Establishing A Leadership Philosophy Helps Guide Actions, Behaviors And Thoughts

Leadership. It is something that everyone strives to achieve and is a trait that can affect every person in the smallest of ways. It is quite a unique feature, and one very hard to come by, with so many leaders nowadays in short supply. As I always like to say, “One million starts with one”. It only takes one person, only one idea, to revolutionize the way that one million people can think. A leader can open our minds and touch our hearts in ways we didn’t know possible. They can help shape the world with their ideas and the foundation of the people supporting them. Like I said before, true leaders today are in short supply. However, I can give this University a new type of leadership that has not been seen before.

For centuries leaders have been analyzed in order to determine what the traits and characteristics of a successful leader are. Leadership, as defined by Koontz and Weihrich (2008) is “the art or a process of influencing people so that they will strive willingly and enthusiastically toward the achievement of group goals” (p. 311). Leadership plays an important role in employee’s participation, creativity, recruitment to an organization, their commitment to the organization, and productivity levels. Over the years, there have been a number of theories surrounding leadership such as the “Great Man” theory, which, according to Riaz and Haider (2010), “assumes that leaders are born and have innate qualities, therefore, leaders

Growing up, I realize the important leadership roles that should be recognized in every day life. Leadership is an important part of one's self character because when someone sees you as a leader they tend to grow more onto you so they can be like you. Part of this statement fits a powerful quote i've always lived by while being around others. "It is the men behind who make the man ahead," this quote by Merle Crowell, fits the man I've molded into, simply because I have realized in numerous ways on how my actions can impact other people's actions. My parents always raised me to believe that what you put in is what you get out. So of course, I believe that if I make the decisions to be a follower of the wrong path, then wrong will follow me as well. Instead, I choose to take the golden path and promote a better outcome for my future and hopefully other's also. Sticking to the routine of a leader builds you into an even better leader. Being a better leader, makes me a better man each day that I choose this route as the leader of my path.

There have been many things in my life that have molded me into the leader I am today. Various people and groups along the way have taught me so much about what it means to be a leader. There were so many things that impacted my life and leadership.

Throughout my life, God has been working in my life to prepare me for a life of godly leadership. He started off giving me small responsibilities which quickly grew to be leadership opportunities. I believe that everything I do ought to be my best for God. As a Christian, I have strived to work harder in school and in ministry than my peers so that God would be glorified through my work. As a high school student, I was blessed with the opportunity to lead two robotics teams into competition on the college level. He has given opportunities to lead on the mission field and in the states. Since the Time of my salvation, God has been preparing me as a leader through my ministry experiences and academic pursuits.

Leadership on many occasions has been misinterpreted by many individuals. Many assume that leadership is an easy skill people can develop, however, it isn't. Leadership comes with significant responsibilities such as establishing an influence, guidance, or encouragement on others. While there are some people who seek leadership with the purpose to obtain the power and abusing it for self-interest. I can proudly identify myself as a person who has been titled a leader because I have portrayed an influence. Around my last two years of high school, I became a youth leader at church. Being a youth leader was not only a major learning experience for those who I supported but also for myself. For instance, I had to go through a discipleship class

Being a leader means having the ability to compromise, the ability to listen well and to empathize. I have demonstrated leadership at work with my coworkers who are interns and are new to the job. I always show them what to do and how to do it right. I also encourage them that with time and practice they will get used to the job. At school, I always try to correct my classmates whenever I see them do something wrong. I show them how to do it right. It just never feels right to me seeing someone do something wrong and not correcting them or showing them the right thing. Some of my classes like art I have with students who are in a lower grade than me, students who are just learning to draw and paint. Most times I show them some drawing and painting techniques that would them. We also work in groups most times at school and I’ve learnt never to criticize anyones ideas. I respect people’s ideas and people themselves. The first and most important area of leadership is to show others respect and gain respect and I believe it is important to show respect whether the person deserves it or not.

Leadership has been present throughout my life. I can remember being able to take charge of groups when I was only in elementary school. I have been able to have many opportunities since then to be in a leadership role. Each one of these roles has had an impact on my life and the way that I view leadership.

Throughout my short life, I have come to realize that a leader does not necessarily, although they may, maintain a defined position of leadership. A leader is one who will rise to the challenge even when the odds in opposition. A leader will tackle any barrier that stands in the way of the goal. A leader is willing to be hated and face criticism for doing what is right. Leaders come in all different forms, but a leader is the one who is always willing to make the difficult decisions.

Leadership starts at the top, and the top is not the man, but the faith in God that flows out of him. There is, different types of leadership and many ways to display this quality. God is our ultimate leader, and He revealed ways on how to be an effective leader in the church, in the house and in life. Therefore, the focus of this paper will be the Pastor epistles and the type of leadership model that they share and put forth. Now, effective ways of leadership may manifest differently in each individual. God made us all unique and gave each of us a specific talent or gift. Therefore, this class has made me investigate and look at myself more in depth and see what type of leadership model I would follow, and feel is the best model.

Forward. The motto of my home state, Wisconsin. It inspires a sense of effect, the sense of pushing towards the greater good; a faith for humanity and it’s endeavors. To move everyone forward towards a goal is the guise of leadership, but the way in which one leads will determine the effectiveness of a leadership effort.

Leaders are very important and and every action they make possibly affect even one person to be more inspired and help them after watching a leader speak. I remember from experience, this one time everyone had to read their speech they wrote in front of the whole class and this was my first time doing it. I was worried that I wouldn't be good enough at talking in front of everyone, but then one of my fellow students went first and showed me I wouldn't have to be worried. That person inspired me and was a good example of a leader.

Moreover, the trait approach gives a deeper understanding of the leader element in the leadership process by emphasising exclusively on the leader, (Gore et al, 2011). The trait theory does not offer hypotheses about the role of situational variance or characteristic of the followers. Instead, this approach provide information about leaders, and about which traits cause which behaviours and that certain set of traits are central to the leadership process and play an indispensible part of effective leadership.

Superior leaders reflect on their experiences and create leadership lessons base on what they have learned. When I read the section Implications for Leaders I immediately thought back to my conversation with my wife and how valuable this practice has been for me the first couple months of the school year. It is not as if I have never reflected on my work, but to purposefully spend time reflecting on situations from the day is life changing. The late Jim Valvano so eloquently said in his last public speech during the ESPN ESPYS “we should spend some time

This theory is based on the premise that there are certain personality characteristics that are essential for a person to possess in order to be a leader. The main emphasis is on what the person is in terms of a constellation of personality traits. This theory searches for that set of universal leadership traits that will assure success. Numerous traits have been suggested: courage, integrity, loyalty, charisma, ambition, intelligence, honesty, clairvoyance, persistence, arrogance, health, political skill, confidence and vision.