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Personal Leadership Philosophy
Al-Zumar Pittman
School of Education, Liberty University
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Abstract
It is no secret that many changes in the world around us are consistently changing
because we know that change is inevitable. As a leader, my goal is to consistently motivate my
team by setting goals for us to achieve while working together to overcome any obstacle that
arises. My team is provided with solid leadership and motivation. I was taught to be a leader who
is humble, compassionate, determined, and with integrity. Educational leaders must have skill
sets because we are responsible for developing and overseeing the/collaborative vision. When
you have a vision, you have to use it as a guide. Any school's vision, mission, and goals should
be based upon the community and stakeholders to ensure that we are progressing towards
making sure we are/doing right by students, families, and the community.
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There are so many definitions of a leader and how they should be, but the truth is that
leaders are birthed in all shapes and forms and perform different tasks. Not all leaders lead the
same, but most true leaders share the same characteristics. A true leader has the ability and
understanding to follow. Leaders should be an example; that means you put your team first and
your agenda at the end. Motivation is a big part of leading, but it's not the most important. As a
leader, you must have empathy and humility and be a listener, a doer, and a supporter. You have
to stand firm in your position. Just because you have the title of leader doesn't mean you must be
in charge of everything. It would be best if you were a team member; allowing others to lead and
trying to do everything as the leader is a quick way to burn out quicker. It would be best if you
had members on your team who can push you in areas where you lack the skill.
/
Philosophy of Educational Leadership
Educational leadership is understanding how knowledge is developed and used to make a
difference positively; It is about creating change. Think about it: when a student is succeeding,
not only are they benefiting, but their family and other stakeholders benefit because they have
also invested in the student. We know that education is changing at a rapid rate, which creates a
need for leaders who are transformational and who are indeed educational leaders. As an
educational and transformational leader, one needs to be able to see and help meet the
community's needs. This type of leader should be ready to be a change agent for the community.
As a school leader, you cannot just focus on the inside of the school. Still, you also have
to be concerned about the outside of the school to understand the needs of your students and
community, and it also opens up the opportunity to partner with other stakeholders in the
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community. To inspire, you must understand what it means and be an effective leader inside and
outside the walls of where you lead. Some may wonder why educational leadership is essential,
and simply because of its impact on the students, families, and community. An effective leader
could transform a school, community, and all stakeholders (Marymount University, 2021). When
you have effective leadership, it helps to advance the education system. Good leadership is only
effective if you include others to help carry out the mission. An educational leader should be
ready to ensure that the learning environment will prepare students for success while also
bringing the community together.
/
Leadership Practice
Before a leader can lead, first, they must learn how to serve (Hartzell, 2021). We need
more servant leaders, which I consider myself to be. A servant leader makes it a priority to serve
others first. Bishop TD Jakes has spoken of the /Four C's leadership as critical components to an
effective leader if you are willing to do the work and take charge. The four C's consist of
character, competence, cadence, and capacity. As you dive deeper into the Four C's, you will find
these leadership traits; you will be able to rally your team together and move in the right
direction. Capacity goes hand in hand with cadence, setting the pace with your team, and
ensuring that your team is together and on the same page. The capacity is not taking on what you
cannot do but still trying to do it. Competence is you, as the leader, being able to do what you
say you will do because you have the skills to do it. Finally, the character is about leading with
honesty and integrity. The Bible declares in Matthew 7:12, "Therefore all things whatsoever ye
would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets"
(King James, 1769, Matthew 7:12). The way we lead should/be how we expected for others to
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treat us. We must be an example for others. Impact starts with us and then carries over to others
following us.
As a leader, we have to provide our team with a clear vision and mission so they can help
create the goals to achieve the mission and vision. By doing this, it offers an opportunity for
them to feel important but also to feel that they are a part of the purpose. I always keep in the
front of my mind that I'm better off with a team rather than doing it all by myself. I can create a
strong school culture that motivates and inspires others. It's all about community, and I can make
this type of environment, but I do it with others instead. I want the community involved in
fostering this type of community, where everyone is respected and can contribute to the vision,
mission, and goals. This is a vital role of an effective leader.
Relationships
An effective educational leader understands the importance of building meaningful,
effective relationships. These relationships are made with students, staff, their teams, families,
the community, and stakeholders. The foundation of these relationships must be built on genuine
trust and fruitfulness. It would be best if you remembered that we can't do this ourselves.
