The role that leadership plays cannot be overstated. Personally, I feel that leadership allows individuals to respond to crises effectively. Today, the globe is grappling with crises that can only be solved through capable leadership. It is true that there are numerous different leadership styles. While they are vastly different, there are some commonalities. Shared values are among the common elements found in the different leadership approaches. After careful reflection, I have determined that my personal model of leadership is based primarily on the values of courage, freedom, broad-mindedness and equality. I believe that in order to be fulfilled and have an impact on my interpersonal relationships, organization and society, I must demonstrate courage, and become a passionate advocate for liberty and equality.
Values
As noted above, I have established my personal philosophy of leadership on various values. These values are courage, freedom, equality and broad-mindedness. I feel that these values are the most essential because they relate to the most fundamental aspects of my life: individual, interpersonal, organizational and society. At the individual level, I find that the value of courage is the most important. I have noted that I have allowed fears and insecurities to hold me back from pursuing personal dreams. As part of my efforts to accomplish the personal goals and ambitions that I have, I have incorporated courage into my personal leadership model. Freedom is yet another value that I consider to be critical. While it affects all areas of my life, I think that it especially important for my interactions with my organization. I have worked for organizations which deny their employees autonomy and impose needless restrictions. For this reason, I feel that freedom is essential if I am to excel in my engagements with organizations.
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My interpersonal relationships as well as my interactions with society also benefit from the values that I uphold. On the one hand, I have chosen to embrace broad-mindedness in my interpersonal connections and relationships. This value is important because it has allowed me to engage with individuals from a wide range of backgrounds. I believe that I have also become more tolerant and accepting of individuals who may hold values that are in conflict with my own beliefs. On the other hand, equality informs my view on some of the most pressing challenges confronting our society today. For instance, I believe that American society has failed women and racial minorities and that to restore equality, we must spare no expense in prioritizing these groups when allocating opportunities.
Leadership Behaviors and Actions
I understand that leadership requires us to accompany our values with real behaviors and concrete actions. To develop the value of courage, I endeavor to place myself in situations that I find uncomfortable and scary. For instance, I volunteer at my school and I challenge myself to make at least one new friend every week. These behaviors and actions have helped me to become bolder. On the other hand, as part of my campaign to promote freedom, I was involved in an initiative to redesign the job descriptions of new hires at my organization. I successfully convinced the company to prioritize employee autonomy as I believe that individuals can only excel when they are free and do not face any undue restrictions.
The values of broad-mindedness and equality are not empty proclamations or rhetoric. Instead, I have integrated them into my behaviors and actions. For example, in a bid to become more broad-minded, I am deliberate and active in forming friendships with individuals from a wide range of cultures. Additionally, I have become more accepting of new ideas that may not necessarily be consistent with my own worldview. To promote equality, I have joined various initiatives to make our society more equal. For instance, I was part of a petition designed to push for criminal justice reform. I believe that urgent reforms are needed to ensure that our justice system does not continue to fail such groups as people of color.
Meaning and Purpose
I derive tremendous meaning and sense of purpose from the four values mentioned above. When I pursue courage, I essentially seek to exploit the opportunities that life offers. I have determined that fear has seen me waste countless opportunities. Therefore, by being more courageous, I expect to seize any and all opportunities that I encounter. On the other hand, the purpose of pushing for freedom is to help individuals to achieve the best life. I feel that restrictions can hamper individuals from accomplishing their dreams. I will strive to persuade my organization to empower their employees to become owners of their destinies. The employees can only achieve this when they are provided with the support and freedom that they require. In having broad-mindedness as among the values that I think are important, I hope to expose myself to as many cultures as possible. I deeply believe that multi-cultural experiences hold the key to growth. Open-mindedness will undoubtedly help me to accommodate a variety of perspectives and push me to new cultural heights. Lastly, by championing for equality, I believe that I will be making a difference in the lives of individuals and groups which have historically been marginalized and oppressed.
Impact
The personal values, behaviors and actions that I have undertaken have had real and significant impacts. For example, thanks to the various courageous actions that I have taken, I feel more satisfied with the quality and direction of my life. I am convinced that I am growing both personally and professionally. My fight for freedom has allowed me to help my company achieve higher levels of employee satisfaction and productivity. As they are allowed to work freely, the employees are more motivated and committed to the organization’s mission. Broad-mindedness has also had some effects. For instance, I now have a larger group of friends and acquaintances from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds. I find that the value of equality is the only one whose effects are yet to be seen. For instance, as noted earlier, I signed a petition aimed to deliver criminal justice reform. These reforms are yet to be implemented. While I am frustrated and disappointed that our actions have failed to deliver any real changes, I refuse to give up. I am convinced that through relentless pressure and action, we will eventually create an equal society.
In conclusion, leaders need to develop models that are grounded in solid values. In addition to providing them with direction, the values also offer clarity when leaders are confronted with difficult questions. It is also important for leaders to adopt actions and behaviors that enable them to apply the values to real situations. The values are only useful when they are accompanied with behaviors through which leaders have an impact on their personal affairs, interpersonal relationships, organizations and society. Having experienced the benefits of values, I can confirm that they are vital for effective leadership.
