My Leadership Philosophy
My leadership journey has been driven by my deep interest in people, relationships and community. Throughout my personal and professional development, I’ve worked with many organizations that follow a ‘code of conduct’ to consistently propel them towards their vision and mission and to set their organization and members apart from others. Below are my vision, core beliefs, commitments and goals regarding how I will engage as a leader.
My Vision
My vision is to support, be a catalyst and conduit of change for the next generations of leaders.
Core Leadership Beliefs
Self-awareness Is a must for the continuous learning process. As humans, our egos, experiences, unconscious bias, influences, old habits, etc. will constantly pull us in one direction, while awareness and what we strive for pulls us in the other. As an aspiring transforming and organizational leader, my leadership growth is just beginning. I will continue to invest in self-awareness, continuous learning and development in all areas of my life (physical, spiritual, professional and personal). I believe action and putting into practice what we learn is just as important as the learning process.
“Leadership is not a solo act, it’s a team effort.” (Kellerman, 2012, p. 32) I strive to make sure those around me feel valued and have opportunities to pursue their goals. Depending on motivations, perceptions of influence/power, and feelings of efficacy, “people strive to exercise control over events that affect their lives (Burns, 2003, p. 150).” So, if there are gaps between what is expected and what is received within the social contract, it can be made null or void. Social contracts that ultimately encourage “a sense of collective identity and collective efficacy, in turn brings stronger feelings of self-worth and self-efficacy (Burns, 2003, pp. 25-26).” The belief that “social contracts lead to win-win scenarios, a mutual empowerment for all involved, where the empowering of one makes possible the other’s empowerment” (Burns, 2003, pp. 27) will continue to influence the way I lead and engage.
All values communicated, practiced and implemented need to benefit the collective or whole community. This includes the public principles of “liberty, equality, justice and the pursuit of happiness (Burns, 2003, p. 28).” As an ethical leader, I hope my actions and decisions, ultimately provide opportunities for the people I serve to realize liberty, equality, justice and the pursuit of happiness inside and outside of the workplace as well. As we are all pursuing different goals that fulfill various aspects of our needs, the goal is to ultimately benefit the collective community while we each pursue meaning and fulfillment. These three core leadership beliefs influence the way I engage as a leader.
Commitments
I am committed to lifting others up by offering grace and positivity to all those around me (including myself), by identifying and nurturing people’s strongest qualities, what they possess and are best at, and helping them find roles in which they can best live out these strengths. I will also continue to grow and strengthen my own behaviors in the areas of Modeling the Way, Inspiring a Shared Vision, and Challenging the Process (Kouzes and Posner, 2017). I will continue to actively develop as a leader by communicating my leadership philosophy/core values clearly and affirm shared values; setting the example by aligning my actions with shared values; enlisting others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations.; and providing myself and others grace and a safe space to learn and grow.
Moving Forward as a Leader
My vision, commitments, and core beliefs affect my leadership decisions and drive the way I act as a leader daily. I saw much brokenness in the workplace. This same brokenness impacted organizations, teams and individuals so much, that many (including me) were taking the brokenness back into our homes and communities. I originally pursued Gonzaga’s Organizational Leadership program so I could equip myself with the knowledge to positively change the organizations and communities I was a part of. I also wanted to learn how to teach my children and those around me how to minimize this brokenness because it seemed to be more common than not. A hard lesson I’ve learned on this journey includes how my words, actions, inactions were contributing to the very toxic culture and behavior I was working to “fix”. Moving forward, I will continue to lead and live by my vision, core leadership beliefs, and commitments.
References
Burns, J.M. (2003). Transforming leadership. A new pursuit of happiness. Grove Press.
Kellerman, B. (2012). The end of leadership. HarperCollins Publishers.
Kouzes, J.M. and Posner B.Z. (2017). The leadership challenge (Sixth Ed.). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.