Assignment Overview

Drawing from concepts from class readings and your own beliefs, values, and life experiences as articulated in the assignments in this course, you will craft a personal philosophy of leadership that represents your best thinking regarding what leadership is and how it should be practiced. We want to read what your philosophy has become over the semester.

Additionally, you will provide an assessment of yourself as a leader, including a discussion of your leadership strengths and areas for continued improvement, with examples to demonstrate these strengths and areas for improvement.

What is a Leadership Philosophy?

Philosophy is personal, so there is no right or wrong answer. A philosophy is something you choose. You can make a deliberate choice based on your own reflection and determination. Or, if you don't do that, you can have an accidental philosophy-one that is vague and unclear to others and, quite possibly, vague and unclear to even you. This will hurt your grade, of course.

Philosophy is meant as a foundation. It guides your decisions and allows you to sort out the elements in life competing for your attention. The dictionary definition of philosophy is "A theory or attitude held by a person or organization that acts as a guiding principle for behavior." That definition mentions the following key terms and ideas:

• A theory serves as a basis for how we act.
• Theories evolve as new information is processed, and we learn from our experiences. Your leadership philosophy will change as you acquire new experiences and education. The one you write for this class should be added to or changed regularly.
• Attitude is about mindset.
• Leaders embrace a mindset to influence others in positive ways so meaningful results can be achieved.
• Principles are the beliefs we hold close, keeping us grounded and centered in how we lead.
• Behavior is where our actions come together to match our words, and our words match our actions. Behavior is where trust is gained or lost.

With these key terms and ideas in mind, consider that a leadership philosophy can be defined as an integrated, comprehensive view of leadership. Writing one is an activity people undertake when they seek to understand fundamental truths about themselves, the world in which they live, and their relationships to the world and each other.

Prompts to Help You Get Started

• I believe __________ about leaders/leadership.
• Think of at least six leadership elements. You may choose those we have discussed in class or others that you think are important.
• What do you truly believe? Pick leadership elements that you think are critical.
• I will lead by/with __________.
• What is non-negotiable?
• What are your imperatives?
• I expect to __________ in __________ situations.
• Behavior is where your leadership philosophy gets tested. Behavior determines whether your leadership philosophy is lofty words to be used in team meetings or visible in your everyday actions.
• Identify what you expect your behavior to be, given your theories, attitude, and principles. Think through success and failure. Think through achievements and tough challenges.
• My strengths (with this philosophy in mind) are __________ and some examples include __________.
• My places for continued improvement (with this philosophy in mind) are __________ and some examples include __________.
• Start writing-don't overthink it. That's what editing is for!