Assignment: Personal Leadership Philosophies
Many of us can think of leaders we have come to admire, be they historical figures, pillars of the industry we work in, or leaders we know personally. The leadership of individuals such as Abraham Lincoln and Margaret Thatcher has been studied and discussed repeatedly. However, you may have interacted with leaders you feel demonstrated equally competent leadership without ever having a book written about their approaches.
What makes great leaders great? Every leader is different, of course, but one area of commonality is the leadership philosophy that great leaders develop and practice. A leadership philosophy is basically an attitude held by leaders that acts as a guiding principle for their behavior. While formal theories on leadership continue to evolve over time, great leaders seem to adhere to an overarching philosophy that steers their actions.
What is your leadership philosophy? In this Assignment, you will explore what guides your own leadership.
Table of Contents
To Prepare:
The Assignment (2-3 pages):
Personal Leadership Philosophies
Required Readings
To Prepare:
Identify two to three scholarly resources, in addition to this Module’s readings, that evaluate the impact of leadership behaviors in creating healthy work environments.
Reflect on the leadership behaviors presented in the three resources that you selected for review.
Reflect on your results of the CliftonStrengths Assessment, and consider how the results relate to your leadership traits.
The Assignment (2-3 pages):
Personal Leadership Philosophies
Develop and submit a personal leadership philosophy that reflects what you think are characteristics of a good leader. Use the scholarly resources on leadership you selected to support your philosophy statement. Your personal leadership philosophy should include the following:
A description of your core values
A personal mission/vision statement
An analysis of your CliftonStrengths Assessment summarizing the results of your profile
A description of two key behaviors that you wish to strengthen
A development plan that explains how you plan to improve upon the two key behaviors you selected and an explanation of how you plan to achieve your personal vision. Be specific and provide examples.
Be sure to incorporate your colleagues’ feedback on your CliftonStrengths Assessment from this Module’s Discussion 2.
Required Readings
Marshall, E., & Broome, M. (2017). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert clinician to influential leader (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.
Chapter 1, “Expert Clinician to Transformational Leader in a Complex Health Care Organization: Foundations” (pp. 7–20 ONLY)
Chapter 6, “Frameworks for Becoming a Transformational Leader” (pp. 145–170)
Chapter 7, “Becoming a Leader: It’s All About You” (pp. 171–194)
Duggan, K., Aisaka, K., Tabak, R. G., Smith, C., Erwin, P., & Brownson, R. C. (2015). Implementing administrative evidence-based practices: Lessons from the field in six local health departments across the United States. BMC Health Services Research, 15(1). doi:10.1186/s12913-015-0891-3. Retrieved from https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-015-0891-3
Laureate Education (Producer). (2014). Leadership [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Moore Foundation. (n.d.). Nurses share lessons in leadership. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLopRJPO6GaifsYPGP_jcWXZzU10H3AaX7
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Sample Answer Guide:
My personal leadership philosophy is rooted in the belief that a great leader is one who is able to inspire and empower others to reach their full potential. I believe that this is achieved by being authentic, transparent and approachable, having a strong moral compass and leading by example.
Core values – include integrity, compassion, and accountability. I believe that in order to lead effectively, one must always act with integrity and be true to their values, while also being compassionate towards others and taking responsibility for their actions.
My mission/vision is to create an environment where individuals feel valued, respected and supported, and where everyone has an opportunity to reach their full potential. I aim to achieve this by fostering a culture of trust, collaboration and open communication, and by being a strong advocate for my team and the organization.
According to the CliftonStrengths Assessment, my top five strengths are:
Achiever – I have a great deal of stamina and work hard to achieve my goals
Restorative – I am adept at solving problems and finding solutions
Futuristic – I am able to think ahead and imagine future possibilities
Activator – I make things happen by turning ideas into action
Maximizer – I strive to make things better and make the most of every situation.
Two key behaviors that I wish to strengthen are delegation and mentorship. I believe that delegation is a crucial aspect of leadership, and I need to learn to trust my team members more and delegate more effectively. I also wish to strengthen my mentorship skills, and be more intentional about developing the next generation of leaders.
To improve upon these two key behaviors, I plan to seek out training and development opportunities, such as attending workshops and seminars, and seeking feedback from my colleagues and mentors. I also plan to be more intentional about setting specific goals and creating a plan to achieve them. For example, I plan to identify specific tasks or projects that I can delegate, and create a plan for mentoring a team member or colleague. I will also seek out opportunities to shadow or work with more experienced leaders to learn from their leadership styles and strategies.
Incorporating feedback from my colleagues on my CliftonStrengths Assessment, I have been advised to focus on balancing my drive to achieve with the needs of my team, and to be more mindful of my communication style and to be more approachable and transparent in my dealings with team members. I plan to make a conscious effort to be more aware of my team’s needs and work on being more approachable and transparent in my communication with them.
