Philosophy of Leadership6

Philosophy of Leadership StatementApril 7, 2014Avinash MalladhiWilmington University

AbstractLeadership has been defined as a continuous process where the individual attempts to be leader by motivating and influencing the people who follow him. He guides his followers to attain the goal of the common purpose. The decisions of a leader are influenced by his personal values , beliefs and experiences.

Philosophy of LeadershipLeadership can be as an individual's distinct ability to influence and motivate the followers to maximize the efforts towards the achievement of goal. The leadership philosophy is the way that we perceive ourselves as leaders. The philosophy is influenced by several factors which is reflected in the decisions ,which in-turn defines the personality of the leader. These influences are based on personal values , assumptions ,beliefs and previous experiences.ValuesPersonal values play an important role in shaping the character and decisions of a leader. These values are considered to be of the at most priority and gain utmost attention. These are the principles that the leaders exhibit in their actions and thereby inspiring their followers. These values have a profound effect on the followers and by having a leader who leads by example , the visibility of the values create a trust in a leader.Assumptions and Beliefs"After all, everybody only hears what he understands" (Goethe, Johann wolfgang von). Assumptions and beliefs are the ideas that we consider to be true and are have a great impact on a individuals perception of reality. These are a result of certain paradigms like the environment and culture that the leader has been exposed to during his/her life. These assumptions and beliefs can also be unconscious and effect the decisions of the leader as it becomes the habitual way of thinking and acting.

My philosophy of leadership"Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then is not an act but an habit" (Aristotle)My leadership philosophy is a confluence of factors such as my personal values and beliefs, religious/ spirtual preaching ,the culture I have been raised in and the impact of different types of leaders over the time. ValuesMy personal values are integrity , accountability and tolerance. These values are a reflection of my experiences over time. These experiences include different people , cultures and circumstances that as a individual I had to encounter. These values provide me with a definite direction and have a intense impact on all my actions.Influence and ImpactMy association with different individuals over the time has influenced my thought process. My parents and the way they conduct their life was the initial experience that has influenced me right from the beginning. To do what is right and to differentiate between the right and wrong being unbiased and having favoritism has been my first lesson of life and has been the way I make my decisions.

Collective DecisionsAlthough like others I too have opinion and idea of my choices but when the decisions involve a group of other individuals I prefer to have a collective decision. This is because I believe that in order to take a decision , one must be aware of all the facts regarding the issue. This ensures that the group or the team I lead is aware of all the circumstances which has led to that particular standpoint and minimizes the risk of unstable behavior among the group.ExperiencesNever give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, neverin nothing, great or small, large or pettynever give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy (Churchill). My trip to Himalayas has been a experience which I consider to one of the best in my life. It was a opportunity where I learnt not only from my experience but from the actions, reactions, responses and experiences of those in the team .Apart from the challenges imposed upon by the nature we also had to face many other challenges of which leading a very diverse group was one I had a leader of the group. Through the trek many of the challenges seemed to be like hurdles but the principles of perseverance and tolerance which I had practiced all through the time changed my view to see these hurdles as mere challenges which were conquerable. All such experiences from personal and professional life have enhanced wisdom in me and have helped me to make conscious efforts to increase my potential and emerge as a successful leader. My belief that learning is a continuous process has been always strengthen from my experiences.

Leadership StylesThe way that a leader present himself and his actions is defined as leadership style. The style that I find interesting is the transformational leadership style. This is something I find very effective as it all about changing the mindset of others to what a leader thinks to be right. It is about changing the course of thought process and align it to the leader's thought process. In this form of leadership, the followers are deeply influenced by the leader. For this type of leadership, I find trust to be the chief component of binding between the followers and the leader. It is when the follower trusts the leader, he is influenced totally by the leader and is able to commit to achieving the goal. Violation"Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking" (Brown jr).

At times situations demand leaders to make tough choices. These choices are tough because of the personal values , principles and beliefs which a leader idolizes. As a leader I always believe is to lead by example , hence violation of principles is never a choice.ConclusionLeadership is a process which is influenced by our personal values , beliefs and experiences. A leader is a motivator and is someone who leads by example. Violation of principles is not a choice for a leader and when situations call for tough choice it becomes the true test of a leadership for a individual to be known as a leader.

ReferencesGoethe, Johann wolfgang von .,Goethe's Conception of the World Retrieved fromhttp://wn.rsarchive.org/Books/GA006/English/APC1928/GA006_c04.htmlChurchill ,Winston, Retrieved fromhttp://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/26316-never-give-in-the-best-of-winston-churchill-s-speechesAristotle, Retrieved from http://thinkexist.com/quotation/we_are_what_we_repeatedly_do-excellence_then-is/12820.html