My Leadership Philosophy

In order to Model the Way, I must first have a clear understanding of my leadership philosophy as well as my voice. I am able to clarify my leadership philosophy by focusing on my inner self as I determined my principles, values as well as my voice. In the book the Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner states “A leader with integrity has one self, at home and at work, with family and with colleagues. Such a leader has a unifying set of values that guide choices of action regardless of the situation” (Kouzes and Posner, 2012, pg. 339-340). I personally believe that the best approach as a leader is to be authentic as well as transparent throughout every aspect of my life. An authentic and transparent leader has alignment between their

Kouzes and Posner reaffirm this idea in their book “You have to believe, and you have to develop the skills to transmit your belief. It’s your passion that brings the vision to life. If you’re going to lead, you have to recognize that your enthusiasm and expressiveness are among your strongest allies in your efforts to generate commitment in others. Don’t underestimate your talents” (Kouzes and Posner, 2012, pg.140-141). I have always been passionate and enthusiastic about my values. In order to Inspire a Shared Vision, I must first be authentic and share my values and beliefs. My values guide me as they are my moral compass throughout every aspect of my

The first step is to know your followers. Knowing your followers and deeply listening to them allows you to build a relationship as you learn what is most important to your followers’. “The key task for leaders is inspiring a shared vision, not selling their own idiosyncratic view of the world. What this requires is finding common ground among those people who have to implement the vision. Your constituents want to feel part of the process” (Kouzes and Posner, 2012, pg. 116). Everyone wants to know that what they are doing will actually make a difference. For example, my area manager always tells employees what to do and what her vision is. She never includes employees in creating a shared vision. This results in employees not wanting to even be involved in her