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Katie Preston
Erin Alanson
Exploring Leadership
23 November 2015
Philosophy of Leadership
A leader defined is, a guiding or directing head, as of an army, movement, or political
group (Dictionary.com). Though this definition is true, it does not give justice to what a true
leader is and what they are capable of. A good leader must hold specific characteristics that make
him or her great. Though all leaders will have their own different strengths and personality traits,
there are commonalities that lie within all good leaders. Through this course, being able to lead
and give the talk titled Leaders on a retreat my senior year of high school, and simply growing
up and experiencing things in life in general, I have developed my own philosophy of leadership.
A leader must be honest, self-aware, goal-oriented, and also a good communicator. With that
being said, I believe that leadership is strongly impacted through influence and experience.
Honesty is extremely important when it comes to leadership. If a person is not honest,
they are not leading in a positive way. Honesty can mean a lot of different things as well. For
example, honesty can mean simply telling the truth, whether that be about decisions being made
for a group or not cheating, stealing, or any other type of selfish way of gain. On the other hand,
it can mean being open and vulnerable. Vulnerability is important in leadership because it allows
the leader to be open and honest about themselves and their goals, and also allows the
opportunity for a greater amount of trust between the leader and follower. Allowing oneself to be
open and honest about who they are and their actions is extremely beneficial in any leadership
scenario.

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Because a leader must be honest to work for a positive change or impact, it is also
important for that leader to be self-aware. Knowing oneself is extremely crucial for success in
leadership. This means knowing strengths and weaknesses and also being able to make decisions
based on them. A good leader is able to use their strengths to their advantage while also being
aware of their weaknesses and not let them get in the way of their leadership. This does not mean
that there is no room for growth, though. In the class text, Exploring Leadership, it says,
Regardless of how you came to be the way you are, you can intentionally choose to develop
desired traits or skills (Komives, Lucas and McMahon 153). If one wants to become a better
communicator, develop a better sense of empathy for others, or improve their feedback giving
and receiving skills, it is very possible to do so. A leader must know themselves to be able to take
advantage of those things they are already good at and also strengthen those things that may
benefit the group even more.
The purpose of leadership is to accomplish something, whether that be a positive change
or simply just a positive influence. To achieve this, a leader must be goal-oriented. There must be
something that motivates, inspires or drives them to actually achieve something. I also believe
for this to actually happen a person must practice essentialism. According to McKeown,
Essentialism is a disciplined, systematic approach for determining where our highest point of
contribution lies, then making execution of those things almost effortless (7). It is important to
keep the goal in mind, then be able to decide what needs to be done to achieve that goal without
letting anything else get in the way of it.
One of the final traits of a good leader is skill in communication. Leadership within a
group or just person to person is all about communication. It is important for the leader to have
clear expectations of its followers, and also be able to give proper feedback. Brene Brown states,

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Without feedback there can be no transformative change (197). Without feedback there is no
way for a person or group to reach their full potential. Good feedback includes both positives and
negatives because it is important to be honest but also encouraging. The best way to describe
how a person should give and receive feedback is respectfully. One must respect the others
feelings and human dignity when giving the feedback, and the one must respect the honesty and
hopefully good intentions of the person giving the feedback.
All of these traits, I believe, are impacted and developed through influence and
experience. A metaphor that brings all of these points together is comparing leadership to a
flower. It starts out as just a stem, which represents the leader. As it grows, the stem gains leaves
which represent those who who influence the leader and are considered leaders in their lives. As
the leader continues to grow and receive that influence and also through their own experiences, it
is able to bloom and the petals represent that leaders strengths and qualities that are able to shine
as he or she leads (this may include but is definitely not limited to communication skills, honesty,
self-awareness, etc.). Things such as weeds or harsh weather that can hurt or potentially knock
down the flower represent weaknesses or obstacles that a leader may face. Like a flower, though,
the leader has roots to keep it standing when things are tough and also seeds to regrow if it is
completely knocked down.
I think to be able to make a change in the community using my philosophy of leadership,
it will be important for me to incorporate it into my everyday life. I think that biggest thing for
me will be to remember that whether I realize it or not, I am always leading. I am always making
some kind of influence on those around me, whether that be positive or negative. It is up to me,
though, to make sure that is a positive influence. With that being said, to positively make an
impact, I plan to incorporate my leadership skills in one or possibly all of my honors experiences

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throughout my time at the University of Cincinnati. Although I have not planned my experiences
out yet, I do hope to be a leader in some sort of service project. Service is something that has
always been extremely important in my life, so I think that it would be very beneficial for me to
take a lead role in some sort of project, maybe even in a different part of the world, and use the
skills and lessons that I have learned and developed throughout my time in this class to benefit
those around me in a greater way.

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Works Cited
Brown, Brene. "Disruptive Engagement." Daring Greatly. 197. Print.
Komives, Susan R., Nance Lucas, and Timothy R. McMahon. "Chapter 4." Exploring
Leadership: For College Students Who Want to Make a Difference. Third ed. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998. 153. Print.
"Leader." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
McKeown. "The Essentialist." 7. Print.