Leadership Philosophy Paper
I included my leadership philosophy paper because I feel that this shows what I started out with (knowledge-wise) and what I learned in my first semester of leadership class. This gives a snapshot as to what I gained throughout the first course.
Part I:
My initial personal definition of leadership was inspiring and motivating a group of followers to accomplish a goal or task in an efficient and organized manner. First, a leader needs followers. Without followers, a leader isn’t really leading anyone. For a leader to gain his followers, the leader should have integrity and be persuasive. He needs to be able to gain the trust and respect of his followers and be able to steer them in the right way. For this to happen, the leader needs to have a clear vision of what needs to be done to accomplish the goal or task. The leader needs to define roles and jobs within the group and assign them to the right members. In addition, a leader needs to have communication skills. With these skills, the leader can better vocalize the actions to be done in the group to accomplish the task. This was my view on leadership before taking the class.
Because of this class, my views on leadership have only grown while some of my views have been confirmed by the course. Throughout the year, the class has taught me that there is a lot more to leadership than I initially thought. For one, I learned that charisma is also an integral part to being a leader. Having charisma gives the leader charm and appeal and attracts others to them. Confidence is also an important factor in leadership. Without feeling confident in the ability to succeed, the chances of actually succeeding are not very high to begin with. In order to succeed, confidence is needed that the job can be done. Along with confidence, the leader also must have determination. The determined leader knows where they must go and how they are going to get there. Nothing will stand in their way and they will reach their destination no matter what. As I initially thought, sociability and the ability to communicate with others is a big factor in being a leader. A leader needs to have the capacity to establish pleasant social relationships with others in order to lead them. Another trait of leadership that was confirmed was the trait of integrity. Leaders with integrity inspire confidence in others because there is trust that the leader will do what they say they were going to do.
Part II:
I see myself as a democratic leader that can work with followers as a guide to steer them in the right place. Instead of yelling at my followers and giving them orders, I would work to create an environment where they are comfortable and can express their opinions of how the job should be done. I would not speak to them as if they were lower than me but instead speak on the same level as my followers, creating much motivation and creativity in achieving our goals. I would also create structure within the group or organization so that we could accomplish our goals as efficiently as possible.
Some traits I feel stand out for me more than others include having charisma, determination, sociability, and integrity. I have always been charismatic when put in a leadership role. I believe enthusiasm keeps my followers from being bored with the task and it creates more motivation to complete our task. Determination is also a big part of my leadership style. Ever since I was younger, I have always had determination to get whatever I was doing done. I hate unfinished tasks and I feel much better having accomplished my goals. I would use my communication skills and integrity to translate that quality of determination to the rest of my followers. Additionally, communication is a large part of my leadership style. For leaders to understand where I want to lead the group and how I want to lead, we must first be able to communicate so we can develop a mutual understanding of where we want to go and how we want to get there. Last, integrity might be the most important part of my leadership style. For my followers to listen to me, they must first put their trust in me. I get their trust by staying true to my morals and beliefs while also always doing what I say I will do. Additionally, I believe listening to your followers is another big part of integrity because, as a democratic leader, I made the promise to work with my subordinates and value their input and listening is a great way to maintain that integrity while also being a great communicator and overall leader.
I believe most of my leadership style was shaped by my parents. My parents always instilled the values of integrity and determination in me. They taught me that it was incredibly important to maintain my honesty and morality in whatever I do. In addition, they taught me to never give up in what I am doing. Determination is really the driving force behind completing a task. Ever since I was young, I was always incredibly talkative and sociable. I have just always loved to talk to people. I believe this is a large part behind my current leadership style, as I know how to communicate well and build healthy relationships with my followers. For instance, in high school I was my show choir dance captain. Many of my good friends were in the show choir and it was weird having to lead them at first. As time went along, I used my relationships with them to lead them in making our show choir one of the best in the nation. They trusted me and we worked together as I used my leadership styles in making that happen.
Part III
I honestly see myself being a leader in whatever I decide to do with my life. If I become a psychiatrist, I would love to open up my own practice and start my own business. I would use my communication and people skills in bringing people to work with me while also using my integrity to get them trust that I am worthy of their time. If I become a musician, I would also need to exemplify my leadership skills as I would need to use my determination to gain success in that area no matter what stands in my way and I would also need charisma and communication skills to gain a nice fan base that would listen to whatever music I put out.
There are a few areas that involve leadership in which I do still need to grow. These include intelligence and confidence. I am naturally intelligent but a leader must be extremely knowledgeable in whatever field they are working in. Sometimes I have a hard time learning and so this is one thing I must grow in. Another thing is confidence. Many times, I’m not sure what others think of me so that could potentially interfere with my leadership skills. I need to grow the complete confidence that others believe in me that I can lead them to accomplish whatever task that needs to be done. If I develop these other skills, I should be well on my way to becoming an excellent leader in succeeding in my goals and dreams.