Leadership Philosophy

"Leadership is understanding people and involving them to help you do a job. That takes all of the good characteristics, like integrity, dedication of purpose, selflessness, knowledge, skill, implacability, as well as determination not to accept failure." This is a quote from Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, a United States Naval Commander during World War II and the Korean War. Admiral Burke covers all of the aspects of being an effective leader in this statement. A true leader needs all of these characteristics to be successful as a leader, along with the ability to apply these traits to each situation. They must have the ability to adapt and learn everyday to continue to be an effective leader.

The first sentence of this quote is the basis to my personal leadership philosophy. To be a successful leader your subordinates need to understand the goal and to believe in the vision that their leader has. A leader that can identify and understand what each of their employees motivating factors are they will know that buttons to push to get the most out of their employees. If employees clearly understand their team's vision, even if they may not agree with that vision, it will provide them with the framework to make decisions that help their leader reach the team's goal.

I believe that employees want to help their leader reach their goals and that most people truly do want to help. The reason that some leaders fail is that they do not clearly articulate their vision and make sure that all of their employees understand the team's goal. Often there are moments when employees have to make their own decisions in the course of a normal work day. It's at these times that employees make the decisions that can cause a team to succeed or only operate at average performance levels.

In regards to the remaining criteria that Admiral Burke lists to be a leader, all of these elements are required to be effective. For example, if a leader doesn't have integrity, their employees will not trust the leader. If my manager did not have integrity I know that I personally would not invest myself in their goals as much as I would if I believe that my manager was genuine and someone who would stand up for what's right. I have had several managers who I have disagreed with but they were always people of integrity, which is why, despite our disagreements, I would follow their lead. Even if we did not see eye-to-eye, I knew that he or she had the best interests of the company at heart and would only do what they knew was right.

I will not focus on the knowledge and skill characteristics that are stated in the Admiral's quote as these two traits are almost always a requirement to be a successful leader. The will to not accept failure as a leader is a contagious trait that many leaders instill in their followers. In my personal experience, there is nothing more inspiring that seeing a leader that doesn't give up in the face of adversity. When a project fails an effective leader finds a way to learn from failure and a new way to achieve their goals.

While I can articulate the traits that make an effective leader there is no list that defines exactly what a leader is. A leader can be someone who inspires their employees to achieve excellent results, it can be someone