Leadership Philosophy Assignment

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Leadership Philosophy 1 Leadership Philosophy Assignment Austin Crabtree Helms School of Government, Liberty University

Leadership Philosophy 2 Abstract Leadership styles in public safety vary from leader to leader. Depending on what type of organization a leader is in and what kind of followers they have will determine the style of leadership that is best suited to use. Theodore Roosevelt had a leadership style that was strong and was able to transform a nation. Roosevelt’s style of leadership is one of many and is very well suited for a public safety setting. This paper aims to show how Roosevelt’s style of leadership is good for public safety leaders. This paper will also look at a leadership style I prefer in a leadership role. That leadership style will be compared to other leadership styles. A biblical principle will also be applied to the use of these leadership styles. Keywords :

Leadership Philosophy 3 Leadership Philosophy Assignment Introduction Having the proper leadership and leadership style within an organization can make all the difference in how well that organization or entity performs. While there are many ways to lead an organization, several of the styles of leadership are better suited for public safety than the rest. Each organization is made up of different personalities and types of followers. Choosing what style of leadership to lead will potentially make an organization successful or fail. Leaders such as Theodore Roosevelt had leadership styles that could transform an organization and nation. Using different leadership styles helped him become the leader he was. As a leader in public safety, the job requires adaptability, not only from the leader, but from their followers as well. Having adaptive abilities in leadership has its strengths and weaknesses, especially compared to other styles of leadership such as transformational leadership, servant leadership, or inclusive leadership. Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt had a tremendous leadership style that I consider very important to public safety leadership. Roosevelt’s style of leadership is considered as being transformational. Roosevelt held many different leadership positions in his life. Even before becoming the President of the United States, he was leading with a transformational style in different areas and organizations. Roosevelt worked in the Civil Service Commission for seven years before being appointed as the Police Commissioner of the New York City Police Department. Before becoming the Police Commissioner, the New York City Police Department was known for its corruption. Part of the corruption of the police department was saloons paying off police officials. When Roosevelt left after serving two years, the department had drastically changed.

Leadership Philosophy 4 Roosevelt would reprimand officers for not doing their job properly while he was commissioner. “The action of Mr. Roosevelt, when it became known, made a sensation throughout the department and as a consequence, more faithful patrol duty may be performed by the force for some time to come” (McNamara, 2019). Wherever Roosevelt went as a leader, change followed. He was considered a reformer and a progressive president. Roosevelt was able to inspire his followers to change the way they worked and to make their organization and nation better. One quote from Theodore Roosevelt that can sum up his leadership is this, “Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care”. Leadership Style of Theodore Roosevelt Transformational leadership is the style of leadership that could best describe Theodore Roosevelt’s leadership style. His transformational leadership style was also mixed with an authentic and servant style of leadership. “Transformational leadership is described as the process in which leaders play an idealized role model, stimulate and encourage innovative work behavior, provide inspirational motivation and engage in supporting and mentoring followers to achieve the organization’s shared vision and goals” (Afsar & Umrani, 2019). Roosevelt was about establishing trust with his followers and leading the charge of how he wanted things done. He believed that if a leader expected their followers to do what they were told, the leaders should also be willing to do the same things. “No man has a right to ask or accept any service unless under changed conditions he would feel that he could keep his entire self-respect while rendering” (Theodore Roosevelt). Roosevelt’s mix of style allowed him to be able to connect with his followers and show them that he cared about them. The advantages of his leadership style were many. Transformational leadership places high value on followers needs, values and morals (Northouse, 2021). Studies have shown that transformational leadership is also a highly

Leadership Philosophy 5 effective leadership style. Servant leadership, like authentic and transformational leadership, puts ethics at the forefront. “Servant leadership argues unabashedly that leaders should put followers first, share control with followers, and embrace their growth” (Northouse, 2021, p. 267). Roosevelt also exhibited an authentic leadership style that found its strength in the fact that authentic leaders are viewed as trustworthy. When Roosevelt took over a corrupt police force, the public did not trust that department. While he was commissioner, he made the police force be viewed in a more trustworthy and transparent light. This leadership style is still needed in public safety today. The public does not trust a lot of public safety entities because of a rash of corruption in different departments. Although Roosevelt’s leadership styles have strengths, there are also weaknesses. One weakness of transformational leadership is that some researchers view it as a “personality trait or personal predisposition rather than a behavior that people can learn. If it is a trait, training people in this approach becomes more problematic because it is difficult to teach people how to change their traits” (Northouse, 2021, p. 206). Another weakness to transformational leadership is that has been used in the past to coerce followers away from their values and toward evil deeds. “For this reason, transformational leadership puts a burden on individuals and organizations to be aware of how they are being influenced and in what directions they are being asked to go” (Northouse, 2021, p. 206). Authentic leadership has its weakness in morality and personal experience. Research has also suggested that there is no clarity as to whether authentic leadership helps an organization achieve its goals (Northouse, 2021). Servant leadership finds its weakness in the follower’s dependency on their leader and some view servant leadership as a time of following instead of leadership. One study showed that followers of a servant leader lacked the

Leadership Philosophy 6 ability to think and do for themselves. “Rather than being empowered, the team members struggled to make decisions and take action in the absence of their leader” (Liu, 2019, p. 1100). My Preferred Leadership Style My preferred leadership style would be an adaptive style of leadership. In public safety, a leader must be able to adapt to any situation that may arise throughout the day or throughout a career. “Leaders are likely to face multiple challenges to adapt and overcome throughout their careers. Their ability to respond rapidly to unexpected events affects the direction and accomplishments of their teams and organizations as well as their career trajectory” (London, 2023). With an adaptive leadership style, a leader can be able to help their followers adapt to any given circumstance as well. Adaptive leadership is about having your followers ready for anything and everything they face and enabling them to feel empowered in doing so. Northouse (2021) tells us that the theory of adaptive leadership was develop through many years by a man named Heifetz and many of his associates. Adaptive leadership can be accomplished through the skills approach to leadership. The skills approach to leadership is when a leader uses their competence and knowledge to lead a group of people to reach their goal. The skills approach looks at three skills a leader has: technical skills, human skills, and conceptual skills. “A multitude of studies have been published that contend that a leader’s effectiveness depends on the leader’s ability to solve complex organizational problems” (Northouse, 2021, p. 56). There are four biases that adaptive leadership encompasses, which are systems, biological, service orientation, and psychotherapeutic. These biases can help characterize and explain adaptive leadership (Northouse, 2021). In systems bias, adaptive leadership looks at the problems that people may face that may be dynamic, complex, multifaceted, and can evolve and change. Biological bias in adaptive leadership “recognizes that people develop and evolve as a result of

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