My Leadership Philosophy: How To Be An Effective Leader

My personal leadership philosophy reflects a desire to develop subordinates and create an efficient, purpose driven environment. A leader must create a clear vision which followers can understand in order to meet all the requirements of their unit. A leader must lead with the end in sight creating goal driven activity. I believe the way to measure the success of a leader is through the success of their subordinate leaders. Therefore, a leader must constantly develop their subordinate leaders. Passion drives success making it essential for a leader to create buy-in to their plan at every level. It is inevitable that a leader will have to make correction and in order for this to have a positive influence on the organization the correction must be clear, quick, and recoverable. My personal leadership philosophy focuses on these three main points; care for Soldiers, clear vision, development of subordinates, and positive corrective practices.

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.

When I think of a leader, I see someone who stands out. I see someone who is courageous and wants to take the lead. I see someone who chooses to create there own path, rather than taking the one everyone else is taking. As I learn about the qualities and the traits of leadership, I began to self evaluate on how I see myself as a leader.

When I think of a leader I look back on how many people in my life that have helped me to get where I am today. My parents are authority figures in the sense that they are the ones that showed me right from wrong. There are the administrators that helped me along my way with school and completing all of the work that I needed to in order to make my way in this long road called life. Finally there are the instructors that have shown me the ways on how to become a leader myself. When I think of the word leader I do not think of myself right away, but now that I have taken on different roles in my life I have realized that maybe just maybe that I could become my own leader.

I base my leadership philosophy on four pillars, I will show how I incorporate all four as a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO). I am patient with myself, and my Soldiers. I am a doer who leads by example. I am a teacher who gives feedback through constant and consistent communication. I am flexible with the ability to change and adapt.

A good leader leads from the middle and not the front. Leadership is working with people in order to complete a task, instead of telling others what to do. Delegating and helping others realize their potential and work to their strengths is what leadership is all about. Leadership is the ability to listen to others and show them the right path. I strive to be a leader in all I do. As a pharmacist, I will be the leader in the community and be able to help patients with their medical needs. While I have had times in my academic classes that I am able to step up and be the leader, I often use my leadership skills most in extracurricular activities. I have served as President of my cooperative house, where I learned so much from the constant leadership.

When leading troops it is essential for the leader to understand his or her command environment and how they fit in to that environment. For me, becoming an effective leader begins with this: How do I fit in to my organization and what can I offer my organization and the Soldiers that look to me for guidance. To become an effective leader I have had to address this issue first and foremost. My philosophy is simple, know the needs of the organization, know my personal strengths and weaknesses, and know my Soldiers. This is the philosophy that I try to pass to my subordinates. By knowing these three simple statements I have found that I can become a more effective team member as well as leader to both enlisted and officers alike who look to me for guidance.

1. I believe a true leader, leads from the front. A leader is the first in all, showing the way, sets an example to all. A leader is trustworthy, loyal and approachable. A leader will support policy and always do what is right. A leader is looked up to and promotes motivation. A leader will take care of his crew, from his most subordinate to his commander. A leader knows when to allow others help and looks for innovative ways to improve. I would follow this leader and I wish to be this leader.

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

Throughout my life, I have never really been a follower in the typical sense. While I have looked to people older than me for help and advice. In addition, I never really saw myself as a typical leader. What I mean by that is I felt that I was a leader by doing my own thing and not worrying about everyone else or being a part of a particular clique. What I realized by just going about my business is that my attitude attracted others in the sense that they knew I was about work and wanted to emulate my demeanor in order for to be successful in school. One time that I recall in which I had to lead a team of my peers was this past summer. I enrolled in a few summer classes in order to better prepare me for college. For one of my classes

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.

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.

My leadership philosophy is fairly straightforward and simple. I believe that a good leader is someone who helps others to make the best of themselves. A credible leader is able to accomplish this goal by providing inspiration and confidence in others, which allows them to fulfill the objectives of their mission and organization. Thus, in helping others to fulfill the goals of an individual mission, a leader is really helping his subordinates to fulfill their own personal career goals and develop themselves professionally.

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.

Confidence, communication and commitment are just three of many traits that a leader possesses. Having those traits may help you become a leader but continuous hard work and dedication makes you one. To continue to be a leader you must also be intelligent, courageous, and determined. Becoming a leader is difficult but continuing to be one is even more difficult.