Leadership Philosophy

Developing a Philosophy of Leadership

Exercise 1: Identifying Your Leadership Values                                     

Identifying Your Leadership Values

VALUES List your values here	Personal Definition of Values List here your definition of these values here	How do you envision these values playing out in your leadership?
1. Achievement	Working towards a goal and being able to see a result. Achievement is a result of hard work and should be celebrated collectively. While we may have a set idea of what that end result may look like, I think it is important to realize achievement may still be possible through having a different outcome. Achievement is some form of success; doing well.	While I believe leadership is a verb and not a position, achievement may be found in the election or appointment to a leadership role. This is the community saying “yes, we recognize you’ve done well.” Within the American Student Dental Association (ASDA), I know I ‘achieved’ when my work within my local chapter and writing for national ASDA was recognized by the appointment to the role of Predental Consultant.  In the future, I hope to achieve the roles of trustee and eventually national president. Achievement may also be seen in applause at the end of a presentation. Currently, I am on my way to a conference to present to a group of predental students. I have worked hard on my presentation with my collaborators. I will have achieved my goal when I finish and the group claps. It is a wonderful feeling of gratification.
2. Autonomy	What first comes to mind is the ability to ‘be one’s own boss.” However, I think the definition is much simpler: to have some level of control behind the work you produce. Autonomy is having freedom to use your expertise to say “I know what is best” and having your superiors trust your judgment.	Within ASDA, I lead the predental advisory committee and work on the Council on membership. Whenever something having to do with predentals comes up, the Council on Membership respects my thoughts almost 100%. I also have the freedom to do whatever I want with the predental committee. This is really nice because it allows me to be creative without having to worry about micromanagement. In the future, I plan to work on other councils and appreciate that ASDA trusts the people on those councils to produce the best product with little guidance from the Board.
3. Community	Community is a sense of belonging. It means you’re comfortable and that you’re in a productive place. To me, community is less of a place and more of an intangible feeling amongst people.	To be a strong leader, you have to build community. This is plays out in leadership when I am just starting in a role. Before I do anything, I need to establish a culture of care for one another. It leads to better outcomes because people are not just doing the task to get the job done. They are doing the task for the good of the community. In leading other predental officers this year, this became very apparent. By keeping them involved and giving them meaning, they truly cared about their work and we did so much more than in previous years.
4. Humor	Humor is being able to make a tense situation lighter. It is making people laugh and take a step back to realize what’s really important. (the other four traits)	Whenever I lead or led presentations, the material can get pretty intense. So, to break this up, I always try to include a lot of energy and an occasional joke. This reminds the followers in the audience to take a step back and reflect instead of getting tied up in the details.
5. Integrity	Being honest with yourself and others. Telling people everything they need to know to perform at their highest performance.	In the past, our predental back account funds were kept pretty ‘hush hush.’ Members were not informed about where their dues went and no one but the treasurer and president knew what was going on. This year, we did a short budget presentation for members and I keep the entire exec informed of all financial matters. This works well because if you see the leader being honest and open, it will create that sort of culture. Everyone else will be honest and open too. This avoids communication issues and leads to a happier work environment. I think it’s important to keep an open forum section in every meeting agenda to give everyone a chance to relay information.

Exercise 2: Uncovering Your Leadership Assumptions

1.     Write down two stories of leadership. One story should describe a positive experience you’ve had with leadership and the second story should describe a time when you had a negative experience with leadership.

Positive: I’m writing this while at a conference that marks the end of my term. So, I’ll say this experience has been incredibly positive. I’ve had so many predentals come up to me thanking me for my service. They share stories of taking the DAT and doing well. They share interview stories. They tell my that they’ve caught “ASDA Fever” and want to get more involved. It’s a great feeling ending my role knowing that I helped inspire others.

Negative: While some of my meetings are face-to-face, the nature of my position with ASDA requires me to hold conference calls with my committee around once per month. Starting at the beginning of my term was incredibly difficult. I had not worked with these people before, I never got to actually meet with them, and I didn’t even know what they looked like. I struggled leading calls at first because we all had trouble really connecting with each other. It was hard to motivate the team when I felt none of us really had a connection to it that gave it value. There was always tons of silent moments on the calls when asking for volunteers.

2. In the space below, write down your definition of leadership.

Leadership is working in collaboration with others toward a common vision.

                                                 

3. Using your definition of leadership, please elaborate how you first came to understand (or know) your leadership definition.

In my first leadership class, I gained a lot of respect for followership. A leader is powerless without followers. Therefore, I find it incredibly important to work with them to make sure you are working toward an end product that everyone is happy with. If you blindly start working towards goals, you risk alienating your follows. This is why I really stress the common vision. Additionally, strengths quest taught me that you couldn’t possibly be a leader on your own. You cannot be good at everything. So, I emphasize working in collaboration so that you can take advantage of the diversity of talent. I strongly believe that you are only as strong as your weakest link.

4. Describe who are the individuals or organizations that influence your leadership definition.

                                                             

ASDA and the leaders inspire me to get more involved in organized dentistry

Chamber Singers teaches me to take responsibility for my own part and own self. Choir is really just a room full of leaders singing together.

Predental club is where I experiment most with my leadership methods. I’ve been able to try new strategies and see the ups and downs of each.

Exercise 3: Understanding Your Leadership Beliefs

Answer the following questions about leadership beliefs. By reflecting on these questions, you will find what beliefs you hold about leadership.

1. Can people who have caused others harm be leaders, e.g. Adolph Hitler?

Absolutely, yes. Hitler had followers and he shared a vision with them that they resonated with. He led Nazi Germany toward a common goal. He also took advantage of a large team to take advantage of their talents. While he did awful things, Hitler was effective and inspired people to follow him. 

2. Should leaders have certain qualities to be able to lead?

I don’t think people need certain qualities, but there are certainly qualities that make leading easier

-       Charisma

-       Public speaking

-       Delegation

-       Organization

-       Compassion

-       Ability to work well with others

3. Who decides who leads?

The people who are being led.

4. How do leaders gain credibility?

Elections, recognition (family, celebrity, etc), past successes, charisma

5. In general, is there something good about leadership?

Yes. Leadership helps shape the future and serve to inspire others to become involed.

6. What do you think is the purpose for leadership?

To work toward accomplishing a common goal. It’s the way to get things done. It brings people together and provides a cohesive platform everyone can feel good about.

7. Is leadership behavior developed through personal experiences or through external forces?

I think leadership style is a very personal choice. It is guided through a combination of personal experiences and external forces. Personal experience can create good or bad vibes to tell you if you want to continue leading that way. While the situation you’re in may guide your style as well.

Exercise 4: Finalizing Your Leadership Philosophy

My Leadership Philosophy is…

I believe in building a diverse team to accomplish a common goal. I believe in synergy.