Philosophy of leadership - Assignment Example

I choose to work in organizations because I want to change the world, and feel that I can have the most impact by aligning my effort with the purpose of others. I take as my purpose fostering the growth of knowledge, the development of people, and improvement of the common quality of life. This revolves round certain guiding principles and values as well. As a leader, one is at the position to sit back and let the Human Resource department, and all relevant individuals dictate your leadership strategy.

After all, you are busy serving customers and driving revenue. That is a mistake! Since your success remains tied to having great talent and you play a major role in developing future leaders, you should take an effective role in shaping the leadership strategy. In addition, the foundation of a leadership strategy is a core leadership philosophy (Stogdill, 1955, 102). A leadership philosophy defines what it means to be a leader and is unique to your company. It describes what leaders do and what is expected of them, and represents the basis for all leadership activity, including development, promotions, and movement.

In many companies, the leadership philosophy is abstract and ill defined, but it may lay crafted through a series of interviews and consensus discussions with senior leaders (Sims, 2005, 88). There are many leadership theories. These revolve round trait approaches, contingency of situational models, transformational or charismatic models, and power. They all influence approaches in one way or another. The theories and associated research attempt to explain leader or follower behavior, characteristics, or personality.

Some theories refer to the characteristics of the leader. For example, charismatic leaders tend to gain respect and trust. Personality theories on the other hand refer to the leader’s traits such as integrity and honesty (D'Aveni, 2002, 92). Leadership can encourage initiative as well. This lies in the readiness to act that channels ability into results. Hesitation often leads to missed opportunities, so leaders must often take the first step or support a colleague who recognizes the opportunity.

If people lay asked to take risks, leaders must support them if things do not go well. Often many failures lie experienced, in order to reap the reward, and the path from idea to payoff can be long and unforgiving. I value personal courage, to overcome risk-aversion and maintain integrity. Doing the right thing is not the easiest path often (Hodgkinson, 1983, 122). Doing something, new or enacting change can be difficult even for the visionary. I believe in the Stockdale paradox, that no matter how bleak our reality is, we must maintain faith that we will ultimately overcome and triumph.

Thus, my influence as a leader can only be as great as I am resolute in times of trial (Bell, 1990, 123). The question of hiring new leaders against that of growing one’s own lies best answered as a percentage, which can serve as a useful guide to how you recruit or promote leaders. Many companies have an unstated philosophy that they want to grow their own leadership talent. However, what is the right mix? Establishing this question as stated goal gives clarity to all involved, and should remain revisited every few years.

If your goal is 25 percent new hires and 75 percent grow