Leadership Skills
Your Philosophy of Leadership
Developing your own, unique philosophy of leadership will guide you as you step into leadership roles. Writing down your philosophy makes it much more tangible than just thinking it through in your head. Before developing your philosophy, you need to conduct some background assessment, and then think about your desired outcomes.
Some things you will want to consider:
- Values: What are your personal values, and how do you articulate them in your life? If there are specific values that must be a part of your leadership role, then state them and include why they are important to you.
- Attitude: What is your attitude about being a leader? If you reflect on Theory X and Theory Y (and maybe even Theory Z), what stood out for you? If you want to lead with a Theory whichever attitude, then you must believe it. If you do not, then you will not be authentic, and followers can pick up on that quickly, which will destroy trust. Consider your attitudes about those you will lead.
- Strengths: What knowledge, skills, and abilities do you bring as a leader? Consider how you will use those with your team members. Likewise, if you want your team to have strengths that you lack, could you be honest about that and recruit members who have those skills.
- Guiding Principles: Not everyone has these, but if you do, incorporate them into your leadership philosophy. How would your guiding principlese influence your leadership style? .
- Priorities: What are your priorities in life? If you are juggling multiple jobs and families, then work may not be at the top of your priority list. Be fair and acknowledge that.
Your leadership philosophy belongs to you, and there is no right or wrong way to do it (except for not doing it). Ideally, your leadership philosophy would include your beliefs, attitude, communication preferences, and leadership style. Start now, and revise as needed.
