Abstract
My personal leadership philosophy outlines my set of beliefs, attitudes and principles from which I derive my conduct as a leader. My mission as a student leader is to ensure each students welfare is looked into; but I cannot accomplish this mission alone. I believe in the collaboration of students, administrators, community members and all other vital stakeholders to work together as a team for the benefit if the students and the organization as a whole. This is my leadership philosophy.
My Leadership Policy
My personal leadership philosophy outlines my set of beliefs, attitudes and principles from which I derive my conduct as a leader. As a student leader, I am charged with the responsibility of representing student views and needs to the school administration and ensuring there is a balance between what the school administration implements and the welfare of the students. My set of beliefs defines what is possible in my line of work and hence defines my approach to work.
My prior experience with former student leaders cultivated my desires to communicate my leadership philosophy. I would rather the students regard me as one of their own to voice their issues than an object of power used to foster the administration’s efforts. The writing efforts also awarded me the opportunity to express myself to my colleagues and how I will lead. My beliefs will act as a checklist of what is expected from me and cultivate the desire to leave a positive impact during my term.
I believe that effective leadership is founded on personal integrity. Respect of people’s diversity and rights, honesty in keeping my word and fairness in treating people will be reflected in my actions and this will serve as an example to others. I will trust my colleagues to make reasonable, just decisions and vow to offer my guidance and support. As discussed by FM 6-22, self-awareness and self-assessment enables a leader be aware of personal strengths and weakness and use prior experiences for self-reflection. Daniel Goleman (1998) describes a good leader as an individual who welcomes feedback, new opinions and perspectives and understand that their position is one of continuous learning and self-development.
My mission as a student leader is to ensure each students welfare is looked into; but I cannot accomplish this mission alone. I believe in the collaboration of students, administrators, community members and all other vital stakeholders to work together as a team for the benefit if the students and the organization as a whole. As a student leader, I view myself as a team leader since I will actively be involved in decision making, goal setting and school improvement and transformation. In other instances, I would be required to sit on the bench and make recommendations. I will be required to urge my colleagues to improve their skills. In the event a conflict arises, my time will be spent resolving the conflict as well as enforcing new rule to prevent the conflict from occurring again. Despite my demanding schedule, I must always keep in mind that I am working with people hence making it impossible to predict what will happen. For this reason, I must be flexible. Rather that viewing my position as a gate pass to superiority, I use the opportunity to learn how to make a difference in the world by aligning my efforts with other people’s purpose (AR 25-50). It is my purpose to foster growth of knowledge, improve student life and develop the society.
References
AR 25-50, Preparing and Managing Correspondence.
Goleman, Daniel, 1998, Working with Emotional Intelligence, p.61. New York, Bantam Books
FM 6-22, Army Leadership: “Developing Self-Awareness”, paragraphs 8-40 thru 8-5.
