Leadership Essay: Developing Of Leadership Philosophy
April Defore
LDSP 3000
Leadership Essay: Developing of Leadership Philosophy
March 9, 2014
Leadership philosophy lays the foundation for how we as leaders perceive ourselves. Philosophy provides each individual leader choices. The philosophy chosen shapes our actions, our behaviors, and our thought process. We can change our role of leadership simply by changing our philosophy of leadership. More importantly, leadership philosophies can change as we grow and adapt in an organization and while working with an array of different and diverse people. Northouse (2013, p 428) sums it up perfectly when he said, “Every leader has a distinct philosophy and point of view.” Finding a leadership philosophy that works is a continuing …show more content…
Taking a look into one’s self, identifying strengths and weaknesses, establishing values, and defining goals provides the leader with a foundation to create vision, something very crucial for leadership. “All leaders have an agenda, a series of beliefs, proposals, values, ideas, and issues that they wish to ‘put on the table’” (Gini, 1998, p 36). So how can the development of a leadership philosophy make someone a better leader? Well let’s first revisit chapter one briefly to see how Northouse (2013, p 5) defined leadership, “Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.” Before we dive into discussing the importance of leadership philosophy, I think we should reiterate the importance of leadership in an organization. Leadership is important to organizations because it helps them produce change by establishing direction, building relationships by aligning people, and through motivation and empowerment. When we go one step farther and apply what a leader does, they are the ones responsible for creating the change that organizations seek. The development of a leadership philosophy provides a foundation for the leader to be a key effective game changer within an organization. Effective leaders are highly sought after and crucial to an organization’s success. So how does a leader become effective? It’s a process that begins by a leader developing a leadership philosophy that suites them, their work, and their followers. Now there are numerous different leadership philosophies a leader can utilize, however for this essay I plan on discussing one main approach I found very interesting. In our study of chapters three through five in Northouse’s book we went over three different approaches to leadership: skills approach, style approach, and situational approach. In discussing leadership philosophies, I think the skills
LDSP 3000
Leadership Essay: Developing of Leadership Philosophy
March 9, 2014
Leadership philosophy lays the foundation for how we as leaders perceive ourselves. Philosophy provides each individual leader choices. The philosophy chosen shapes our actions, our behaviors, and our thought process. We can change our role of leadership simply by changing our philosophy of leadership. More importantly, leadership philosophies can change as we grow and adapt in an organization and while working with an array of different and diverse people. Northouse (2013, p 428) sums it up perfectly when he said, “Every leader has a distinct philosophy and point of view.” Finding a leadership philosophy that works is a continuing …show more content…
Taking a look into one’s self, identifying strengths and weaknesses, establishing values, and defining goals provides the leader with a foundation to create vision, something very crucial for leadership. “All leaders have an agenda, a series of beliefs, proposals, values, ideas, and issues that they wish to ‘put on the table’” (Gini, 1998, p 36). So how can the development of a leadership philosophy make someone a better leader? Well let’s first revisit chapter one briefly to see how Northouse (2013, p 5) defined leadership, “Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal.” Before we dive into discussing the importance of leadership philosophy, I think we should reiterate the importance of leadership in an organization. Leadership is important to organizations because it helps them produce change by establishing direction, building relationships by aligning people, and through motivation and empowerment. When we go one step farther and apply what a leader does, they are the ones responsible for creating the change that organizations seek. The development of a leadership philosophy provides a foundation for the leader to be a key effective game changer within an organization. Effective leaders are highly sought after and crucial to an organization’s success. So how does a leader become effective? It’s a process that begins by a leader developing a leadership philosophy that suites them, their work, and their followers. Now there are numerous different leadership philosophies a leader can utilize, however for this essay I plan on discussing one main approach I found very interesting. In our study of chapters three through five in Northouse’s book we went over three different approaches to leadership: skills approach, style approach, and situational approach. In discussing leadership philosophies, I think the skills