The Importance of Developing a Personal Philosophy of Leadership

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The qualities that make a good leader are as varied as the people that fill leadership roles. Some leaders aren’t overly dynamic but somehow get the best out of people while others appear to be too carefree to take seriously. What is it then that makes leaders who they are? A personal philosophy of leadership is that distinguishing trait that every leader possesses. What those leadership characteristics and behaviors are will be explored in the following text, along with what I believe is the best route for me to follow as I work on developing my own personal philosophy of leadership. A personal philosophy is essentially how someone views the world. Each person has a different world view with culture and upbringing’s shaping how people think and act. A personal philosophy of leadership is taking that world view and applying it to leadership. Since leadership is about getting the best out of people; a leadership philosophy would be a leaders plan for getting the best out of the people the leader leads. Personal philosophies of leadership are unique to each individual just as every person in the world is unique. A personal philosophy of leadership is like a road map, without one leaders would be drifting aimlessly without any sense of direction. If a leader is lacking sense of direction it would be impossible for an organization to follow that leader anywhere simply because it would be impossible to set goals and provide direction without having a leadership philosophy. I spent many years without a plan and there is no question it has adversely affected my life. Recently I have been formulating goals and working out who I am, what I do best, and how to use my strengths to get my life in order first. Without ques... ... middle of paper ... ...hat you maintain your integrity as an example for your subordinates to follow. Developing a personal philosophy of leadership is essential for every leader to establish prior to becoming a leader. A leader should be aware of their strengths and weaknesses and then develop a philosophy that would best compliment that leader’s personality traits and strengths as a person. Leaders need to have their personal philosophy established prior to becoming a leader because once you are in a position of leadership it is time to lead others, not time to determine what philosophy would be best used to lead. I truly believe that a personal philosophy of leadership should be fluid as the leader continues to learn about leadership and people throughout the leader’s career but the four core principles of integrity, ethics, positive attitude and honesty must remain constant.

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