LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT 1

Leadership Philosophy Statement

Irania Yanet Rodriguez Sanchez

College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, California State University, Fresno

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Leadership Philosophy Statement

My purpose as a higher education leader is to serve students. To work collaboratively

with a team to mentor and shape future leaders. Through the work I have done of mentoring,

advising, training, and supporting students, I have found importance in helping students feel a

sense of belonging on their campus. For me being a first-generation college student who saw my

older siblings go to college, I relied on my siblings for guidance and support. The support helped

me navigate spaces of confusion and isolation. Although we each had different experiences, it

helped me know I had my family to rely on as my community.

While in college, I sought out spaces of community to support me academically and

socially through the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) and the Sigma Sigma Sigma

National Sorority. These communities were vital to finding my purpose and sense of belonging

on campus. Having been involved with these communities, I met individuals that helped shape

me into the leader I am today. In addition, the roles I obtained in these organizations were

helpful in my personal and leadership development.

Through this Leadership course, I have redefined what leadership is for me. I began the

HEAL 225-course believing leadership is those in charge—those who hold power to call the

shots. My understanding of leadership came from hearing throughout my student employment

experiences that the administrative team was leadership. Since it is commonly heard that leaders

are in high positions, I automatically would attribute leadership with these high positions and

titles. However, I now know that leadership is more than a position or title. A leader earns their

title by advocating and making an equitable environment for students who have less access.

As leaders, we must know what our values are and know the values of those around us.

This would support us to do our best to articulate them into our daily practice and work
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collaboratively with the team (Kouzes and Posner, 2018). For myself, one value I rely on is

relationships. Within relationships comes trust, respect, loyalty, and empathy. As a leader, I must

be willing to show that I trust my team and prove that they can trust me to lead. As Kouzes and

Posner (2018) mentioned, I must be willing to be the first to trust and be comfortable with being

vulnerable around my team.

Nonetheless, I understand that trust cannot be forced on others, and I have to respect the

individuals who are unwilling to be vulnerable or have any relationship. Accepting the reality, I

also understand that relationships look different with each individual as we all have different

identities and needs. Therefore, my goal is to know how I can support my staff and students

professionally if and only there is consent from them to allow me. I do not believe I can change

people’s minds, but I can offer what I can to support.

Furthermore, having facilitated relationships with the individuals would help me

understand them. To know their strengths and areas of growth, which will allow me to foster a

team. Working collaboratively is key in our work as higher education practitioners and

professionals. With that being said my second value is centered around community. As

previously noted, the community is of high importance for me as it is rooted in my personal

experiences. I recognize that community cannot be fostered without the foundation of

relationships. In a community, I have found opportunities to strengthen, rely on, celebrate, and

empower others. When social connections are made in the community, it allows for shared

information, collective work, and happiness (Kouzes and Posner, 2018). I believe as humans, we

were built to do things together and to feel validated in our work. As a future leader, I hope to

embed this form of community with my future staff and students.

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The last value I found important in leadership is creativity. Creativity allows a leader to

see a bigger picture and to imagine impossibilities for the future. Leaders who look forward can

imagine a future. They rely on their passion for bringing others to where they want their staff to

be (Kouzes and Posner, 2018). For me, creativity has been an extension of problem-solving. It

has helped me when plans do not go as planned and when working with two personalities that

are distinct from one another. On multiple occasions, I have had to find ways to be inclusive of

two separate ideas to satisfy the needs of others. When in higher education, we as leaders must

be flexible as our work is constantly changing. Creativity then allows for opportunities to be

ready to challenge processes and patch areas when needed.

In my future position, I aim to provide the Human Resource leadership style. Bolman and

Deal (1992) articulated this frame with leaders who value relationships and feelings to help

empower and facilitate the growth of the individual. My values align with this framework, as my

development in the various leadership roles I participated in allowed me to begin working on my

leadership style. As I continue to develop in higher education, I seek further to develop my skills

to best support my team. I live with the assumption that when I come across others, I should be

kind and supportive as if somehow, in the future, we will reconnect. Having this in mind, I like

to value the small encounters I have with others hoping they can learn something from me as

much as I can from them.

Leadership is a concept that continuously changes with time and growth. My

commitment to the profession is to support and empower students and my team. I will promote

collaborative work to serve students while also supporting my staff with efforts to work as a

team. At the same time, I will emphasize building relationships and community on campus to

promote a sense of belonging for our students. I hope students will find comfort in my leadership
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to feel like they have found a space to feel like themselves while also allowing them to be

challenged for their growth.

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References

Bolman, L.G. & Deal, T.E. (1991). Leadership and management effectiveness: A multi-frame,

multi-sector analysis. Human Resource Management, 30(4), 509-534.

https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.3930300406

Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (2018). The student leadership challenge: Five practices for becoming

an exemplary leader. (3rd ed.). Wiley.