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Drafting A Leadership Philosophy

Decent Essays

1 Why should you have a leadership philosophy?

Leadership philosophy has a foundational element to it. The different components included create a strong basis on which to build on and take your leadership forward. You are better equipped to lead and to succeed in your leadership with a leadership philosophy due to three core benefits: character, consistency and collaboration.

Character

Drafting a leadership philosophy will provide clarity and focus to your character. Character matters because it influences your everyday decision-making and communication with other people. Without a proper understanding of your character and the traits you truly value, you are more likely to fall into bad habits and to let emotions control you. By making …show more content…

Business strategist and author John Spence has written a good blog post on the topic and in it, he gave a powerful example of the benefits of leadership philosophy. He used the famous quote by Walt Disney to make a point about why successful leaders need to define the framework for action. The quote says, “When values are clear decisions are easy.” Spence flipped it around stating, “When values are not clear decisions are difficult.” By defining your leadership philosophy, you clarify your decision-making by enhancing your focus on the values and actions that truly …show more content…

Before providing you with the format for your written philosophy, we are going to explain why having a published leadership philosophy matters. As you’ll see in the next section a written leadership philosophy statement can be useful in getting to the heart of your true values and ideas. By having a written statement, you are sure to have a reminder of the ideals you want to be pushing towards. But it can be more beneficial to have the leadership philosophy published or at least shared with a few people because it increases your accountability. If you are the only one aware of your leadership principles, you don’t need to worry about others calling you out on doing something against your values since no one has knowledge of them. On the other hand, if you are loosing your sense of direction, a person who has seen your leadership philosophy statement can nudge you back in the right direction. The objectives you want to deliver and the values you want to keep at the heart of your leadership will be known. Even the knowledge that people have access to your statement or your closest friends or mentors know them can be enough to keep you focused on following your

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