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Personal Philosophy of Leadership Statement

Amy M. Nuesch

College of Education, Health and Human Services, Kent State University

HIED 66657: Leadership in Educational Organizations

Evan W. Faidley

February 10, 2020

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PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OF LEADERSHIP

The study of leadership development begins as a highly personal, internal examination of

what a person defines as a good and effective leader. How do I view effective leadership? How

do I become a better leader? How can I determine the best leadership practices? Who do I feel is

a good example of a leader? What qualities does this person possess that I would like to emulate

in my own leadership style? Bolman and Gallos state, “Leaders’ self-awareness and

interpersonal skills are central to their effectiveness” (2011, p. 46). We must first examine our

own core values and ethics before we can form a cohesive, personal leadership philosophy.

Ruben et al. further explain that, “A sound approach to leader development begins with gaining

clarity in terms of personal and professional aspirations” (2017, p. 170).

My vision of an effective leader is one in which a highly competent and organized person

effectively communicates the goals of an institution and motivates their peers to work together to

accomplish this mission. I believe that an effective and esteemed leader possesses integrity,

honesty, fairness, trustworthiness, and expertise in their field and values the work of their

employees as integral to the success of the reaching institutional goals. When a leader displays

these qualities, a relationship based on trust and reliability forms because the team members

know they will be treated with respect. The team works together towards a common goal, yet

each individual feels equally valued and important. An effective leader acknowledges that all

members are important and play a vital role in working to fulfill the institution’s mission and

vision. When employees feel valued, they will be more likely to give their best output.

In order for me to develop as a leader and knowing that I value this leadership

philosophy, it is crucial for me to examine whether or not I actually practice this philosophy
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myself. Do I, first of all, possess integrity? Am I honest, trustworthy, and fair? Am I a good and

effective communicator? Do I value all those on my team as making a valuable contribution to

the mission of the institution? If I am honest, I would have to say that I often fail to meet the high

personal bar I have set for an effective leader. Learning to put theories in practice requires self-

reflection, action to change, and the inquiry of others to get the most balanced view. If I assume

that I am continuing to operate within the philosophy I have espoused without questioning the

actuality of this belief with myself and in the opinion of others, I will fail to develop as an

effective leader.

Ultimately, assessing why I feel these values are important comes from the examination

of my past experiences with both positive and negative leadership. One of my most positive and

meaningful examples of good leadership in higher education comes from my former boss, a

university Registrar. I had much respect for him for various reasons, including his vast

knowledge and experience in his field of expertise, his general calm demeanor, his willingness

and availability to help in any situation, and the way in which he always supported his staff. My

respect for him motivated me to want to do my best work for the university. Being an effective

leader, I feel, leads to this important goal. Our office team was united in this goal because of his

positive leadership attributes.

Conversely, a negative experience in higher education has also affected the formation of

my leadership philosophy. I have seen how a university policy, intended to protect the rights of

classified staff, had inadvertently created an environment where staff members feel undervalued

and exploited. This university policy involved a generous sick time policy. Some
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staff members, in my opinion, took advantage of this policy and oftentimes called off for

consecutive days in order to give themselves long weekends at least once a month. Even though

management and HR were aware of these “repeat offenders”, there was seemingly no recourse

available to ward off this type of behavior. This behavior being tolerated had a very demoralizing

effect on staff who worked directly with these individuals. They had to pick up extra work while

already working in a high-volume, short-staffed office. The behavior continued and the

surrounding staff members felt resentful and consequently devalued their own efforts. This lack

of trust created a negative influence on the team and the general work climate. Not many people

were motivated to produce their best work.

As I reflect upon both of these examples, I can see the effect they have on how I have

decided to form my leadership philosophy. To me, an effective leader produces results in a

manner beneficial to both leader and team member. An assumption that these personal

competencies are the most important qualities in a leader, however, can create conflict and

stagnate development. Other competencies, such as communication, analysis, organization, and

position can be just as important to the success and development of an effective leader.

Recognizing this requires a good measure of self-awareness and inquiry. Ruben et al. state, “A

commitment to reflective practice will help you as a leader to translate the findings from self-

assessment inventories into a realistic and applied plan of practice” (2017, p. 176). If I continue

to believe (assume), that high personal competency is the sole foundation of effective leadership,

my development as a leader will fail. Also, if I know that all of these competencies are important

but fail develop in these areas, my leadership effectiveness will fail.

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So how do I develop into an effective leader? Ruben et al. suggest, in their cyclical path

to becoming a better leader, that after one has clarified their leadership philosophy and assessed

their strengths and areas for improvement, the next steps include committing to developing as a

leader, establishing a leadership development plan, following through with that plan, and then

beginning the cycle again with clarifying their leadership philosophy based on the critical

assessment of the follow-through of the previous philosophy (2017, p. 169). They continue that,

“By focusing on individual leadership behaviors as a specific unit of analysis, demonstrating a

commitment to solicit and use feedback, and treating every leadership situation as a learning

opportunity, one can continue to experiment with and learn from various approaches to

leadership that best address the needs of the unit, department, or institution” (p. 176-177).

Following Ruben et al.’s learning and change process (p. 170), my assessment of

strengths and areas of improvement includes having completed the Leadership Competencies

Scorecard 2.0 (2017, Appendix B). I can deduce from my results that my understanding and

effectiveness in analytic competencies requires the most work. Here I will mostly need to learn

about available technologies and their potential strengths and weaknesses for supporting

leadership efforts. Regarding the communication competencies, even though I can understand all

the concepts, I will need to concentrate on learning more about influence and persuasion,

interpersonal relations, and conflict resolution. And even though I think of myself as an

organized person, my effectiveness as a leader in this area requires work in management and

supervision. And finally, regarding the positional competencies, I need to increase my

knowledge of the field and the organization.

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The next step of Ruben et al.’s process is committing to this development. They state, “A

commitment to reflective practice will help you as a leader to translate the findings from self-

assessment inventories into an applied and realistic plan for practice” (Ruben et al., 2017).

Again, more self-reflection and feedback from others is required in order to learn from specific

leadership experiences. Fourthly, in order to implement one’s commitment to learn, one must

establish a leadership development plan (p. 177), which offers concrete opportunities to

supplement areas if deficiencies. For example, since I need to develop in areas of

communication, perhaps I could attend university trainings on conflict resolution. But all of this

assessing and planning means nothing if I do not complete the fifth step, which is following

through (p.178). The authors state, “The plan and the self-assessment and self-reflection are only

worthwhile if they are put into action to enhance one’s own leadership and practice, and to

strengthen the project, unit, or department that one leads” (p. 178). And, as we have learned, this

cyclical process begins again with the acceptance of the new knowledge gained and the

formation of a new leadership philosophy.

In conclusion, the process of developing into an effective leader is one of continual

learning and application. In defining a leadership philosophy and establishing an intentional and

continual path to improvement, one can challenge existing assumptions and cause the evolution

of ideas through self-reflection and commitment to the process in order to change learned

behaviors in leadership functions. Becoming a better leader involves real work, but the results

improves knowledge and functions within oneself and the institution which one serves.
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REFERENCES

Bolman, L. G., & Gallos, J. V. (2011). Reframing academic leadership. San Francisco, CA:

Jossey-Bass.

Ruben, B. D., De Lisi, R., & Gigliotti, R. A. (2017). A guide for leaders in higher education:

Core concepts, competencies, and tools. Sterling, VA: Stylus.