Karleigh Smith

My Philosophy of Leadership
Leadership is a dynamic process that has been re-examined and rethought over the years.
The traditional notion of a leader being in power of blind, numb followers is a thing of the past.
The leader-participant complex is much different than that, with so much more going into it. It
can be established first and foremost that everyone has the potential and the ability to lead (and
at some point in everyones life, everyone will lead a group of people in some way). To that
affect, everyone leads in his or her own way. My methods of leading would be different from
those of the person sitting across from me, and hers would be different from that of the person
diagonal from her, and etc. Everyones personal philosophies stem from their values; a leadership
philosophy is no different. As an individual, I value honesty, straightforwardness, respect, and
fortitude. My philosophy of leadership would thus reflect these values, and as such it can be
dubbed the Candid Philosophy of Leadership.
The Candid Philosophy of Leadership is a multi-faceted approach to leadership, just as
the word candid itself is multi-faceted. It can refer to truthfulness and frankness, or it can refer
to an informal, impromptu, natural moment in time. These are the main components of the
philosophy: that both leaders and followers retain open and honest communication with each
other and that, in turn, everything is just as it seems to be with no fabrication. In order to
maintain this kind of leadership, certain assumptions and applications must be maintained. It is
presumed in this philosophy that leadership is a network; that is, it is a structure comprised of
more than one entity that has the potential to grow and change to better achieve the goal at hand.
It is not stagnant. Furthermore, as the name suggests, sincerity in every sense of the word is
integral to the effectiveness of this philosophy. This means there must be constant open
communication between leader and follower, admittance of guilt and mistakes, openness to
criticism and praise, and a willingness to give criticism and praise. With such honesty comes a

lot of vulnerability, however. Therefore, while there is a place for professional criticism, there
can be no place for judgment. The goal is to develop and maintain healthy relationships. In order
to ensure this, the encounters must be positive and constructive. Finally, the Candid Philosophy
assumes equal participation among leaders and followers. A title denominating leadership tends
to hold a connotation of supremacy. You can exercise power through control or through service
(Nair, 90). The leader exhibiting this kind of leadership is more of a facilitator or an organizer,
and thus would fall under the service category. His or her presence is one that keeps everything
running smoothly and keeps everyone accountable. His or her purpose is not to inflict fear or
necessarily punishment. It is to use a position of influence to positively impact the direction of
the project. With that said, it is expected that leaders and constituents pull equal parts of the
weight of the project and are equally as invested in the realization of their goals.
This model of leadership is useful in a multitude of settings. Personally, I tend to use it in
a team-environment. Whether my team includes my lacrosse teammates, my coworkers, or my
Learning Community peers, maintaining this open and understanding philosophy of leadership
seems to be worthwhile. I am a complete straight-shooter, meaning I seek the shortest route to an
answer for any problem that I may face. This makes sense because one of my 5 greatest
strengths, according to StrengthFinder, is that of Strategy. In this capacity, having all the
information is the key to success. If there is missing information, the best solution may not be
found in certain situations, which is why I consider myself to be such an open book. With my
lacrosse teammates, for instance, I maintain a completely open two-way means of
communication. Since I share a lot about myself, such as my frustrations, fears, and hopes on and
off the field, there is reciprocation on the part of my teammates. For instance, in high school my
teammate came to me with the frustration that even though she plays attack, she rarely gets the
ball and thus does not tend to score. With her and my openness with each other, we were able to

come to a solution that she had to adjust the way she moves to and away from whomever has the
ball, and as a result she was passed the ball more often and was able to score.
The basis for the Candid Leadership Model are the Authentic Leadership model
(Northouse, 253-271), the Inclusive Leadership model (Schmidt), and the Relational Leadership
Model (Komives, 93-145). The Authentic Leadership Model states that leadership is a
developmental process that is derived from a leaders intrapersonal, interpersonal and
developmental aspects. So, a leaders ability to self-reflect, form and keep relationships, and
grow and build on the accomplishments of his or hers and his or her constituents is the basis of
this model. For the Inclusive Leadership Model, one must understand oppression and privilege as
an influencing factor in society today. According to A.G. Johnson, privilege and oppression is a
social construct that dictates that people exhibiting certain features or with certain lifestyles have
an inherent competitive edge against those who have the adverse trait or condition, giving
them an automatic disadvantage. In the Inclusive Leadership Model, these differences are
acknowledged, but valued. Differences allow for new and different perspectives to come together
in this model for the completion of a common goal. In this way, people are valued as individuals
and can thrive as such. Finally, the Relational Leadership model involves knowing oneself and
getting to know others, and in turn being positive and doing what it takes to get the task done and
get it done right.
With these assumptions and the foundations for this model in mind, the Candid
Leadership Model would most aptly be represented by a candid photograph. Such a photograph
is taken in the moment. It is raw; it is un-posed; it shows exactly what is going on at the time the
photo is being taken. This is exactly what this leadership model hopes to portray. The objective
that the group was working towards speaks for itself with little room for interpretation. Everyone
involved is honest and completely informed of what is occurring. It is easy to be sensitive to how

everyone in the photo or group feels because their expressions (physical in the picture,
figurative in real-life) are captured and on display. There is nothing to hide with this philosophy
as leadership, just as there can be nothing to hide in a candid photograph.
With this leadership model in mind, I hope to accomplish a lot of things beyond my
career-goals and those that I have for my team and coworkers. Namely, I want to make an impact
on the front of mental illness on campus. I want to make it so no one has to suffer alone or in
silence. Such issues as depression, anxiety, stress, etc. are rampant among college students, and
there is an obvious stigma with mental illness as well. There is an air of shame that accompanies
mental illness; there is the myth that if one has certain advantages then he or she cannot acquire
mental illness; and there are those who critique people with mental illness as being attentionseekers. There is a general lack of information and also lack of resources for outreach and
support. It is important to seek an alliance. People that do not suffer from mental illness and
people who do have to break the barrier and come together for a network of support. Ideally,
with a group that would create a safe environment for such an alliance using the Candid
Philosophy of Leadership, it could be conceivable that people with mental illness would not be
alone. With such open communication and relationship building, and without the judgment, we
would reach an equal understanding of what is wrong to assume and how everyone can help.
Differences would not divide, but unite. To see that happen would be a great accomplishment for
me as a leader, and for those who have suffered without adequate support for so long.
Works Cited
Johnson, Allan G. Privilege, Power, and Difference. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 2006. Print.
Komives, S. R., Lucas, N., & McMahon, T. R. (2013). Exploring Leadership: For college
students who want to make a difference (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Nair, Keshavan. A Higher Standard of Leadership: Lessons from the Life of Gandhi. San
Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 1994. Print.

Northouse, Peter G. Leadership (International Student Edition): Theory and Practice. Thousand
Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2015. Print.
Rath, Tom. Strengths Insight and Action-Planning Guide. N.p.: Gallup, Inc., 2012. PDF.
Schmidt, S. (1996) Inclusive Leadership: Refining Our Models of Leadership Education.