LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY
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Nature demands purity of soul while humanity dictates that greatness is for those that carry themselves differently and possess strong moral beliefs. To be a great leader or to be called a leader, the society has set levels of expectations and in as much we would think that we make ourselves leaders it is these rules and expectations that qualifies us as leaders. However, every leader, either born or made identifies themselves with an attitude or a theory that guides them in how they act and react to life around those that they lead. These attitudes are summarized to become that particular leader’s leadership philosophy.
As a small child, my persistence in everything that I set my mind in was tangible. The ignorant masses around me used to comment negatively and thought it was a bad thing. Fortunately, I found a tutor who showed me how to nurture this for greatness. The amount of patience that I displayed while sticking to my ambitions and not being distracted earned me a position as my class representative. The trait theory was confirmed true and my leadership was entirely based on this.in this small capacity of a class representative, I got a platform to showcase my creativity and set a mission of becoming the school president.
As my dependability became so obvious, my self-esteem was elevated. This is what I embraced as my character and what I wanted other people to associate me with. My mates and those that I looked up to were awed by my self-confidence and a leader that was being created in me became alert and aware of this. I have over the years read motivational books and journals and I try to associate myself with the people who share the same story as mine. This has helped me pick the kind of a leader that I want to be and how I would want to lead whoever becomes my responsibility.
I would say that I would love to be a more visionary leader, to enable me bring on board as much people as possible who would see and share in my vision. However, I choose the pacesetting theory as my choice since I am so organized and I have mostly thrived in excellence and expected the same from the people around me. Being a pacesetter is sometime mistaken as being dictatorial but charisma and creativity is a redeemer in such situations. Great leaders have survived adversity and attacks for being seen as dictators by being charismatic (Post, p. 675, 1986).
Apart from these character traits, I have seen a gap in the contemporary society. Accountability, which I believe in, has been thrown through the window. My passion and desire to lead in integrity is what makes me wish that everyone was accountable and that there was no corruption and manipulation. Curbing these vices would be within my mission and vision and ensure that the young generations are taught these ethics since day one in school to the last day. It does not go well when a generation starts believing in shortcuts to achievements and gains without pain.
I believe in building a trusting relationship with my mates and this translates into what a leader I would wish to be. Showing your juniors or your subjects that you can entrust them with big responsibilities and reduce supervision ensures a healthy working relationship. Trust also encourages a neutral ground for communication which enhances smooth operations of an establishment. All these merits when harnessed in good faith, equate productivity which is another term for bigger and better revenues (Casio, 2018).
If the whole world was honest, this would be the best place to live in. But over the years the human race has been corrupted and moral decay has become the order of the day. Honesty is the best policy but being honest is not a simple thing. Letting your guard off and accepting to give what one would call a minute lie is what late develops into a disease called dishonest. It does not matter what the consequences of telling it as it is are but the attribute of being honest should never depart from our hearts. One can lie to everyone but one can never deceive their hearts. I have strong beliefs in this and it doesn’t matter what the implications of telling the truth are, I would encourage my juniors and or subjects to always part with truth. It is always better trying to mend where truth tore other than healing what a lie caused (Wilde, 1995).
Pride comes before a fall. This ancient saying has dawned on a lot of leaders over the years who failed to wear humility as a coat. Being humble does not mean you are stupid but it would take an eternity trying to convince an arrogant senior officer that they are wrong. Having worked in smaller posts of leadership in my schools, I realized and learnt that humility is not an attribute that you can disassociate with and survive the heat that comes with any post of superiority or responsibility. A successful leader is the one who leads by example, one who is ready to fit into their subjects shoe and feel the itch.
Having outlined my attributes as a leader, I wouldn’t make into the list of great leaders to ever live if I do not let my leadership be guided by my expectations. These can be the goals or the vision and the mission of an establishment which will ensure that I stick to my relevant lanes. It is important for every leader to note and to remember the saying that, to whom much is given, much is expected.it would be vague and meaningless to carry on the responsibilities that are not guided by goals. It is actually dangerous to walk and work aimlessly without expecting anything.
Humility makes you accept and acknowledge the fact that you do not know everything. This acknowledgement makes you wake up every morning with a desire to learn more. Not only should you will to learn from books but from those that are your juniors and the experiences that are either greater or smaller than you. Again making mistakes and not trying to justify why the mistakes were made but embracing them and taking a lesson from them is sufficient enough for the growth of you as a leader (Edmondson, 2000).
I would not make a good leader if my leadership philosophy is built up on character and I do not expect to conduct myself with decorum and a reflection for others. My behavior as an honest person would need to see accountability on my part from those that I lead. It would be null and void to lead a people that do not believe in what you stand for or what you preach to them in gearing up for the mission of that given organization.
Letting the people around you know what you are committed to makes it possible for them to help you achieve it. My commitment as a leader is as good as a motivator to my subjects. The people you lead will always be a direct reflection of you; how you carry yourself and how they see you. If you condone non- committal and entertain laziness this will automatically show your luck of commitment and the same is going to happen with those left under your charge. Being committed to your duties and seeing to it that those that are under you are committed is your duty, as a leader.
Last but not least, you should expect positive results. It is always good to work hard towards making an institution better than you found it, Creating a habit of success and achieving the goal of being more profitable than before. Changing the world into a better habitation for every man kid and animal must be every leaders dream. Building a legacy that will last a lifetime should be a driving force and a goal written on top of any leaders list. We are not judged by how we found a place but how we leave it. Everyone should be encouraged to making it their business to leave footprints that will awe the generations to come and inspire them for the greater heights. After all, history will judge all of us (Strauss, 2009)
In conclusion, if there were no theories and principles in which we were governed, the whole subject of leadership philosophy would be null and us the living masses would not be keen on how we lead and the marks we leave behind. Inspiration would not mold us as it has over the.
WORK CITED
Strauss, William, ; Neil Howe. The Fourth Turning: What the Cycles of History Tell us about America’s next Rendezvous with Destiny. Three Rivers Press, 2009
Post, Jerrold M. “Narcissism and the Charismatic Leader-Follower Relationship”, Political Psychology (1986): 675-688.
Cascio, Wayne. Managing Human Resources, McGraw-Hill Education, 2018.
Wilde, Oscar. The Decay of Lying (Syrens); Penguin Books, New Jersey-U.S.A, 1995.
Edmondson, Amy C. “Learning from Mistakes is Easier Said than Done: Group and Organizational Influences on the Detection and Correction of Human Error. “Strategic Learning in a Knowledge Economy, 2000”. 203-230.1995
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