Personal Leadership Philosophy
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P
ERSONAL
L
EADERSHIP
P
HILOSOPHY
Kathryn Conley
School of Education, Liberty University
EDU 741
Professor Hill
Personal Leadership Philosophy
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Abstract
Building relationships with stakeholders is a critical aspect of bringing about change within a
school. Relationships between students, teachers, and parents and constructing positive
relationships with administration and students and families will implement a positive growth
mindset. A shared vision helps to build trust through collaboration. All stakeholders must feel
they have a role in the shared vision and enforcing the schools' changes for success. While
building relationships, whether personal or professional, will allow leaders to be more enveloped
in the connection of building relationships through partnerships keeping the common good of the
schools in mind.
Preliminary to cultivating a leadership position, it is essential to have a philosophy to
know why you want to become an educational leader. Educators are asked why they want to
become teachers. It is equally important to ask educational leaders why they want to lead.
Becoming an academic leader will allow me to support the needs of all students and teachers
within my school. This will allow me to build relationships with all stakeholders to foster an
environment of trust and collaboration (Kouzes & Posner, 2017) first and create change second.
Trust is constructed through relationships and must arrive before changes (Kouzes & Posner ).
Once trust is built, collaboration can be established to bring about buoyant transformation within
a school environment. Relationships are a crucial component of educational leadership. Without
connections between stakeholders, there can be no trust, no collaboration, and no change.
Philosophy of Educational Leadership
“Kids don’t learn from people they don’t like” (Pierson, 2013). Rita Pierson's quote steers
my philosophy as an educator. An effective leader will have the admiration of those they lead.
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Building relationships and inspiring positive change is my goal as an educational leader. I
believe great leaders cultivate trust and a collaborative environment with their students, teachers,
and the community.Students are the school's leading stakeholders; they become the community
upon graduation. Students who do not have faith in their leaders will not play a role in
contributing to the community themselves. School's focal point is created to benefit the whole
student; they should feel that their thoughts are cared for, and their voices are heard to make a
change that will affect their future (Berkovich & Eyal, 2015).
Teachers are the second most essential stakeholders in which the administrators must
formulate positive and cooperative relationships. "What teachers dictate the quality of their
students' educational experiences" (Hoxha & HyseniDuraku, 2017). Many elements influence
what teachers "bring into the classroom," compelling leaders are those facets. When teachers are
entrusted to teach and make classroom decisions, they perform better. Teachers must not only
feel trusted but be collaborated with to make decisions. (Hoxha & Hyseni-Duraku, 2017).
Leadership Practice
I aspire to be an energetic leader who conducts “energy exchange relationships” ( Daly et
al., 2016). Energy exchange relationships are where one person leaves an interaction feeling
more “positive, inspired and motivated” ( Daly et al., 2016). My goal as a leader will always be
to leave others better than I found them. To do this, I intend to work alongside the stakeholders
and get to know them, bring individuals together face to face and foster relationships, finally,
have projects with a common goal that people know their role and value within the project
(Kouzes & Posner, 2017).
I plan to create an energy exchange relationship by knowing my school's stakeholders,
including students, teachers, administrators, and parents. To do this, I plan to listen and interact
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with all parties. I plan to have an open-door policy where everyone can talk with me and discuss
their concerns.
The second initiative is to create energy exchange relationships is by getting people
together to foster relationships. Professional learning communities are implemented to foster
relationships (Brown et al. 2018). Creating an advisory council will be implemented to create an
environment where stakeholders feel their voices are heard; this will help parents feel more
connected within the school. Initiating parent nights will involve all parties of the school parents,
teachers, and students. To effectively implement these nights, I would determine a common goal
of the parent night and gather teacher input and ideas. Parent nights include students showing off
their skills or previous work; thus, they have a role in implementing parent nights will ensure
stakeholder involvement.
Relationships
When the organization decides to revise the vision statement, it would require the support
of the administrative staff, which would include the Principal, Assistant Principal, and the dean
of students. The administration team would decide whether they would like to change the vision
statement; they would need to first focus on their goal for the school, students, and all other
stakeholders. The objectives of a vision statement must fit the school's culture and reflect
organizational values, beliefs, and philosophies. They will need to consider whether the
information reflects the distinctive competence of the organization.
Relationships
My leadership style focuses on building and maintaining relationships. I’ve mentioned all
the different partakers concerned in a school setting. The students, teachers, parents, and other
administrators are all stakeholders and merit an association with their leader. I fully acknowledge
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that relationships are the most integral part of a leader's effectiveness. The junctures in the
hallway disseminating struggles and triumphs with students and teachers encourage trust and
communication. Those moments make a leader approachable and beneficial in their organization
when an informal relationship is reached, the authorized work to profit the school.
Diversity
Leaders have to work with students, teachers, and parents from different social
classes. Leaders will work with upper, middle, and lower-class stakeholders. All the various
categories of people have other ideas and needs concerning what they mandate from their
leaders. My background is working in a high poverty school and a low poverty school. The needs
of these two schools vary considerably. Parents and students require different levels of support
from teachers and administrators of high-poverty schools than common poverty schools. Leaders
have to work with students, teachers, and parents from different cultures. Different cultures have
diverse needs that need to be met as school stakeholders. One experience I feel all educators
share is working with ESL students and their parents. A translator is required to serve them and
ensure their voice is heard adequately.
My Calling
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to
prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” I desire to lead. I hope
that this path is where God will continue, you show me. My goal is to lead the school effectively
and provide support to all those within, not only to be a principal but also to be effective in my
position. I desire to be a lead teacher to offer guidance for teachers and help with students,
academically or socially. Lead teachers are critical members of the school administration.
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Ultimately, I want to devote the rest of my career to aiding teachers in sharpening their skills to
encourage student success.
Conclusion
There are four classes of stakeholders that instruct leadership within the school setting.
Scholars, educators and parents, and other administrators are the four stakeholders who need to
be trusted and heard (Kouzes and Posner, 2017). Leaders must present possibilities for
cooperation in a trustful atmosphere (Kouzes and Posner, 2017). I, as a leader, intend to deliver
these prospects and implement energy exchange relationships where I will leave people better
than I found them through my leadership skills.
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Reference
Berkovich, I., & Eyal, O. (2015). Educational Leaders and Emotions. Review of Educational
Research,85(1), 129-167. doi:10.3102/0034654314550046
References
Berkovich, I., & Eyal, O. (2015). Educational Leaders and Emotions. Review of Educational
Research,85(1), 129-167. doi:10.3102/0034654314550046
Brown, Benjamin D., Rolanda S. Horn, and Gwendolyn King. "The Effective Implementation of
Professional Learning Communities." Alabama Journal of Educational Leadership5
(August 2018): 53-59.
Daly, Alan J., Yi-Hwa Liou, and Chris Brown. "Social Red Bull: Exploring Energy Relationships
in a School District Leadership Team." Harvard Educational Review86, no. 3 (2016): 412-
48. doi:10.17763/1943-5045-86.3.412.
Hoxha, L., & Hyseni-Duraku, Z. (2017). The Relationship between Educational Leadership and
Teachers' Self-efficacy. The European Journal of Social & Behavioural Sciences, 20(3),
2508-2519.
Kouzes, J.M. & Posner, B.Z. (2017). The leadership challenge (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John
Wiley and Sons. ISBN 9781119278962.
Pierson, R (2013). Every kid needs a champion. Retrieved from
https://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion?language=en
