Personal Leadership
LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY PAPER
Introduction
There are as many leadership philosophies as people and rightly so. Each person is unique in their own ways with specific personality traits and aptitudes which make them who they are. While some people are more naturally inclined towards leadership than others, the majority of leaders are developed through the continued honing of their leadership skills. Along their leadership journeys people acquire various skills and paradigms allowing them to extend and apply themselves beyond their own natural abilities. While people cannot change their genetic makeup, they can take specific action and make certain decisions to help them be an effective leader.
In this paper I will discuss three leadership concepts (personal integrity, transforming leadership, and encouraging and enabling others) which convey my leadership philosophy. Finally, I will illustrate how the adaptation of these three concepts would help a person lead their organization more effectively.
PERSONAL INTEGRITY
There are many leaders and managers in our world who are given titles, yet fail to lead, guide, or unite their constituents because they fail to model their expectations. In The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner (2002) begin a discussion of modeling by saying “Titles are granted, but it’s your behavior that wins you respect” (p.14). While salaries and titles may have some personal value to a leader, they mean little to their subordinates and may even be a target for criticism for some if a leader lacks integrity.
As a leader, it is critical to model the way and move forth with servant leadership. Servant leadership is different from the traditional power-based leadership in many ways. Robert Greenleaf (2005) defines and identifies the goals of servant leadership by saying this:
“The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The
Introduction
There are as many leadership philosophies as people and rightly so. Each person is unique in their own ways with specific personality traits and aptitudes which make them who they are. While some people are more naturally inclined towards leadership than others, the majority of leaders are developed through the continued honing of their leadership skills. Along their leadership journeys people acquire various skills and paradigms allowing them to extend and apply themselves beyond their own natural abilities. While people cannot change their genetic makeup, they can take specific action and make certain decisions to help them be an effective leader.
In this paper I will discuss three leadership concepts (personal integrity, transforming leadership, and encouraging and enabling others) which convey my leadership philosophy. Finally, I will illustrate how the adaptation of these three concepts would help a person lead their organization more effectively.
PERSONAL INTEGRITY
There are many leaders and managers in our world who are given titles, yet fail to lead, guide, or unite their constituents because they fail to model their expectations. In The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner (2002) begin a discussion of modeling by saying “Titles are granted, but it’s your behavior that wins you respect” (p.14). While salaries and titles may have some personal value to a leader, they mean little to their subordinates and may even be a target for criticism for some if a leader lacks integrity.
As a leader, it is critical to model the way and move forth with servant leadership. Servant leadership is different from the traditional power-based leadership in many ways. Robert Greenleaf (2005) defines and identifies the goals of servant leadership by saying this:
“The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The