing with authority or being able to tell other what, and how to do things, it’s about having people who look up to you and want to follow your example.
To be a leader you need to be able to inspire others, get people motivated, and set an example to other people. A leader needs to do all of these because if one of these aspects fails people don’t look at the leader...
A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. One does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent. First of all, leadership is something that is managed and not given. It is true that most leaders will focus solely on the negative aspects and often refer to negative bias. This is because our brains are hardwired to solely focus on the negative part of incident.
Traits of a good leader are trustworthiness, respectfulness, honesty, and be stern. When you have leaders that take their role seriously, you can form a backbone to an organization that cannot be broken. You have born leaders and you have trained leaders. Martin Luther King was a natural born leader for the Civil Rights movement. King saw there was something that needed to be changed and he took the steps to change the world.
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.
Throughout my life I have encountered the chance to experience position of being a leader. Being part of groups in university for class presentations, being the organizing secretary of my campus fellowship, being a youth leader in my church and the church admin, also being part of a family. Leaders are charismatic, inspirational and trust worthy. I have gained some important qualities of being a good leader through these experiences. Most of the valuable leadership’s characteristics that I obtained and strengthened are: learn to become a better leader every day, how to be a team player, to be a better listener, to be an effective communicator, to have more patience, not afraid of constructive criticism, to be outspoken, and to be a problem solver. Even though I have gained a lot, I still have more things to learn to become a better leader such as being more assertive, being more disciplined, becoming a better public speaker, and learn how to be realistic and not too optimistic. You are a leader if someone else choses to follow you.
When I think of someone who is a great leader I automatically think about current and previous managers I have had over the years, and honestly I cannot say that any of them are the definition of a great leader. So after I looked up many different definitions of a leader all of them basically defined a leader in the same way, someone who leads people. So, a leader does not typically have to be a manager it could be a teacher or a parent. That is when I realize that a great leader has always been right in front of me teaching me great values, and that is my mother.