Leadership Philosophy 101: Who Are You?

Leadership development in the military is critical to its mission and objectives. Understanding and embracing leadership will foster an agile culture and facilitate attainment of strategic goals. People desire quality leadership to assist with achieving their goals, albeit personal or professional development. Having a clear vision and the motivation to perform at high-levels influences others to work synergistically together to achieve organizational goals. Insomuch, employees value being treated respectfully, fairly, and ethically. Leaders serve people best when they help them develop their own initiative and good judgment, enable them to grow, and help them become better contributors.

Philosophy is "the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge or conduct."(Stuart Berg Flexner and Lenore Crary Hauck, 1993). Leadership is the process of influencing others to accomplish the mission by providing purpose, direction, and motivation. Command is the authority a person in the military service lawfully exercises over subordinates by virtue of his rank and assignment or position.(FM 6-22) My leadership philosophy has been developing thru my Army career. I have use the NCO creed as a pillar for my Leadership philosophy. The outcome of my performance is a direct reflects of my subordinates. My ideas will not always the best, that is why my Soldiers have a open door to provide any feedback.

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.

Among society, there is a common longing for success. Success, however it is defined, is only achieved through leadership in some form. Whether a person becomes a public leader in his church, in his country, or simply a leader in his own life, it takes a leader to put in the effort to achieve one's hopes and dreams of success. Leadership allows a person to acquire the means necessary to meet a personal goal and ultimately reach this idea of success. Utilizing leadership skills is how I will achieve my goal of becoming a surgeon.

My personal leadership philosophy describes who I am as a Soldier, a Non- Commissioned Officer, and a man who serves his country proudly. As a leader, I believe that all members of my team are important. As a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer, I believe, as the NCO creed says, “Non-Commissioned officers are the backbone of the Army.” It is very important to know your role as a NCO and fulfill all of your duties and responsibilities inherent in that role. We can all contribute to the mission and we have to understand that no one job is more important than the other. Teamwork is always provided in my leadership philosophy and if we all work together as a team we will all have the ability to make a positive difference in each other lives. When this is accomplished, then I

In summary, my leadership philosophy defines who I am as an individual, soldier, and a leader. I strongly believe, "A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent." (General Douglas MacArthur, n.d.) I will continuously develop myself as a leader and reflect on everything I

Leads is how we as leaders influence others to accomplish a giving task or mission. This is where character and presence will help you as a leader. If you are known for being there for your Soldiers and willing to do the tasks with your Soldiers to accomplish a mission they will usually work hard for you. Soldiers will not work hard or want to help out a leader if you are not a strong competent leader who takes care of your Soldiers. As a leader you will not be able to build the trust needed to inspire and lead other people. This is why it is imperative as a leader to work on your leaders attributes, since they will help you as a leader accomplish the leader competencies. MSG Nesmith was able to utilize the competence of Leads by building trust with in the Company. He brought all the section NCOIC’s together for regular weekly meetings, which the previous ACE SGM didn’t, ensuring that all sections were working together and addressing ant concerns we had. MSG Nesmith followed through with his promises to us as leaders and allowed us to run our sections as we needed to. This gave us faith that he would do what he said and was always there to help us as leaders and our Soldiers. This made everyone in the ACE want to work for him and help him get any tasks completed for

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 is a privilege that carries with it many responsibilities to inspire others, and to direct individuals to attain the vision and goals of an organization. As an effective leader it is my job to be flexible, be an excellent communicator, be a person who leads by example, and is an individual who is committed, resourceful, and reflective. Achieving the characteristics above, I have developed a definite purpose in mind; one that is shared and modeled in and outside of my school environment. With such growth mindset, I teach, present workshops and empowers others to make decisions that will develop future leaders. To lead by example, I became a mentor for first-year teachers. Furthermore, I orchestrate educational committees, encouraging

A good leader is someone who puts others before him or her, someone who cares about people and someone who does not give up easily. This is what being a leader means to me and I believe that I have all of these characteristics. When I am at school, I tend to help my friends and peers more than I help myself and I take pride in knowing that they are getting the help they need to succeed. I care about how well people do in school and I really want them to be happy and satisfied with their hard work. If I see someone struggling I know that it is my duty to assist them. When I do assist people, some of them do not grasp the lesson immediately and it takes time to get the to understand but I do not want to give up on them because it is taking too

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.

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.

Imagine you’re going on a hike through the woods, and after an hour or two you’re ready to head back, but as you look around at all your friends you realize no one knows how to get back. Being a leader means coming forward and taking charge, and figuring out the safest and fastest way to get you and your friends back home to safety. Many leaders have many different behaviors and ways that they lead. Many times my friends turn to me to make decisions about what we will do, where we will go, or simply where we will eat. My actions toward the situation define my leadership skills.

The Army’s definition of leadership is influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation, while operating to accomplish the mission and improve the organization (Army, 2012). As a young Sergeant in the United States Army, I thought I was being a good leader by being an effective manager. I was determined to lead Soldiers and accomplish my organizations’ mission. As I gained more experience and attained the rank of Staff Sergeant, I realized that I was managing instead of leading. Leadership is not synonymous with management. Leadership goes beyond the allocation of personnel and resources to accomplish the organization’s goals. Leadership involves change, from being an individual performer to being an influencer. An effective leader has the ability to unite personnel behind the organization’s mission by examining individual motivations to promote success. Providing purpose and direction instills ownership in the success of the organization. A leader is also effective in building team culture. Yet, a leader cannot accomplish the above with establishing her/her own leadership philosophy grounded their individual values,

Leadership is dynamic, charismatic and fragile all rolled up into one. There are many words that describe leadership and leadership is defined differently by all. As I sit and type this paper I realized the date, 28 Aug. On this date 10 years ago, I was thrust into a roll that would define my leadership style. Hurricane Katrina made land fall over the city of New Orleans (NOLA) on 28 Aug 2005, this storm created havoc and destruction never before seen in the United States. I was in charge of 12 Coast Guardsman and 3 Coast Guard Airboats in which we would crew. Upon arrival in NOLA we were joined up with the 82nd Airborne Division and assigned 12 Scouts from the 2/505 platoon. These men were on the heels of returning from battle overseas and had been home for less than 30 days. Again these soldiers were thrust into action, but now they had a completely different mission. Joining forces with the Coast Guard and conducting door to door urban search and rescue was now the priority. Over the next 27 days we all grew to trust and count on one another and from the deplorable conditions in which we all suffered it lead to my leadership philosophy.