My Personal Leadership Model Of Leadership

According to dictionary.com leadership is defined as, the position or function of a leader, a person who guides or directs a group: Its synonyms include guidance, influence, control, direction and supervision. These are all qualifications that are needed to be an effective leader. All characteristics are not necessarily needed at the same time and do no need to be used for each subordinate. This paper will identify my personal leadership philosophy along with theories to support my leadership style.

Participating in the course Foundations of Organizational Leadership presented many opportunities to enhance and enrich my perspective on leadership as well as develop my own unique leadership philosophy. By observing the theories, models and cases presented in Northouse, Kouzes and Posner textbooks, I was able to learn through the experience of others what a true leader should represent. While considering the strengths and weaknesses of each theory, I am able to implement a leadership style with an effective approach tailored to many different types of learners. In addition, witnessing both the triumphs and failures of various businesses and leadership styles, helped me confirm my personal stance and aspirations towards becoming a leader. By implementing what I have learned from the course and textbooks, I will address in this paper what specific leadership theories, styles and models have contributed to forming my own leadership philosophy. In addition, I will also define the values, qualities, strengths and weaknesses and ethical considerations that pertain to my stance on leadership. By integrating a faith based approach as the foundation of my leadership style, I hope to implement my new philosophy into my current and future career path.

Phase 1 of the Personal Leadership Philosophy Paper presented the opinion and supporting information establishing that; leaders are products of opportunity, birth and environment, but of these; opportunity influences great leadership the most. Furthermore, it was discussed that assigned leadership is a cancer to corporate America and this point is illustrated in the following example. While employed at Deloitte and Touché Consulting Group (DNT) we engaged ARCO, a major oil and gas company, to develop and implement an email migration strategy that consisted of 1200 Arco users at their subsidiary company, Vaster Resources Inc. In the initial meeting we were introduced to a gentleman, we will call John Smith for the purposes of this paper,

My father once told me that, “everything we do— be it in academia, at work, social or family life—we are guided by principles, beliefs and values that collectively form our ideology of life.” I believe that every leader, to a certain extent, is shaped through her individual personal experience. Although in some cases, we may not realize to what extent our personal assumptions and beliefs shape our ability to lead or be led.

Through identification and ongoing assessment of her leadership style and ability this leader is able to develop and understand her own strengths and limitations in order to grow and develop into a more effective leader. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of servant leadership, contingency, path-goal styles leadership to gain an understanding of current leadership models, identify this author’s style of leadership and explore why leadership is important to organizations, society and this author.

A Disc Assessment is an excellent tool to obtain an individual personality trait. It can disclose information one may or may not have known about themselves. In my case I discovered I have a blend of Cautious, Supportive, and Dominant trait. This explains why I see myself as a Democratic, Authoritative, and an Affiliative leader. On the DISC assessment it describes me as careful person and one that strive for excellence. Additionally, I look for results and enjoy work alongside my teammates. In my current position, the Democratic and Affiliative approach has helped me to address any conflict or disagreements. Also, having certain power within the company provided me with the authority to put a plan into action that would benefit the company and keep the employees motivated in the workplace. The three-leadership style is an advantage as I can use any one or all three on any one or more employees with different personalities.

My idea of leadership is being able to inspire others, motivate, set a vision, communicate, respect others, and of course, lead by example. A leader must have an honest understanding of who they are, what they know, and what they are capable of. To be a successful leader, you have to be able to convince your followers, not just yourself or your superiors, that you are worthy of being followed. In my opinion, this can build confidence in their followers to have faith in you, in order to be able to lead. I strongly believe that good leaders are made rather, and not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders are developed through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and

Ethical leadership is an important aspect that should be practiced by all individuals in leadership positions despite of whether the leadership is intentional or unintentional, or formal or informal. However, practicing ethical leadership is difficult in some cases, especially when there are tough decisions to be made while the appropriate choice is unpleasant though it's clear. Notably, ethical leadership is quite important during these times of tough, unpleasant decisions since the stakes are high. The stakes in ethical leadership tend to vary significantly based on the responsibilities and levels of the leadership in question. Since being an ethical leader is regarded as a full-time job, ethical leadership is a vital part of the definition of good leadership. Good leadership involves developing a personal model of ethical leadership that is in line with personal values and morals, evaluates ethical decision making, accomplishes relevant policies, laws, and guidelines, utilizes contemporary models of leadership, and works within the organizational environment.

Week one into this course has been a defining moment in my life. It sets the stage into life as a more consciously self-aware and emotionally intelligent being, and the awareness of others as equally emotional beings whether or not these others are self-aware or not. In it, the MBTI were taught to which I as at then, tentatively identify my preference as one that is inclined to Introversion, iNtuition, Feeling and Perceiving – (INFP).

With my personal model of leadership, I try to create a trend towards the importance of meaning and purpose in leadership. By entering the job market looking for meaningful careers, talented young people can be retained if they feel they are appreciated and make a difference, and leadership teams are increasingly aware of the need to offer more than just profit. By leading individuals and organizations with a powerful sense of purpose, I seek greater performance and commitment, and when people can see how their role contributes to more than themselves, they generate meaning from what they do. And also help new leaders develop the knowledge, skills and mentalities needed to foster a deeper sense of purpose and create more meaning in the workplace,

A leader needs to “believe” in oneself and have the confidence that whatever you say will excite and what you do can motivate others. You must be optimistic about what you do, do have some relevance for being in existence. Believe it or not, “leadership begins with you”.

Leadership is a very broad topic; I never knew just how many different traits and skills that it takes to become an effective leader. Some of which I was familiar with, and others that I was not aware of, but now from taking this course, they all seem to be necessary for the role of leadership. The attached paper, will explain of some of the important theories and concepts that I thought were most important to be able to become and effective leader.

From leadership theories and observations and my personal experiences, I found that leadership is a life learning process and best practices of leadership skills. Surprisingly, the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) points out that informal development opportunities, such as training, are responsible for only 10 percent of the actual learning in leadership development, and ninety percent of learning for leadership development is achieved in formal settings, mainly in everyday job activities such as development assignments and challenging tasks and interpersonal interactions at work, such as networks and mentoring relationships. Cronin and Genovese (2009) insist that what is required in leadership are three things: practice, practice, and practice. Mastery, however, requires more.

As a graduate student approaching her final semester in school, thoughts regarding my leadership abilities in the soon-to-be “real world” have occupied my mind lately. To further explore and develop my ideas about leadership, I decided to develop my personal leadership theory. So, I asked myself the following questions: What makes a successful leader? How do you recognize a leader when you meet one?, and lastly, what is my theory of leadership? With this last question I thought about what leadership meant to me personally and how I personified it in a role of authority. While I had given thought to how I led, I had rarely taken the time to fully understand what my personal leadership theory entailed. Throughout the length of this paper I will analyze how my leadership skills, traits, values and elements from both Authentic Transformational theories help me to shape my leadership philosophy. In doing so I hope to define the leadership values that influence the way I view and practice leadership.

From research we see that there are many qualities that people value in leaders. Some of these qualities include: having high standards, supportive, inquisitive, involved, honest and having integrity. When I think about leadership I think of a person who is self-aware and always striving for improvement. To be a good leader you need to know how your personal biases may impact decision making in various situations. Bias or values can effect how you interact with those you come in contact with on a daily basis. A good leader can set the tone for students, staff, and parents by being consistent and clear in thoughts and in actions. The leader is the foundation of the building.