Personal Leadership Philosophy

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.

Leaders strive for the best in their organization and work hard to become successful. My leadership philosophy may be different from others, however, it may be effective as others. Leadership can be learned and practiced. I consider if you practice with ethics in mind then there will be no issues with your followers or organization. Leaders that practice unethically are often viewed in a negative perspective and often ruin their careers. Great leaders are hard workers and assist in improving the organization. Some are natural leaders, however, it has been stated leaders are made.

Because we are trying to unify a team, it is important to address the goals of the group as a whole. “An effective leader's persuasion is of the subtlest kind, for he or she must interpret reality to offer images of the future that are irresistibly meaningful. In the choice of words, values, and beliefs, you as a leader "craft" reality to ensure commitment and confidence in the mission” (Conger, 1991, p. 44). Our common goal must be compelling and our story engaging. However, we must also ensure that our goals are realistic and achievable. It is one thing to spew ideas of grandeur, but another to accomplish them. Without this critical element, we may be setting ourselves up to create influence only

Artisans all have tools they proudly weld in the pursuit of their craft. Musicians have their instruments of wood, brass, string and voice. Sculptors and painters have their materials of metals, clays, pigments and canvas while dancers use their bodies and costumes. These items are all used as tools of personal expression for the artist. Many artists appear to be born with natural talents for their art or are drawn to one medium of expression over another, but none excel at their craft without dedication and deliberate practice.

The path to a personal leadership philosophy is made up of three parts. Each individual aspect is a facet of a complete whole. Much like a timeline that includes a past present and future, my personal philosophy consists of a foundation, action, and growth. If you do not understand where your foundation of leadership came from you will have problems acting in a leadership capacity. Also if don’t pay attention to how you are acting as a leader you cannot know in what ways you need to grow. Why should I spend the time and effort in developing myself as a leader? The Gunner’s Mate rating has a strength of just over 600 members. Maritime Force Protection Unit Kings Bay has 31 Gunner’s Mates assigned to it. I have a full five percent of the Gunner’s Mates in the Coast Guard that I lead. During my four year assignment at MFPU Kings Bay approximately 55 Gunner’s mates (9.2 percent) will have been under my leadership. I see that as an enormous responsibility. As a young Gunner’s Mate I saw my senior leadership as people capable of effecting great change on the rating. Now today I am in the position to have that same impact.

This is what I believe about leadership: it’s overrated. What I mean by this is that after 20 years of life, I have become numb to society’s leadership propaganda. As I stated in my original leadership philosophy two years ago, society has taught us to associate leadership with power and affluence, to picture a man in a suit so crisp his cuffs could paper cut your soul and a vivacious, yet somehow sternly reserved demeanor. Rarely, if ever, have a witnessed a “mediocre” student be called a leader; it is always the best, the brightest, and the most personable that are graced with the glorious label of leaders. They are held on a pedestal as if their characteristics are superior to those of others, revered to the point that they some otherworldly and their characteristics seem unachievable by the average Joe. I am not attempting to say that highly publicized leaders or presidents or CEOs are not leaders, I am saying that they are not any different than you or I. It is in my nature to counter the belief, to dub null and void the almighty concept of leadership as a reward or achievement and instead replace it with the idea that leadership is an innate trait. It’s not about being a leader; it’s about building on the qualities that make a leader. While reflecting on my beliefs and writing this paper, I noticed that Microsoft Word’s suggested synonyms for leadership include management, control, headship, and governance. This is a perfect example of

challenges as a team. Leaders ensure that goals are outlined clearly and objectives are set forth with a strategic plan to evaluate results and effectiveness of practice. Leaders need to be able to provide

Expressing a vision stretches and shapes the organization’s culture. Thoughts and activities become focused and point organizational team members in the same direction. The result – additional gross sales, something we can all appreciate.

Build commitment to the vision – increased through communicating and modeling the vision, employee involment etc.

A “vision” of the project “unites professionals with different backgrounds and agendas to a common aspiration. It helps motivate members to subordinate their individual agendas and do what is best for the project” (Gray & Larson, 2006, p. 356). As Amber Briggs creates her team, a shared vision is an essential part of creating a great anniversary celebration. After all, if some members envision a picnic at the park while others envision a black-tie, sit-down dinner at the Ritz, the road back from either extreme will be long and troublesome. An effective vision must be challenging but realistic, and a source of inspiration to others. It must be a vision that the project manager is passionate about and can communicate to others.

In Addition, I develop a new of approaching problem and challenges. First look at the whole picture and develop a strategic vision of the project or task assigned. It will help to develop milestones for the rest of the project life for a better coordination and organization. And it is also important to develop a share vision with the team members in order to create a better collaborative environment.

The first topic of inspiring a shared vision is an essential building block for strategic leaders because it casts an expectation for the future and gathers the team and others to fall in line with that expectation (Kouzes, Posner, Maxwell, McAllister-Wilson, Lencioni, Ortberg, & Blanchard, 2004). Inspiring a shared vision causes people to see something and believe it is attainable. The authors wrote, “believing is a certain way of seeing”(Kouzes et. al., 2004, pg. 57). The vision that gives everyone the eyes of faith to believe something is possible always comes before the groundbreaking achievement (Kouzes et. al., 2004).

The second practice is inspire a shared vision. This practice explains “envisioning the future by imagining exciting and ennobling possibilities” (Kouzes & Posner, 2017, p. 94). Leaders who inspire a shared vision, can bring a group of individuals together in order to achieve a common goal. Furthermore, for a vision to incapsulate the team, it has to include the goals, visions, and missions of our followers. Leaders who inspire a shared vision, know it is important to get the day-to-day tasks completed, but also understands the importance of looking into the future.

Through problem-solving discussion, we are going to associate our plan with an individual goal. This will motivate my practitioner to work toward achieving their goals.

Throughout my life leadership has always had a short definition to me. After taking this class it has made feel stronger about my definition. If I had to define leadership I would say it is getting someone or a group from point A to point B. When I say getting from point A to point B I do not necessarily mean from one destination to another. I use this as a figure of speech for completing a goal. Point A is where you are when you decide what the goal is and Point B is accomplishing the goal.