Leadership Philosophy

“Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others”– John Maxwell

I have always been a person who people listen to, in charge of things, commanding the work and making decisions when no one else wanted to. Before I started learning about leadership, I thought that leadership is about the authority. I believed that people need to listen to you and follow you, as a leader, because they admire you. For me leaders were always charismatic, influential and fearless; they were people who everybody listens to and no one questioned their opinions or decisions. I used to think that leaders have to be powerful and no one should question their authority. Now, almost 4 years after I decided to start Leadership and Social Change Minor, my point of view about leadership is totally different. I believe that leaders are people who motivate, not force, others to work toward a common work. When I took my first leadership class, I have learned a lot aboyt the types of leaders. I personally believe that transformational leaders are types of leaders that people follow, but not because they have to, but because they want to. James McGregor Burns in his book “Leadership” defines transformational leadership process as “leaders and their followers raise one another to higher levels of morality and motivation.” Transformational leaders care about their followers and understand that giving orders might be what bosses or managers do, but it is not what the true leaders do. I believe that, as a transformational leader, I should set expectations high and set the clear goals so people know what they are working for. I should encourage them, motivate and recognize their hard work. Inspiration, setting a personal example and motivation are also extremely important, and have to be done in the atmosphere of integrity and fairness. When I realized that being a leader is not about how many people listen to you, I was ready to develop my skills and broaden my knowledge to become a true leader.

Course LDRS 2014 has helped me to understand the leadership more than anything else in my life before. Throughout the whole course, I learned and applied Five Leadership Practices in my leadership within my team. I believe that all five practices are critically important to become a great leader and to effectively lead others. Modeling the Way and Inspiring the Shared Vision should always be first steps. Clarifying values and goals, and establishing rules are really important to put everyone on the same page and make people realize why they are doing what they’re doing. However, talking about values and goals don’t change anything. Leaders should find the way to make people care about common goals by making these goals important to them personally. Setting a personal example and showing people that I, as a leader, am the person who actually is guided by these values are a really important part of this process. Starting a new project is not that difficult but making people work hard throughout the whole process is more challenging, that’s why Challenging the Way is critical for good leaders’ practices. Leaders should look for opportunities and should be willing to take risks to achieve the common goals in the most efficient way. This part of leaders’ practice is followed by Enable Others to Act. Sometimes, people within the team don’t work that hard to achieve the common goal, because they don’t care enough to make an effort. Leaders should continuously motivate and build the team spirit to involve everyone in the process. On the top of that, leaders cannot forget about setting a personal example in everything they do, because people around based their behaviors on leaders’ actions. By recognizing people’s small victories and awarding the great work leaders show that they care about every person and they make people valuable and confident. Price 5 – Encouraging the Heart, make people do things that they would never done and show them that hard work pays off. Leaders should not only recognize the wins but also pay attention to contributions, to show people around how important their work is. They should regularly give people feedback to show that they care about every individual, and recognize what is done great and what could be done better. I think that Five Leadership Practices are the great approach to leadership in today’s world and they really helped me to become a better leader than I have ever been. True leaders should remember that every step in the process is important and that the smallest change can make a huge difference.

“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader”– John Quincy Adams

Resources:

• “The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® Model.” The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® Model. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.
• Editorial Team, Mind Tools. “Transformational Leadership: Becoming an Inspirational Leader.” Transformational Leadership. Mind Tools, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.