Personal Philosophy of Leadership Kerri Young Leaders 481

Transcription

1 Personal Philosophy of Kerri Young Leaders 481

2 Leaders are architects of standards and respect. In this Personal Philosophy of summary, I will examine different leadership styles and compare my personal leadership styles within each of the defined categories. I will share experiences and thoughts on why I feel that my style of leadership best suits my needs and allows me to lead others quietly and efficiently, but with confidence and the ability to lead others by example. To be an effective leader, one must be able to use your experiences to strategically analyze situations and groups when determining the best style of leadership at a particular time. Good leaders are able to adapt their own personal leadership style in given situations. This means that leaders have the insight to sense a shift in confidence, morale and attitude. They possess an antennae of sorts, if you will. Anyone can sense whether a situation or group is swaying in a certain direction-positively or negatively. What effective leaders do is take negative situations and shift them to a neutral or best case, positive situation. An effective leader knows that they will not be able to please everyone, all the time, but can influence change for the greater good. Great Leaders are always be willing to show others that you are willing to work hard to achieve a common goal and that you are trustworthy. Great leaders should portray the same expectations/standards that are expected from followers. Extroverted leaders are often seen to be aggressive and the perception is often they always ready with a response without actually thinking about the situation. Introverted leaders tend to present a calmer presence. They think before they talk. Quiet leaders are more apt to state facts and discuss meaningful issues rather than have superficial conversations. Quiet leaders appear calmer in times of crisis. i Managers are task oriented, while leaders expand this to value the personal nature of situations and identify areas of strengths and weakness to go above and beyond just achieving a task. I connected most with a few different types of leadership styles: situational, authentic approach, transformational and leader-member exchange models. As a waitress, single mother and eventually a nurse, I never did shy away from hard work and always found myself in a leadership role of some type. As a waitress, it was being the front of the house lead. As a nurse, it was always being charge nurse. I didn t apply for these roles or set out to end up in the roles, they presented themselves, and I accepted them. Sometimes stepping into these roles was not a choice, but it never scared me. In fact, I believe, I became more confident that I was able to move into the roles seamlessly. I believe that leaders should lead by example, and all three of these roles required this skill. Another leadership style that was key, was leading quietly. My personal philosophy on this style, is that most people do not respond well to someone trying to sway them to their side, or pressure them into something. I believe people can be turned off or tune out of the conversation at some point when aggressive leaders try to persuade them. I believe that even though they may ultimately agree with the leader s point of view, because they are pressured, they turn away or resist change.

3 Later in my career, I moved to a role that was more corporate than customer service or hands on. As with other roles in my life, I quickly rose to a leadership position. In my previous roles, once I emerged as a leader, there was no position above what I had accepted. For example, as a charge nurse, that was the top of the scope of assignments for floor nurses. Now in the corporate world, the more I emerged as a leader, the more opportunity arose for me to be assigned leadership roles. I leveraged my past experiences and was able to effectively influence change and credit most of that to leading by example, but also leading in a calm, confident manner that earned respect. One trait that I find in most great leaders is most live by the same standards they expect of others. ii On the same note, leaders that lead by example, earn respect by being honest, listening, delivering promised results, taking ownership of mistakes made, and not being afraid to get in the weeds to get the task accomplished. iii It was during this leadership experience that I was able to assign tasks to people that would highlight capabilities that they were unaware they possessed. There is an indescribable sense of pride when a person achieves something that they did not think was possible. As I moved into consulting, I found myself at a crossroads. I worked independently, no longer leading those who shared common work roles as myself. I had one person under me and she was a personal assistant. I had never performed this role in any of my previous career paths, so I found it actually harder to lead her. I had to take some time to reflect on my past experience in life in general to find a way to effectively lead her. In the process of this reflection, I came to a realization. I did have experience at being a personal assistant. I could list at least one way that I performed this at every position that I ever held. As a waitress, I was personal assistant to customers. As a mother, I was the ultimate personal assistant to children. As a nurse, I was personal assistant to patients, families, physicians and more. Even in my role of leader in the corporate world, I was still performing personal assistant duties, but this time to myself. I was keeping a list of tasks and accomplishments, I was balancing schedules and budgets. This reflection taught me that we can draw from any aspect of our lives to guide us in other roles, especially leadership roles. I have done this type of reflection in our questionnaires and it has helped me immensely. As a leader, I see the need develop better leadership skills under the Path Goal model of leadership. The thought that everyone is able to motivate themselves to the finish line is unreasonable and looking beyond the lack of motivation as a weakness will further help me bring out the best in followers. I have included a table (Appendix A) with the different leadership models and have incorporated what I have learned through them and what influence it will have on my PPL. I will continue to assess my reactions in each category in the upcoming years and would be very surprised if my reactions didn t change. I strongly believe that we are always evolving and I personally strive to better myself along this journey we call life. I have also included a spider graph (Appendix B). I find they tell a story in one picture. They display strengths and weaknesses in a manner that will allow someone to easily identify areas that could be improved and those areas that should be commended.

