Leadership Philosophy Statement

As a child we are often asked, what do we want to be when we grow up. Some of us had to stop and think about it, however, others like myself responded right off the back because we knew already knew the answer. None of use, however, were asked could we see ourselves becoming a leader/manager in the future. I often asked myself why I was never asked that and as I grew older, I realized that at that age, I wouldn’t have been able to understand what it meant to be a leader/manager. I would not have been able to distinguish my leadership style or identify the associated traits/characteristics. Whether I knew it or not, to be a leader required work. Born with the natural ability to lead or not, as leaders we must have the desire to continue to learn

It it’s the long 30 min. assessment where employees ask us multiple questions (sometimes the same question different ways) so that they can get a better understanding of who we are as employees. Having a good resume and passing the interview is no longer enough, they need to understand us better and know how we would act to a specific scenario or situation. According to Ledlow & Stephens, “understanding the personalities of subordinates, peers, and superiors in the health organization is important … [because this information] informs the health leader of the expectations [and] provides insights into motivation, competitiveness … and interpersonal relationships and communication” (pg. 27). So, to better understand my personality, the first assessment I had taken was the “Type A and B Personality Indicators” test. I had scored high on this test which indicates that I had a Type A personality. According to Ledlow & Stephens, I could be considered highly competitive, inquisitive and sometimes easily bored. They also describe Type A individuals as impatient, aggressive, unstable and unfocused. After further researching, it was found that sometimes although Type A individual’s traits may come off as harsh, they tend to be very successful in the workplace and in life because they are hardworking individuals who tend to be competitive and emotional at the same time. This personality style fits my leadership style

After further research, having a high emotional intelligence allows me the ability “to build strong working relationships and manage difficult situations more effectively … [because] this will increase [my] leadership potential and improve the quality of [my] relationships [with workers]” (Mind Tools, 2017). When Daniel Goleman created this assessment back in the 1990’s, he was determined to prove that we didn’t use our cognitive intelligence to succeed in the workplace, but it was however instead our emotional intelligence. He describes emotional intelligent workers as people who are good at understanding their own emotions (self- awareness), good at managing those emotions (self-management), good at being empathetic with people they interact with (social awareness) and finally good at processing other people’s emotions outside of their own (social skills). Leaders who maintain a high level of emotional intelligence does not make them better than the next leader because there is always room for improvement, however emotionally intelligent leaders make the workplace easier to be in. By them taking the time out to not only focus on their own emotions and actions, but those around them, it shows a level of maturity. For leaders that have a low level or lack emotional intelligence, they soon realize how this trait can affect them in the long run. They find themselves