Looking back at my leadership experiences, I can see that I really didn’t know what it meant to “be a leader.” And in a lot of ways, I think we as a society don’t look very deeply at the real meaning of leadership either – although we are very good at critiquing our leaders. I believe DaVinci’s statement above sums up the importance of studying leadership and why we should intentionally define what being a leader really means. This is what prompted me to enroll in the Mentoring and Leadership program at The University of Alabama at Birmingham.
In this program we were tasked to create our own leadership philosophy. When I said this to my Dad, he asked, “What happens if your philosophy is different from your classmates?” My reply was, that’s the point of the class. We all have similar, yet different definitions and we need to define what leadership means to each of us. Otherwise, how can we become a good leader given our personality differences, our diverse experiences and our different fields of study?
I believe a philosophy must encompass many facets such as the difference between a manager and a leader, ethical leadership, mentoring followers, how leaders make decisions, the characteristics a leader should have, and the role emotional intelligence plays in the leadership process. Here is my philosophy:
Leadership is much more than a title or being elected class president or being the head of a household. Granted, it may be all those things, but it also comes with responsibility. Responsibility to guide people where they didn’t think it was possible to go.
Where leaders separate themselves from managers. To make a change or reach a goal, a “Big Picture” vision and strategic mission are required to get there. Leaders are people who can see something that other people can’t, and they have the courage to act on that vision. Leaders inspire others to follow them, and they provide cohesive direction to accomplish their objective.
Based on an intentional drive to pursue actions that promote intrinsic core values. It is having the courage to inspire others to compassionately connect with one another to accomplish a goal grounded in those values. An ethical leader must value critical thinking and decision making. Which is an intentional process leading to an opinion, decision or strategy and relies on a solid foundation of core values and a mindful awareness of the situation at hand.
Promotes positive exploration of new out-of-the-box ideas and they make space to learn through failure. Mentoring leaders show that they value each person within the organization, which fosters a healthy environment that can be seen and felt throughout the entire firm. This attitude not only helps employees be the best they can be, but it may also provide the company with sustainable long-term success.
Emotional intelligence. They know their strengths and weaknesses and can build a counterbalanced team that is foundationaly built on trust. Leadership is knowing who the best advocate is to lead in any given situation. Thus, it’s okay for a leader to be “behind the scenes” in order to promote leadership and growth in someone else and to further the organization’s mission. One of my mentors summed up this type of philosophy as, “Leadership is giving other people power.”
Also be followers at times. Being the quiet leader, leading by example or encouraging someone else’s leadership ability. They can be a follower until a time arises when they must become the leader; speaking up when needed; helping to guide a company, family, cause, etc. forward in a gentle and mindful way. Leaders do this by making observations about their environment, being present to people and being involved in their lives.
**The inspiration for the photograph above is that to be an ethical leader, we must leave our comfort zones. This picture was taken as I was leaving the Birmingham airport to travel to my father’s homeland, Croatia. I’m not insinuating that we must leave the city, state or country to make ethical decisions, only we must leave our safety nets behind.