Leadership Philosophy:

The childhood lesson which was engraved in my being from one of my earliest memories was
the rule of, Leave something better than how you found it. At an early age this was quite easy
to follow. If I was coloring, it simply meant put all of the crayons back in the Crayola box. High
school had its challenges, but I realized the importance of that rule in relation to improvement
with each relationship I created, fostered or had to end. The realization that some things just
cant be improved, no matter the effort, allowed me to strengthen my own sense of integrity. The
integrity to know when enough is enough and to recognize that provided great clarity.

As I flitted through college, and my first real occupations, I maintained my sense of integrity
through challenging times. I learned to hold myself accountable and the importance of being
held accountable by others. I worked in roles that were task specific, each day had immediate
items to accomplish, which repeated day in and day out. Other roles tore at my ability to see the
efforts that I made as truly making a difference. It wasnt until I paused to remind myself in each
of these roles, that I have to choose the difference I make that I became aware of my overall
contribution. This constant effort towards betterment enabled me to view the big picture, but
also step back and see how tiny actions build greater things.

The familiar rule of leaving something better, has carried me because of its ambiguity.
Something could be an organization, a process, a team member, a student, my loved ones or a
complete stranger. Better has its own black hole of opportunity as well. That sense of what
better means shifts on a daily basis. It could be as simple as completing only a handful of
tasks from a never-ending to do list, or it could mean being the one person a student reaches out
to when he or she believes theres no light at the end of the tunnel. The definition of both
better and something is up for the owner to decide. A great leader recognizes this and instills
that ownership to his or her team.

As a leader, this mantra of leave something better, is a constant reminder of the ambiguity of
and power I can have with anyone or anything. This opportunity to improve is a responsibility I
challenge upon myself and those around me, and the possibilities to define the something or
better are in the eye of the beholder. The true responsibility of leadership is owning the effort
to make that change and enabling others to do the same.

Leadership as a Purpose:
The aim of leadership is to inspire and develop people to progress towards personal and
professional greatness. This same aim is dedicated to maintain the difference between
management and leadership and to accomplish goals with others rather than task driven results.

Additionally, leaders must embody a strong personal integrity rooted in morality, centered in an
environment that fosters growth, open communication and positivity.

Axiological dimensions of educational leadership should be reinforced through integrity and an

individual of strong moral character. Innovation, creativity and enhanced knowledge support the
leaders general ability to stay steadfast of current trends, support his or her team and continue to
share the wealth of knowledge he or she possesses. With this same general ability to lead, an allencompassing desire to communicate open and directly while emphasizing the importance of
listening strengthens an environment of learning, respect and trust. This same individual should
be influential, charismatic and challenging, these traits support a driven-doer mentality to push
others and themselves toward greatness, not just accolades.
Introspective Leadership:
allows the person themselves to constantly pause and review previous tasks, projects,
conversations and the entirety of ones life within leadership and produces the opportunity for
further development. Reflection enables one to promote and benefit from the mantra of being a
work in progress and modeling the act of being a lifelong learner. If a leader did not place
priority on reflection, it would set the stance that openness to change is not important and that
nothing should ever allow for further insight. This should not be the case with leadership. A
leader should continue to pause and allow for self-reflection but also enable his or her team to
provide their reflection on the actions of their team, organization, leader and themselves. This
pause for reflection will enable departments to consistently update or develop new processes, and
support communication and criticism from internal and external sources.

Leadership as a Tradition:
I relate tradition to the inward and outward actions and beliefs of a team, individual or
organization. Tradition are the foundation to the organization and its constituents. While these
traditions can reinforce a culture held in the past, I would stress the importance placed on
reflection within leadership to consistently review a tradition or held belief. Leaders should
embody and model the traditions, similar to a set of values or mission statement, but leaders
should also encourage the revision to these same traditions.

Ethical and Moral Obligations:

A leader who has a strong, personally developed, sense of integrity is able to lead a team and
organization with their own moral compass in relation to the organizations goals. This leader
will not only think of each action as right or wrong, but weigh these actions for their entire
organization. A person of integrity has their own code of ethics and utilizes this internal code in
all situations. This ethical code is steadfast, and unwavering.

What I find difficult to determine is to decide if a specific moral code of integrity is any better
than anyone elses. Fortunately, I work in an environment that is void of violence and criminal
punishment. I believe my own sense of integrity and ethics would be far different than that of a
police officer or the president. Ive had several leaders in my life. These leaders came from
many different positions, such as a teacher, volleyball coach, company manager and friend. With
all of these different types of leaders, the common interwoven characteristic that made them
exemplary ranged by each person. The commonality between these leaders, was that they oozed
integrity. On the contrary, there have been a few leaders in my life who did not have a strongly
defined sense of integrity. These individuals wavered whenever feedback was brought forth, and
were quick to drop their own moral compass when others imposed different viewpoints. It
quickly became evident that these leaders did not know who they themselves were or what they
stood for.
Although each leaders integrity was different, it was clearly evident this intrinsic methodology
was carried through each individual interaction, task and expectation he or she set upon
themselves or others. This internal moral code of responsibility allows leaders to be different;
leaders can create their own sense of integrity to uphold and model in any situation, be it
personal, or professional. Once this integrity is created, it can be continually developed or reexamined but the personal sense of integrity and moral code supports a strong leader and their
actions.
Leadership in the context of Organizational Culture:
A leader sets the tone of organizational culture. This tone shapes the inclusive, welcoming,
equitable and team-centered. This same tone must embody transparency so that the core values
of the team and organization can easily be understood, replicated and centered round.
The leader is the owner of this culture, he or she must nurture it, strengthen it, and challenge it
when there are individuals who do not fit the mold of the culture. The steps to continuously
grow and strengthen the culture must include communication and continuous advertisement of
the culture so that team members, clients and outside forces are aware of who and what your
team stands for.
Lastly, these values that uphold the climate and culture must be prioritized above all else. This
will instill a driven team that does not question who or what their role is in relation to the
organization, and is able to understand and carry their own pride towards the big picture. It will
also carry a team of contributors willing to rise to the challenge, rather than a culture of one
person has one responsibility and cannot step outside of that role.