4 Model Situational Transformational Appendix A: Reaction Based on Experience Explanation Influence on my PPL Focuses on leadership in situations, stressing that leadership is composed of both a directive and a supportive dimension and that each has to be applied appropriately in a given situation. This model of leadership involves an exceptional form of influence that moves followers to accomplish more than what is usually expected of them. Traits This approach suggests that personal traits are directly related to one s leadership style. Culture & Disagree This approach focuses on culture, its dimension and the effects of culture on the leadership process. Skills This approach moves the emphasis to skills and abilities that can be learned and developed. I think both my quiet leadership style and leading by example show that this model is effective. I agree that most people are not aware of their full potential and do not seek out opportunities that will allow them to discover this. Leaders often see something in followers that others do not. I agree that some of personality traits influence my leadership, but I can also argue that my lack of being outgoing is not a negative trait, but should also be considered a strength and the sign of a good leader. I do not believe that culture has vast influence on the leadership process. I believe leaders should educate themselves and be accommodating and accepting to other cultures. I agree that some people are more inclined to be leaders, but I do not believe that people are born to be leaders. Every day of our lives are learning experiences and it is what we take away from those experiences that can shape us to be good leaders. I also believe that leadership skills can be learned in a more structured environment, such as classrooms.

5 Path Goal Disagree How leaders motivate subordinates to accomplish goals. Styles Disagree Emphasized the behavior of a leader-focusing on what leaders do and how they act. Women in Ethics Contingency Theory Leader-Member Exchange Team Servant Authentic Disagree Examines the styles and differences of leadership roles in men and women. Deals with ethics and ethical decisions that arise during leadership The focus of this model is on how the leader adapts their style depending on the situation. Centered on the interactions between leaders and followers. Leaders may change their styles when dealing with different types of followers. In this model, team members work together towards a common goal and the group may have more than one leader. Focuses on leadership from the point of view of the leader and his or her behaviors. In this model, leaders should be transparent and honest about themselves and situations. I believe that leaders can influence change but individuals that are responsible for implementing that change, should be able to do so without motivation, that they do so because it is their role and responsibility to do so. My quiet style of leadership is often misconstrued as lack of confidence. The belief that women cannot be effective leaders is false. styles may vary, but both men and women can both be great leaders. They say it can take years to build trust, but one suspicion to break it. Ethics are a delicate subject and respect and trust can be both earned and broken during ethical discussions and decisions I think leadership roles should be consistent in any situation. Not everyone can be treated or approached in the same manner. Due to personality traits and differences in opinions, leaders have to learn when to adapt their style to meet the personality of the follower. I do think peer groups can work together effectively without having a predefined leader. Understanding and being attentive to the needs of followers is an essential trait of a good leader. I have never been under the assumption that sugar coating something is the best route. This may

6 Psychodynamic This model pairs personality traits and assigns them to the best suited leadership style come off as insensitivity, but I have always valued the truth and appreciate it when it is presented to me. For example, you cannot force an introvert to become an extrovert. An introvert can be taught how to effectively communicate to large groups of people, but they are still instinctively introverts. Appendix B: Chart Title Authentic Servant Transformational Psychodynamic Trait Culture & Skills Path Goal Styles Team Women in Leader-Member Exchange Contingency Theory Ethics Situational approach

7 References: i Williams, R. (January 2011). Why We Need Quiet Leaders. ii Gregory, A. (June 2010). How to Be a Quiet Leader and Have a Big Impact. iii Mariama-Arthur, K. (September, 2014). 6 Key Tips for Leading by Example.