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David J. Erickson

College Name, Grand Canyon University

EAD-501: Educational Administration: Foundations for the Developing Leader

Jarret Sharp

June 8, 2022
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Personal Values and Beliefs

My personal values and beliefs can be, in no particular order, broken down into three

words: Honesty, respect, and responsibility. These three words are the foundation of my values

and beliefs, for I always wish for further success in any avenue in which I find myself, because I

see them in every facet of life. Whether in self-reflection, group interaction, or leading followers,

I see examples of these characteristics. Unfortunately, I believe that these words have become

blurred in society and it all aspects of life. If these elements were put in place on a daily basis,

success and overall growth would soon follow.

Especially when pertaining to leadership, honesty, respect, and responsibility should be at

the center. By its very name, leadership requires a leader. One who can make decisions, set goals

for his or her followers, and successfully get others to buy into what they are doing. If being

honest, others will have no doubt in the intentions. If respect is given, followers will understand

that the leader won’t set them up for failure. Lastly, if responsibility is demonstrated, not only

will one accept their own actions and outcomes, but also for those who they lead.

Leadership Style and Alignment

I would describe my personal leadership style as a combination between transactional and

transformational leadership (to which I refer to as Transactional-Transformation), for my

leadership style will take the strengths I see necessary. Transactional-Transformation is based

around the concept of transactional leadership where the leader “does not individualize the needs

of the followers or focus on their personal development” (Northouse, 2018, p. 227) when

considering the goals of the group and of the transformational leadership style which maintains

the fact that performance that is beyond expectations (Northouse, 2018, p.226).
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As Anastasia Belyh says, the leaders control those whom they influence so it is their

responsibility to take charge (“How to Develop a Leadership Philosophy that Inspires,” 2019).

As previously stated, in order to be a leader, one must actively work toward leading others. That

being said, when a leader doesn’t have to focus on each individual need of all those who follow

them (Northouse, 2018, p. 227) it allows them to put all their efforts into “ethics, standards, and

long-term goals” (Northouse, 2018, p. 216).

With my Transactional-Transformation leadership style, the idea of the individual and

compliance focus is eliminated because within my leadership style I incorporate my values of

honesty, respect, and responsibility. Because actively managing expectations of the followers

allows for mistakes to be made (Northouse, 2018, p. 228), it creates the opportunity for the

leader to address what went wrong, adjust expectations of the individual(s) according, and

adhere to the responsibility of the action. My learning style plans to open discussion between the

leader and follower(s), “promote[s] motivation…driven by rewards” (Van Dijk et al., 2021, p.

635), while at the same time establishing relationships that will lead toward the desired success.

Overall growth through success and not success through growth is the intention.

Integrity and Fairness

As stated in the previous section, no individual is placed above another when it comes to

the success of the group. I believe it is when individuals and emotions become the focus of

success, rather than the overall growth toward the desired goal established by the leader, when

integrity and fairness is questioned. Leaders may find themselves bias—whether unconscious or

implicit—toward specific followers. As the leader in a school system, I will ensure

accountability for student’s academic and social success through modeling the behavior expected

(for example, respect, being punctual, dressed appropriately, and participating in school
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activities), as well as through constant acknowledgment of high academic success and a high

school diploma. By maintaining a standard that places no student and their independent needs

above the other, responsibility for actions—good or bad—will be quickly realized.

An Emerging Model

I intend my personal Transactional-Transformational philosophy to be an effective and

inspirational model because it is taking the best aspects from both the transactional and

transformational leadership styles and making it one. For instance, when looking solely at the

transformational leadership style, the style does “emphasis on intrinsic motivation and follower

development” (Northouse, 2018, p. 216); however, pseudo-transformation may lead followers

down a negative path.

I believe having the opportunity to trade hard work and input for rewards, while guiding

followers toward the intended goal, and exceeding expectations with it, is a strong combination

for success. My Transactional-Transformational leadership style is inspirational because it brings

the saying the higher the risk, the higher the reward to the forefront by allowing those who

decide to follow it an opportunity to gain something out of their own success while

simultaneously knowing that the short-term successes will lead to the long-term established

goals.
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References

How to Develop a Leadership Philosophy that Inspires. (2018). Retrieved 8 June 2022, from

https://www.cleverism.com/leadership-philosophy-guide/

Northouse, P. G. (2018). Leadership: Theory and practice (8th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

ISBN-13: 9781506362311 (Custom eBook containing Chapters 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12,

and 16)

Van Dijk, Dina; Kark, Ronit; Matta, Fadel; Johnson, Russell E. Journal of Business &

Psychology. Aug2021, Vol. 36 Issue 4, p633-658. 26p. 2 Diagrams, 3 Charts, 1 Graph.

DOI: 10.1007/s10869-020-09692-6.