Communication is critical when creating relationships with stakeholders, as it builds trust, which
helps the school and community. Influential leaders understand the importance of having a
listening ear that allows you to receive from others, whether that be ideas or feedback. This is
where humbleness kicks in. Relationships between influential leaders should always be
respectful, regardless of titles./As a leader, I have to get to know each individual on my team and
understand that they have things that they are dealing with as well. Having an open
communication policy is always good, as it helps solve problems faster without destroying
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relationships. A leader who needs to be more reflective and have a mindset to build real, genuine
relationships can cause their vision and mission to be destroyed. A leader who is inexperienced
at creating rapport and needs help to figure out how to approach new ideas will run into issues
(Kruse, 2019). This is where relationship building comes into play, especially when you need to
grow your organization, new flesh ideas, etc. This goes back to having communication.
Educational leadership is something that can be done; with others, it's going to take a village,
meaning group effort.
/
Diversity
Often, diversity is only thought to be about racial identity. However, diversity includes so
much more. Diversity deals with gender, geological, and cultural backgrounds. Influential
leaders know to include diversity's true meaning in every business process. A true leader
provides professional development to their staff to understand the community they will be
serving. Doing this helps the school or organization connect and build genuine relationships with
the community and all stakeholders. As a leader, you understand that you must have
accountability measures among your staff when responsible for developing a diverse and
inclusive learning environment. Within any organization, there could be a camouflage of
diversity whenever an institution looks at internal diversity and has diversity within their
stakeholders (Thomas et al., 2011)—having a clear understanding./The pathway to ensuring
diversity is a critical component of one's vision and mission and is extremely important to having
success.
/
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Strong School Culture /
When leading a school, having a vision that can be developed and shared is extremely
important. Kouzes and Posner (2017) stated that a vision is a projection of our assumptions and
beliefs concerning the world. The authors noted that every leader must have a theme or an
"orienting principle" (Kouzes & Posner, 2017, p.97). Every school I have been at has always had
a theme connected to the school's goals. When I was in California, my leader, Principal Johnson,
had a strong vision of empowering each student and staff member while building a tight and
supportive community. She would communicate her vision daily to teachers, staff,
students,/parents, and guardians.
School culture is one of the most critical components to having a successful school that
promotes safety and joy for students, staff, families, and the community. School culture is carried
out in one's vision and mission, followed by the actions to make it come to life./Kouzes and
Posner (2017) stated, "Shared visions attract more people, sustain higher levels of motivation,
and withstand more challenges than those exclusive to only a few. You must ensure that what
you can see is something/others can see" (Kouzes & Posner, 2017, p. 95). I can tell the culture of
a school within fifteen minutes of walking into the building. You should be able to feel the
warmness and the love for learning. This is done by how you greet, the smiles on the faces of the
students, the passion in the teacher’s teaching, and what you see on the walls when going
around./The most important key to establishing a strong culture is having a leader who
effectively models the behavior they want in their building. Being positive is a must just as much
as setting clear expectations, followed by actions.
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Conclusion
As an educational leader, your top priority should involve having your vision and mission
and providing a safe and welcoming learning environment for your students, staff, families, and
community. Influential leaders know the importance of building genuine and meaningful
relationships with their staff, students, families, and community. Strong leaders inspire,
encourage, and motivate their team to help carry out the vision and mission. But most
importantly, a true leader has a heart to serve regardless of your type of leader./ Todd Whitaker
said it right, "Great Principals never forget that it is people, not programs, that determine the
quality of a school (Whitaker, 143)". Again, it's about something other than us because it takes a
village to carry out the vision and mission.
/
/
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References
Hartzell, S., (2021). The Servant Leader. https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-servant-
leader.html?src=ppc_bing_nonbrand&rcntxt=aws&crt=&kwd=SEO-PPC-
ALL&kwid=dat2329040505669481:loc190&agid=1235851302596746&mt=b&device=c
&network=o&_campagn=SeoPPC&msclkid=10c92bb ca77f1adb9626484ed3e50614
King James Bible. (2017). King James Bible
Online./https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org//(Original work published 1769)
Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2017). The leadership challenge: How to make extraordinary
things happenin organizations (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Kruse, K., (2019). Builds Strong Relationships (Leadership Competency). LEADx.
https://leadx.org/articles/builds-strong-relationships-leadership-competency/
Marymount University, (2021). Educational Leadership: What Is It and Why Is It Important?
https://online.marymount.edu/what-is-educational-leadership
The Four C's of Leadership Read more: https://www.tdjakes.com/posts/the-four-c-s-of-
leadership. The four C's of leadership. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2022,
from/https://www.tdjakes.com/posts/the-four-c-s-of-leadership
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Thomas, D., Boyatzis, R., Brescoll, V.L., Molavi, N., & Cappelli, P., (2011). What do leaders
need to understand about diversity? https://insights.som.yale.edu/insights/what-do-
leaders-need-to-understandabout-diversity
Whitaker, T. (2015). What great principals do differently: eighteen things that matter most. New
York, NY: Routledge.
