A leader is responsible for motivating, inspiring, and moving a team forward to a common goal. Creating a Leadership Philosophy provides a roadmap for your success as a leader, by aligning your personal values with how you are executing your role. When a leader is confident in who they are and how they do their job, it creates a predictable work environment which leads to greater alignment with the entire team. A well-crafted Leadership Philosophy is the key to successfully running a team, organization, or company.
Here are the most common leadership philosophies:
- Democratic – Decisions are made by the leader based on input from the team.
- Autocratic – Decisions are made by the leader without input from the team.
- Laissez-Faire – The least intrusive, leaders let the team make their own decisions.
- Strategic – The leader divides their time between vision and management. They give individual responsibility to team, but provide guidance as needed.
- Transformational – Pushing the envelope and encouraging people to work outside of their comfort zone. The leader is constantly evolving processes and policies, with an emphasis on growth and improvement.
- Transactional – Emphasis on rewards and incentives. Leaders identify the goals and then lets the team complete them on their own. If goals are met, the team receives the rewards and incentives.
Consider the following five elements as you begin to shape your own Leadership Philosophy:
- What is your vision?
- What kind of relationships do you want to create with the people around you?
- What impact would you like to make as a leader?
- What personal qualities do you admire in other leaders?
- What are your core values?
Need assistance in your leadership journey? Our Beacons of Leadership Program is available to help you create your unwavering vision and leadership philosophy so that you can LEAD WITH VISION and MANAGE WITH WISDOM.
For more information, contact jeanette@greenlightleaders.com
Greenlight Leadership Consulting Group 