Running head: EXPRESS CURATION 1

Express Curation

Dana Marie Gramuglia

Loyola University Chicago

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The express assignment allowed for the internal processing over the course of the

semester on leadership to be externally processed and expressed through the form of a podcast.

Finally arriving at a place where thoughts could be formed into spoken words was quite a

process; leadership is a messy subject and will be a source of constant evolution. This was a

personal goal- to finally arrive at a place where concise, well thought out, and theoretically

grounded statements around leadership could be spoken and shared with others. The form of this

assignment seemed to naturally fit into the medium of a podcast where the external processing

could finally take place.

The podcast allowed for external processing of the thoughts storming within my mind for

the past semester. The goal with the podcast was to have a conversational tone, threaded with

personal feelings and experiences. The content had undertones of theoretical perspectives read

throughout the semester, but for engaging the audience of the podcast the focus was not

discussing the theories. However, while curating the components of my leadership philosophy,

there was intentionality about which theoretical perspectives to ground each original thought.

The other intentional piece was, to show the constant evolution in the introduction and wrap-up;

the song playing in the background was utilized for the first assignment of this course.

Leadership philosophy components

The first component of my leadership philosophy was grounded in the situational

approach, as discussed in chapter five of Northouse (2015). The viewpoints surrounding the

situational approach best sum up the reasons behind my first component:

To determine what is needed in a particular situation, a leader must evaluate her or his

followers and assess how competent and committed they are to perform a given goal.
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Based on the assumption that followers skills and motivation vary over time, situational

leadership suggests that leaders should change the degree to which they are directive or

supportive to meet the changing needs of the followers (Northouse, 2015, p. 93-94).

The title of the first component was, One size does not fit all, which was fueled by the concept

of clothing which claims one size does in fact fit all. There are leaders and authority figures

which have shaped the concept of this component within my personal philosophy. These

leaders- in name only, did not effectively lead. The fashion in which they exercised leadership

left one feeling a single style or version of their leadership would fit every position where they

were seen as a leader. Through my own personal experiences this approach has never been

effective; as Northouse (2015) discusses with the situational approach each group is different and

even these individual groups grow and change. The leader needs to fluctuate with the evolution

of the group(s) being led; this concept has been a personal translation from theory to practice.

The two different institutions where I work- Loyola University and Northwestern University-

requires myself to show up differently as a leader in the respective spaces.

The second component of my personal philosophy deals with the concept of being

gracious and expressing gratitude. This then leads into the need of being present with ones

team- especially during times where individuals are engaging in conversation or dialogue.

Through my own personal experiences of supervisors where neither was achieved a

hyperawareness has been created around the need to be completely present in these situations.

The work place was severely impacted by those individuals who did not express gratitude or

engage in meaningful conversation with those whom they supervised- there was a disconnect.

This section of the podcast focuses on how being present and expressing gratitude be achieved.
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The other piece of reflection focuses on my thoughts on what has been successful in appointed

leadership positions. The driving force behind the component of being gracious and kind was a

quote, originally quoted in Heiftez and Linsky (2002) and pulled from Dugan (2017),

Exercising leadership is a way of giving meaning to your life by contributing to the lives of

others. At its best, leadership is a labor of love (p. 1). This quote was impactful because

creating relationships with others is where the work really becomes fulfilling- where my why

is fueled. The intention of putting the work in to create a relationship is really critical for this

reason for myself as a leader.

The third component discussed in the podcast deals with the concept of authority due to

titles and how this relates to leadership. This deals with the phenomenon around perceived

leadership being conceived by others due to holding a position of authority. Through my

personal experiences, it has been proven time and again: just because one holds a title does not

mean one is a leader or will know how to effectively lead in a specific context. Heifetz (2010),

discusses how an individual may have a following, but that does not mean they are a leader and

vice versa:

Our everyday language fails us here by enculturating us to believe that leaders, by

definition, have followers. On deeper reflection, many people have a following, yet they

do not lead. And many people lead without anything that resembles a following. To be

precise, a following is simply a group of people who give authority to someone with the

expectation that services will be delivered (p. 19).

This quote from Heifetz (2010) spoke to my own theories around leadership and the concept of

what makes a leader a leader. This theoretically grounds what was being spoken to in this

component, just because one has a following or the title does not mean an individual actually
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leads or enacts effective leadership. There are individuals who hold the title and as a result have

authority, but do not reflect on what this means for those who are affected by the decisions made

by the individual who holds the authority. Through my personal experience as a graduate

assistant, it appears as the individual climbs higher up the organizational chart, the less in touch

one is with the needs of those who fall below them on the chart. These experiences were the

driving force behind the thoughts and feelings expressed in this section of the podcast.

The final section deals with the battles those who serve in leadership positions and are

trying to enact change face as a result. This section also focuses on the concept brought up by

Heifetz and Linsky (2002) where leadership is a labor of love. As the podcast was being taped,

there was a moment where internal connections were made to the concept of critical hope as

discussed by Preskill and Brookfield (2009). This section had undertones of enacting social

justice through a position of leadership and authority, but started out through the concept of

convictions. Through my experience thus far, there are times where the writing is on the wall by

those who hold the authority, but ethically there are instances where a call to action needs to be

ignited. This section of the podcast focused on not giving up if success is not achieved through

the first few tries of enacting change or calling to attention a current injustice.

There are going to be endless fights to sign on for, and this section really poses the

question of do you know what fight you want to fight for?. This was a topic posed in class one

day, and is a question that has stuck with me ever since, and felt it was critical to include in this

podcast. As a leader it is important to know what battles one will fight for, when one will

advocate for others, and at what point will one decide this is not the battle to fight. The concept

of critical hope and being realistic, but also not losing resolve was a background theme to this

section and one that is important to my own personal philosophy on leadership. Social justice
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and being a sound, ethical decision maker are important in this philosophy and are points driven

home in the last section specifically, but throughout the whole podcast.

The making of this podcast was an exercise in outlining the learning outcomes from this

past semester and my own personal experiences from exposure to leaders and leadership

positions. The goal of this podcast was to express in a conversational tone the importance of

leadership and my own views on what makes an effective, ethical, socially just leader. There

have been several individuals where paths have crossed due to the leadership position they held

and all have influenced the views discussed in the podcast and curation. These individuals have

both impacted these views from what was perceived as effective and ineffective tactics in

leadership. While those who did not embody effective leadership were sources of frustration at

the time, they led to these viewpoints and shaped my own personal philosophy on leadership.

This journey will continue with more exposure to leadership and as a result my personal

philosophy will continuously be evolving.

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Works Cited

Dugan, J.P. (in press). Leadership theory: Cultivating critical perspectives. San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.

Eagly, Alice H., and Jean Lau Chin. "Diversity and Leadership in a Changing World." American
Psychologist 65.3 (2010): 216-24. Web. Dec.-Jan. 2016.

Heifetz, R. (2010). Leadership. In R. A. Couto (Ed.), Political and civic leadership: A reference
handbook (pp. 12-23). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Heifetz, R. A., & Linsky, M. (2002). Leadership on the line: Staying alive through the dangers of
leading. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. (pp. 207-223)

Komives, S. R., Dugan, J. P., Owen, J. E., Wagner, W., Slack, C., & Associates. (2011).
Handbook for student leadership development. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Northouse, P. G. (2015). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Preskill, S. & Brookefield, S.D. (2009). Learning as a way of leading: Lessons from the
struggle of social justice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.